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How can you miss something that is right in front of you?

Looking at a scene does not mean noticing everything in it. When attention is occupied by one task, something plainly visible can go unreported, a pattern called inattentional blindness.

3–5 min

Questions you could explore

  • How is paying attention different from receiving visual information?
  • What can a selective-attention study establish about noticing?

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Psychology

Can an option nobody wants change what people choose?

Choosing between two offers can feel different when a third appears beside them. A decoy is less attractive than one option on the relevant features, but its presence does not reliably change every decision.

5–7 min

Can an option nobody wants change what people choose?

Psychology5–7 minChoosing between two offers can feel different when a third appears beside them. A decoy is less attractive than one option on the relevant features, but its presence does not reliably change every decision.

Psychology

Can a question change what someone remembers?

A question can ask for a memory while also suggesting what might have happened. Research on eyewitness reports separates what someone originally saw from information introduced afterward, making wording part of the evidence problem.

3–7 min

Can a question change what someone remembers?

Psychology3–7 minA question can ask for a memory while also suggesting what might have happened. Research on eyewitness reports separates what someone originally saw from information introduced afterward, making wording part of the evidence problem.

Why is it hard to name the ink color of the wrong color word?

Psychology4–5 minA word can be easy to read and awkward to ignore. When its meaning conflicts with its ink color, the two tasks interfere, making a simple color-naming exercise surprisingly demanding.

How can you miss something that is right in front of you? | Speech Topic | speaking.app