If a sudden anomaly occurs on a display but attention is elsewhere, this is an example of which phenomenon?

If a sudden anomaly occurs on a display but attention is elsewhere, this is an example of which phenomenon?

• A. Change blindness
• B. Perception
• C. Inattentional blindness
• D. Sensation

Answer: (C)

Inattentional blindness occurs when your attention is focused on something else, so you fail to notice an unexpected stimulus that appears in plain sight. In the scenario, a sudden anomaly shows up on the display, but your attention is elsewhere, so the anomaly goes unnoticed. This differs from change blindness, which is about missing changes in a scene when you’re not focusing on the right area; here the stimulus is new rather than a change you failed to detect. It also sits at a higher level than sensation (raw sensory input) or perception (interpreting that input): the lapse happens because attention isn’t allocated to the new event, so it doesn’t reach conscious awareness.

Inattentional blindness occurs when your attention is focused on something else, so you fail to notice an unexpected stimulus that appears in plain sight. In the scenario, a sudden anomaly shows up on the display, but your attention is elsewhere, so the anomaly goes unnoticed. This differs from change blindness, which is about missing changes in a scene when you’re not focusing on the right area; here the stimulus is new rather than a change you failed to detect. It also sits at a higher level than sensation (raw sensory input) or perception (interpreting that input): the lapse happens because attention isn’t allocated to the new event, so it doesn’t reach conscious awareness.