"Finding objects in everyday environments relies on a process called visual search, and our brains are surprisingly imperfect at it. Seeing, it turns out, is not just about what reaches the eyes. It is also about what the brain expects to find. When our attention is focused elsewhere - for example being stressed or in a rush - our brain filters the scene based on what it expects to see or thinks is important."
"For example, if you lose your keys, your brain starts searching for a mental image of the keys in expected places or orientations. This means that if the real keys don't match that expectation - like being partly covered, at an unusual angle or mixed into clutter - your brain may effectively ignore them even when looking right at them. If you have ever searched a kitchen counter for your keys only to have someone else pick them up instantly, you have experienced the same phenomenon."
"The brain cannot analyse every object in a scene simultaneously. Instead, it relies on attention - selecting certain features while filtering out the rest. A fresh pair of eyes, meanwhile, are more likely to spot the 'lost' item because they don't have preconceived assumptions about where it should be. Professor Spear also explained that when men and women look for things, they tend to use their eyes in slightly different ways."
Inattentional blindness can make people fail to notice objects that are directly in front of them. Everyday object finding depends on visual search, and the brain is imperfect at it. Seeing depends not only on what reaches the eyes but also on what the brain expects to find. When attention is focused elsewhere, the brain filters the scene using expectations about what is important. Searching for lost keys can rely on a mental image of where they should be and how they should look. If the real keys differ from that expectation, such as being covered, angled oddly, or blended into clutter, they may be ignored even while being looked at. A fresh observer may spot the item because they have fewer assumptions. Men and women may also use their eyes differently when searching.
#inattentional-blindness #visual-search #attention-and-perception #expectation-bias #cognitive-psychology
Read at Mail Online
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