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What Is Inattentional Blindness?

Written by

Rodney Crawford

in

Inattentional blindness is a psychological phenomenon where a person fails to notice something fully visible and unexpected, simply because their attention is focused elsewhere.
It doesn’t mean your eyes are closed or broken—it means your brain is busy focusing on something else, so it filters out other information, even if it’s right in front of you.

Key Points:

  • It’s not about how good your eyesight is; it’s about what your brain is paying attention to.
  • It can happen to anyone—young, old, experienced, or not.
  • It’s often called “looking without seeing.”

Classic Example: The Invisible Gorilla

The most famous demonstration of inattentional blindness is the “Invisible Gorilla” experiment.

How it worked:

  • People watched a video of students passing basketballs and were asked to count how many passes were made.
  • In the middle of the video, a person in a gorilla suit walked through the scene, stopped, pounded their chest, and walked off.
  • Result: About half the viewers never noticed the gorilla at all—because they were so focused on counting the passes.

Here’s the original Invisible Gorilla video on YouTube if you want to see it in action.

Why Does Inattentional Blindness Happen?

Your brain has a limited amount of attention.
When you concentrate on one thing (like texting, talking, or even having a deep conversation), your brain automatically filters out other things—even obvious ones.

Think of your attention like a flashlight in a dark room. Wherever you shine it, you see clearly, but everything else gets ignored, even if it’s right next to you.

Inattentional Blindness and Driving

When you’re driving, there’s a lot to pay attention to:

  • Other cars
  • Pedestrians
  • Traffic signs
  • Bicycles
  • Changes in the road (construction, potholes, etc.)

If you’re distracted—like using your phone, eating, or even daydreaming—your brain can miss something crucial. That’s why drivers often say “I never saw them!” after an accident. They looked, but their attention was somewhere else.

The University of Utah’s gorilla driving simulator study showed this in a memorable way: people talking on the phone while driving missed seeing a gorilla on the road!

Everyday Examples (Not Just Driving)

  • Walking: People texting while walking sometimes bump into things or other people.
  • Sports: A player so focused on the ball may not see another player running at them.
  • School: If you’re daydreaming, you might not notice when your teacher calls your name.

Takeaway

  • Inattentional blindness is a normal brain function, not a flaw.
  • The more distracted you are, the more likely you’ll miss something important—even if it’s big and right in front of you.
  • Staying focused, especially when doing important things like driving, can literally save lives.

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