Now that you have seen the video. Did you see the person in the gorilla suit? If not, go back, slide the green dot back to the left, and play it again.
Usually one-half of the viewers will not see the gorilla. This is due to "inattentional blindness". Whereas in this example, your attention were on those players wearing white, not the entire scene, so it was easy to miss other things that are happening.
Inattentional blindness also occurs while driving. For example, if you are driving and your attention is focused more on changing a compact disk (CD), talking on a cell phone, or paying attention to passengers or to an on-board navigational system, your attention is more on that task. And as you could tell from the simulation, if while your attention was on the those wearing white passing the ball, it was easy to miss the gorilla. Just as if you were driving and if your attention was on something other than driving, it would be easy to miss, for example, a car stopping quickly in traffic, a signal,
a bicycle, or child.
To help reduce the risk of driver distraction, the following links below will provide you with some options to help keep your attention on driving.
Remember it may seem like you can multitask while
driving, but unfortunately as can be seen from this
example you are at risk for inattentional blindness and
can easily result in a crash.
Mobile (Cell) Phones
On-Board Navigational Systems
Entertainment Systems
Personal Distraction (passengers, children, eating, make-up, using mirrors for grooming)
Driver Distraction Home
Motor Vehicle Home
