Sensitivity to visual features in inattentional blindness.
eLife May 19, 2025 Makaela Nartker, Chaz Firestone, Howard Egeth et al. 9 citations
In inattentional blindness, people fail to report visible stimuli when their attention is elsewhere, famously missing a gorilla. However, the standard measure—asking if they noticed anything unusual—may be biased. In the largest set of inattentional blindness studies to date, participants who denied noticing a stimulus could still report its location, color, and shape, showing that perceptual information remains accessible. Introducing absent trials revealed that observers are biased to report not noticing, essentially playing it safe. These findings provide the strongest evidence yet of significant residual visual sensitivity in inattentional blindness and challenge the claim that awareness requires attention.