Inattentional blindness

Arien Mack, Irvin Rock

MIT Press. A Bradford Book, 1998 - Psychology - 273 pages

Many people believe that merely by opening their eyes, they see everything in their field of view; in fact, a line of psychological research has been taken as evidence of the existence of so-called preattentional perception. In Inattentional Blindness, Arien Mack and Irvin Rock make the claim that there is no such thing - that there is no conscious perception of the visual world without attention to it. The authors present a narrative chronicle of their research. Thus the reader follows the trail that led to the final conclusions, learning why initial hypotheses and explanations were discarded or revised, and how new questions arose along the way. The phenomenon of inattentional blindness has theoretical importance for cognitive psychologists studying perception, attention, and consciousness, as well as for philosophers and neuroscientists interested in the problem of consciousness.

What people are saying

Review: Inattentional Blindness (Cognitive Psychology)

User Review  - Michael E. - Goodreads

This is more of a text book for people interested in visual perception and cognitive psychology. The foundation of the work demonstrates that conscious perception requires focused attention. More ...

Review: Inattentional Blindness (Cognitive Psychology)

User Review  - Erica - Goodreads

This book was perfect for what I bought it for.

About the author

Arien Mack is Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research, editor of the journal Social Research, and editor of In Time of Plague: The History and Social Consequences of Lethal Epidemic Disease, also published by NYU Press.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Inattentional blindness; A Bradford Book; Cognitive Psychology Series; MIT Press / Bradford Books Series In Cognitive Psychology; MIT Press-Bradford Books Series in Cognitive Psychology
• Authors: Arien Mack, Irvin Rock
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: MIT Press. A Bradford Book, 1998
• ISBN: 0262133393, 9780262133395
• Length: 273 pages
• Subjects: Psychology / Cognitive Psychology; Psychology / Neuropsychology