Melbourne, Apr 20 (ANI): Psychologists have been able to prove that people have multitasking limits by using a video, entitled 'Invisible Gorilla'.
University of Utah psychologists have expanded on the original research, trying to quantify the "working memory capacity" that allows some people to see the unexpected while others miss it.
"Attention operates in very constrained ways at times. There's only so much we can take in," ABC Science quoted Jason Watson, a University of Utah psychologist, as saying.
Watson worked on the subject with Janelle Seegmiller, a doctoral student, and David Strayer.
Clearly defining "working memory capacity" could help explain why talking on a cellphone while driving is so risky for many people, or why fighter pilots need clear warnings that they're too close to the ground.
Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois and Christopher Chabris of Union College wrote a book, 'The Invisible Gorilla: How Many Distractions Can You Handle?'
"Those limits are largely built-in. The second, more interesting aspect of these limitations is that we are largely unaware of them. We suffer from what we call the Illusion of Attention," Simons said.
"We think we see and notice far more of our world than we actually do. We assume that distinctive things, like a person in a gorilla suit, will automatically capture our attention," he wrote.
Armed with the knowledge that we can absorb only so much, automakers and designers of office software may be able to design systems to keep us alert, or help us weed out distractions.
Drivers, railroad engineers, pilots and others cannot afford to miss obstacles in their way.
On the other hand, Simons notes that concentration may not always be a bad thing. Think of the surgeon who shuts out other voices when he's saving a patient, or the athlete who filters out the roar of the crowd.
"If you were constantly noticing every little thing around you, how would you get anything done?" Simons added.
They published their findings in the journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition. (ANI)
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