Simons and Chabris

• aim of simon and chabris

  to examine inattentional blindness for an event in a dynamic scene:

  -to consider the rie of the task difficulty in detection

  -to look at the effect of a superimposed version of the displayed compared to the live version
• method of simon and chabris

  lab experiment
• participants in simon and chabris

  -228 ppts (referred to as 'observers')

  -almost all students

  -independent measures
• design and procedure of simon and chabris

  -21 experimenters tested ppts individually, used standardised script to deliver instructions on the task and followed a protocol outlining how and when to present the video and collect data

  -ppts told they'd be watching two teams of 3 players passing a basketball, they should pay attention to one team (alllocated easy or hard- overhead and underhand passes)

  -immediately after watching, ppts asked to write their counts on paper

  additional questions asked: while counting did you notice anything unusual etc.

  -if ppts say yes, they provide details, if they had heard of the exp before they were disregarded

  -ppts debriefed
• results of simon's and chabris

  -out of all 192 ppts across all conditions : 54% noticed unexpected event and 46% failed to notice unexpected event

  IVs:

  transparent- 42%

  opaque- 67%

  hard-45%

  easy-64%

  umbrella-65%

  gorilla-44%
• conclusions drawn from simon's and chabris

  -individuals fail to notice an unexpected event if they are engaged in a primary monitoring task

  -inattentional blindness occurred more frequently in superimposed displays as opposed to live action

  -the level of inattentional blindness depends on the difficulty of the primary task

  -individuals more likely to notice the unexpected events if these events are visually similar to the events they're paying attention to (black team noticed gorilla more)
• how does simon's and chabris link to the cognitive area

  -computer /brain model (input = basketball video, output= if they say unexpected event)

  -internal mental processes (shows what conditions effect attention which is an internal mental process)
• sampling bias simon's and chabris

  -large sample size

  -students (used to being tested)

  -volunteers, not representative (or given candy bar to participate)
• ethnocentrism of simon's and chabris

  -iowa usa so ethnocentric

  -universiy
• practical applications of simon's and chabris

  -shows you can't always rely on eye witness testimony

  -helps to explain inattentional blindness

  -highlights conditions that effect inattentional blindness
• reliability of simon's and chabris

  -good reliability, controls + standardised procedures

  -21 different experiments (different screen sizes)
• type of data in simon's and chabris

  -quantitative

  -no qualitative, don't get insight into why they did/not see the unexpected even
• research method used in simon's and chabris

  -lab experiment: control over extraneous varibales, standardised procedures

  -may have demand characteristics
• ethics in simon's and chabris

  -not told the aim of the experiment but no harm done

  -debrief given (video clip played again)
• validity of simon's and chabris

  -good internal, lab experiment with controls

  -poor ecological, artificial scenario because its not an everyday situation and can't be generalised