Missing the gorilla: People prone to 'inattention blindness' have a lower working memory capacity

Monday, April 18, 2011 - 13:30 in Psychology & Sociology

Psychologists have learned why many people experience "inattention blindness" -- the phenomenon that leaves drivers on cell phones prone to traffic accidents and makes a gorilla invisible to viewers of a famous video. The answer: People who fail to see something right in front of them while they are focusing on something else have lower "working memory capacity" -- a measure of the ability to focus attention when and where needed, and on more than one thing at a time.

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