When Keith had to give a presentation to the entire class, his classmate Daniel decided to wear a large fake mustache to make Keith laugh. To Daniel's disappointment, when Keith gave his presentation, he seemed completely unaffected, despite looking at Daniel several times. Afterward, Keith said that he was so focused on the presentation that he didn't even notice the mustache! This scenario is an example of
A) inattentional blindness.
B) a blind spot.
C) top-down processing.
D) sensory adaptation.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario is an example of inattentional blindness because Keith was so focused on his presentation that he failed to notice the large fake mustache that Daniel was wearing. Inattentional blindness occurs when we fail to notice unexpected objects or events because our attention is directed elsewhere.

When Keith Had to Give a Presentation to the Entire