[Type here]
1 An Experimental Exploration of Change
Blindness: context congruency
ABSTRACT
1
,[Type here]
The aim of this study was to investigate participants’ ability to detect object changes
in everyday scenes and explore the impact of various types of scene changes-
congruent, incongruent and within-category changes, had on visual scene changes.
In this within participants experimental design, 250 participants were shown an
interactive slideshow, featuring 16 different scene type changes, with a baseline
condition displaying no changes. Participants were asked to click the screen when
they saw any changes. The findings of the one-way repeated measures ANOVA
revealed faster change detections in congruent displays, in comparison to within-
category and incongruent changes. This finding emphasises the influence of context
congruency on the awareness of perception and visual change detection.
113
2
, [Type here]
INTRODUCTION
As human beings, we often assume our ability to interpret the world around us.
However, this assumption within the field of visual perception can limit the prompt
detection of change. This cognitive phenomenon is identified as change blindness
and is characterised by the inability to perceive alterations within visual scenes.
Can we attend to more than one cognitive task? As tasks become more complex,
attentional demands increase. Broadbent (1958, cited in Briggs and Hole,2015)
suggests that attention is a selective filter, which can impact task performance
(Kahenman,1973, cited in Briggs and Hole,2015). Donaldson and Yamamoto (2016)
explored onset-primacy, revealing that both top-down and bottom-up manipulations
couldn’t override the prioritisation of new visual stimuli in visual detection. This
contributes to understanding attentional processes, highlighting the tendency for
human attention to be more directed to new visual stimuli rather than existing stimuli.
Research into visual perception and attention, illustrated by Simons and Chabris
(1999, cited in Briggs and Davies,2015) provides insights into real life instances of
change and inattentional blindness. Their work contributes to our understanding of
the limitations of attentional resources when detecting crucial information and
environmental changes.
Considering the constraints of attention, research has explored the detection of
changes within visual scenes when attention is intervened. Rensink et al (1997, cited
in Briggs and Hole,2015) used an inattentional blink, while O’ Regan (1999, cited in
Briggs and Hole,2015) applied ‘mudsplashes’. Both these studies suggest that
abrupt changes to environments can captivate attention yet can pose challenges for
the detections of changes. Rensink observed higher reaction times for central
stimulus changes compared to marginal changes during interventions. In contrast, O’
Regan found that removing interventions led to increased attention and detection
rates. However, applying intervenes of ‘mudsplashes’ diverted attention, resulting in
less salient detection of object changes.
Considering the roles of attention to detection, context congruency can further have
influence on the detection of changes within visual scenes. LaPointe et al (2013)
focused on the interplay between attentional processes, context congruency and the
visual requirements of change detection. This study contributes to the complex
3
1 An Experimental Exploration of Change
Blindness: context congruency
ABSTRACT
1
,[Type here]
The aim of this study was to investigate participants’ ability to detect object changes
in everyday scenes and explore the impact of various types of scene changes-
congruent, incongruent and within-category changes, had on visual scene changes.
In this within participants experimental design, 250 participants were shown an
interactive slideshow, featuring 16 different scene type changes, with a baseline
condition displaying no changes. Participants were asked to click the screen when
they saw any changes. The findings of the one-way repeated measures ANOVA
revealed faster change detections in congruent displays, in comparison to within-
category and incongruent changes. This finding emphasises the influence of context
congruency on the awareness of perception and visual change detection.
113
2
, [Type here]
INTRODUCTION
As human beings, we often assume our ability to interpret the world around us.
However, this assumption within the field of visual perception can limit the prompt
detection of change. This cognitive phenomenon is identified as change blindness
and is characterised by the inability to perceive alterations within visual scenes.
Can we attend to more than one cognitive task? As tasks become more complex,
attentional demands increase. Broadbent (1958, cited in Briggs and Hole,2015)
suggests that attention is a selective filter, which can impact task performance
(Kahenman,1973, cited in Briggs and Hole,2015). Donaldson and Yamamoto (2016)
explored onset-primacy, revealing that both top-down and bottom-up manipulations
couldn’t override the prioritisation of new visual stimuli in visual detection. This
contributes to understanding attentional processes, highlighting the tendency for
human attention to be more directed to new visual stimuli rather than existing stimuli.
Research into visual perception and attention, illustrated by Simons and Chabris
(1999, cited in Briggs and Davies,2015) provides insights into real life instances of
change and inattentional blindness. Their work contributes to our understanding of
the limitations of attentional resources when detecting crucial information and
environmental changes.
Considering the constraints of attention, research has explored the detection of
changes within visual scenes when attention is intervened. Rensink et al (1997, cited
in Briggs and Hole,2015) used an inattentional blink, while O’ Regan (1999, cited in
Briggs and Hole,2015) applied ‘mudsplashes’. Both these studies suggest that
abrupt changes to environments can captivate attention yet can pose challenges for
the detections of changes. Rensink observed higher reaction times for central
stimulus changes compared to marginal changes during interventions. In contrast, O’
Regan found that removing interventions led to increased attention and detection
rates. However, applying intervenes of ‘mudsplashes’ diverted attention, resulting in
less salient detection of object changes.
Considering the roles of attention to detection, context congruency can further have
influence on the detection of changes within visual scenes. LaPointe et al (2013)
focused on the interplay between attentional processes, context congruency and the
visual requirements of change detection. This study contributes to the complex
3
