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Attentional Blink
Cognitive Psychology
Stimuli are a type of motivation that causes a response in humans or animals. The purpose of this research paper is to examine the attention blink, identify alternative targets for focus, identify occupations that attention blink causes mistakes, and consider that effect of vehicle design in relation to attention blink. The next section discusses attention blink in relation to attention.
Attention blink (AB) is a phenomenon that occurs with rapid serial visual presentations (Dux & Marois, 2009). In simpler terms when a set of objects is viewed by the eye in rapid succession only one set of objects will grab the attention of the brain and be processed, while the other objects are ignored. According to Dux & Marois (2009), the key to attention is that the second object shows up 200-500 miliseconds after the first object. This short timeframe makes the second object invisible to some viewers. It stands to reason that if all the targets were at an interval that the brain can perceive such as 199 or 501 miliseconds then all targets will be visible.
This discovery is important when discussing the limitations of human attention during a series of distractions during a set time period (Dux & Marois, 2009). “We conclude that the AB arises from attentional demands of T1 for selection, working memory encoding, episodic registration, and response selection, which prevents this high-level central resource from being applied to T2 at short T1-T2 lags (Dux & Marois, 2009).” Another discovery was made concerning redeployment of attentional resources.
When the primary target is the individual’s focus the ability to redirect the attentional resources is extremely limited. In fact the attentional resources will be redeployed on the third target because it takes longer to appear after the first target. There is another theory that could account for the limited attentional resources present for the second target.
It is possible that the brain has been conditioned to pay attention to the most important objects or targets. This is an interesting factor because what is important to one person may not be important to another person. Alternative targets that can hold a person’s attention longer is the focus of the next section.
It was proposed previously by Dux and Marois (2009) that the importance of the target can cause the individual to pay closer attention regardless of the time frame constraints. Signs and personal/familiar photos should be added as targets to the study. People are conditioned to pay attention to signs because they provide helpful information and even prevent death. The shape, the color, and the symbols on the signs are also important in the prolonged attention of the viewer.
For example: the biohazard sign as the second target would definitely be seen by the viewer. First, this sign signals a warning to the viewer that something may be wrong. Obviously, taking this test at school or at home this warning may be unfounded. However, the basis for the signs still triggers a response in the individual’s brain to be alert for danger even when no danger exists. The same is true for the stop sign.
The shape and the color of this sign represent halting before moving into traffic. Even if the words are not present the other two factors would demand the same response and same level of attention. All humans have a set of basis needs and self-preservation is one of them (Huitt, 2007). To ignore these signs when they manifest is to willingly admit that personal safety and survival are no longer important. It is safe to assume that these types of targets will cause immediate focus for a prolonged period of time.
It is hypothesized that the second suggested target will cause an even longer and more immediate focal response: personal or familiar photos. The brain associates pictures with memories and events that the individual has experienced. For example: the picture of a baby will cause a mother to spend more time focused on it. The baby picture can either be of the mother’s baby or a general picture of a baby. The strong prolonged response will be the same.
An interesting proposed drawback concerning the personal or familiar photos comes from the emotional state of the viewer. If the pictures evoke a negative memory the response from the brain could be to ignore the photos or forget them as quickly as possible? The negative event could be a car accident, witnessing a murder, or experiencing a relationship breakup. It is almost a fifty-fifty possibility for the viewer to either accept or reject the photographs. The next section focuses on occupations where attention blink could cause problems.
Attention blink is all about paying attention and possibly missing the next target or object that appears after the first one. AB would be detrimental in jobs that are fast paced and require focus on various objects or targets. Bank teller, military personnel, and factory worker are the occupations that would be adversely affected by AB.
Bank tellers work in a fast paced environment with other people’s money. It is important to keep track of the currency types, quantities, and numerical values. It is possible that bank tellers counting at high speeds can miss at least one bill per stack of money that is counted in a given day. Think about it, if 20 stacks were counted in one day than twenty bills have been missed in the counting process.
Military personnel specifically air force are required to take out targets on the ground or in the air while they are flying. Flying is not a static situation but rather a fluid one that deals with turbulence, changing weather conditions, and the hazard of birds. Because there are tracking systems and the new predator unmanned aircrafts these mistakes becomes less and less likely. The same cannot be said for factory workers.
Factory workers deal with the responsibility of assembling, checking, and accepting or rejecting products. This takes a matter of seconds when dealing with a moving conveyor belt and several different products to look over and then handle. The implications in missing defective parts or misaligning a product during production includes: loss of life, lawsuits, and reduced funds for the company. There are also recalls that may be issues because of the lack of attention given to certain products. The next section focuses on the placement of devices within a vehicle.
Attention blink is not the only attention problem; humans also deal with divided attention. Divided attention can be described as an individual that is trying to focus on two things at one time. Another way to look at it would be associated with those individuals who claim to be multi-tasker and they accomplish multiple goals during specific time periods.
When operating a vehicle the driver already has divided attention in the form of watching other drivers, answering the cell phone (if applicable), and interacting with passengers in the vehicle. Typically, individuals look down more easily than up when driving a vehicle so having the vital systems in the regular place would seem more useful. In terms of attentional blink there is the likelihood of an accident occurring.
The driver would need to shift his or her attention from the road to the overhead displays. This means quickly focusing on a certain gauge and then putting his or her eyes back on the road. It is possible to miss warnings signs or miss traffic behaviors while performing this action.
Attentional blink is a means for the brain to process a primary target or a target that is perceived to be more important than other targets. Identifying target importance can be a gained experience. Alternative targets such as signs and photos (personal/familiar) can be a main influence in the length of time an individual pays attention during the study. There are some occupations that are adversely affected by attentional blink such as factory workers.
The product passes in seconds who only gives the workers seconds for correct assembly and then inspection. Lastly, divided attention or multitasking seems to be better than AB. In a test with vehicles it is better to have divided attention and a low panel of instruments. AB through further study has the potential to review the limitations of mankind concerning time and distractions.
References
Dux, P.E. and Marois, R. (2009). The attentional blink: A review of data and theory. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics 71(8): 1683-1700. DOI: 10.3758/APP.71.8.1683
Huitt, W. (2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology Interactive.
Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/regsys/maslow.html
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (WITS). (2014). Divided Attention.
