What exactly does it mean to be inattentively blind?
Inattentional blindness exists as a mental phenomenon that most people will actually experience multiple times throughout their lives. In normal, daily life, it is not often an issue.
However, it can potentially create great dangers in other aspects of your life. This includes when you get behind the wheel of a car.
Understanding inattentional blindness
The American Psychological Association discusses inattentional blindness. This is a natural mental phenomenon designed to allow you to focus on one important task to the exclusion of distractions. This can prove very crucial when working with things that require the utmost attention, or if you happen to end up in a difficult or life-threatening situation that also requires focus.
However, even in daily life, this could cause problems. For example, a particularly notable case involved a laboratory fire in which some of the scientists working within the facility did not notice the fire in the same area they worked in due to the intensity of their focus on the task at hand.
Who does it affect?
This can also happen to drivers even in the middle of the road. For example, a driver may end up focusing on their speedometer to the point that they do not notice a light ahead turned red. This could lead to them speeding through the light into an intersection, ending up hit or hitting someone else.
While there is no real way to stop this phenomenon because of its nature as something natural and reflexive, it is still possible to combat it. You can do so by coming to know the signs of hyperfocus so you can break out of it when it appears.
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This article is meant for informational purposes only.