Global Transients Disrupt Visual Perception Of Changes In Scenes
R.A. Rensink, J.K. O'Regan, and J.J. Clark, Cambridge Basic Research, Nissan Research & Development, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

CBR Technical Report TR-95-6. 1995.

Abstract

Several recent investigations report that large changes in images of real-world scenes can go undetected if these are made during saccades. We show that similar effects can also be obtained without synchronization to saccades. This is done via a "flicker" technique in which an original and modified image are alternately displayed, with brief blank fields interposed. Under these conditions, many changes are difficult to detect, even over long periods of observation. We propose that attention is necessary to perceive change in an object, and that the failure to detect such changes is due to the failure to allocate attention to the objects being changed.


Back to main publications list.