Change Blindness
Failure to notice changes in visual scenes, especially during disruptions or when attention is elsewhere.
Also known as: Visual change blindness, Change detection failure, Scene blindness
Category: Concepts
Tags: attention, perceptions, cognition, psychology, awareness
Explanation
Change blindness is the failure to notice changes in visual scenes that occur during brief visual disruptions (like eye movements, blinks, or scene cuts). People can miss major changes - swapped conversation partners, disappearing objects, or altered colors - if the change occurs during an interruption. Change blindness reveals: we don't perceive as continuously as we think, visual memory across disruptions is limited, and attention is required to detect change. The effect is stronger when: changes are outside the focus of attention, changes occur gradually, and observers aren't expecting change. Change blindness has practical implications: eyewitness testimony is less reliable than assumed, important changes may go unnoticed, and continuous monitoring doesn't guarantee change detection. For knowledge workers, understanding change blindness suggests: actively checking for changes rather than assuming you'd notice, documenting states to compare, and not overestimating your awareness of gradual shifts.
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