Age effects on inattentional blindness: Implications for driving

Cary Stothart, Walter Boot, Daniel Simons, Neil Charness, Timothy Wright

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

We may fail to notice things in our environment because our attention is directed somewhere else, a phenomenon called inattentional blindness. Our susceptibility to inattentional blindness increases as we age. We explored three potential moderators of the age and inattentional blindness relationship: (1) the spatial proximity of the unexpected object to our focus of attention; (2) the match between the features of the unexpected object and those we have prioritized—our attention set; and (3) the salience of the unexpected object. Using a large sample of participants, we found no evidence that any of these moderate the effect that age has on inattentional blindness; the effect of age is robust. We discuss the implications for older drivers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationHuman Aspects of IT for the Aged Population
Subtitle of host publicationHealthy and Active Aging - 2nd International Conference, ITAP 2016 and Held as Part of HCI International 2016, Proceedings
EditorsJia Zhou, Gavriel Salvendy
PublisherSpringer
Pages441-448
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9783319399485
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016
Event2nd International Conference on Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population, ITAP 2016 and held as a part of 18th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2016 - Toronto, Canada
Duration: Jul 17 2016Jul 22 2016

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume9755
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Other

Other2nd International Conference on Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population, ITAP 2016 and held as a part of 18th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2016
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto
Period7/17/167/22/16

Keywords

  • Aging
  • Attention
  • Attention set
  • Attentional breadth
  • Inattentional blindness
  • Salience

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • General Computer Science

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