Brain and Body

Take the Test That Shows How Good We Are at Ignoring Things

March 1, 2016 | Johannes Van Zijl

Find the T (it won't be red)
Photo credit: Johns Hopkins University

Find the letter ‘T’  (it won’t be red).

New research from Johns Hopkins University has found that, with a little practice, the art of ignoring can be used to improve search performance.

Although previous studies concluded that the attempt to ignore irrelevant information slowed people down in search tests, the latest findings from Johns Hopkins University found that when people are given the opportunity to practice the art of ignoring, they are able to search faster and more efficiently later on.

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In two experiments, the researchers asked participants to search for certain letters on a computer screen, similar to the test in the video below. They had to find either a capital letter “F” or a “B”, which was mixed among other letters of different colors.  In some cases the participants were told the “F” or “B” would not be a certain color, like red. Other times they were given no color hints about the letter.

When participants were given a single color to ignore throughout the experiment, their reaction time slowed down at first, but after practicing ignoring the color hint in about 100 trails, they were able to find the target letters much faster than participants who weren’t given any color to eliminate. Interestingly, the more information participants were able to ignore, the faster they found the target letters.

In a press release, lead author of the study, Corbin A. Cunningham, said, "Individuals who explicitly ignore distracting information improve their visual search performance, a critical skill for professional searchers, like radiologists and airport baggage screeners,”

The research has offered new insights into how the mind processes conflicting and difficult information, as well as the ability to ignore irrelevant information that forms a key part in our ability to pay attention. The findings will be published in the upcoming journal Psychological Science.  

In the video below, the researchers describe the art of ignoring test:

 

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