Detecting changes between two strangers: Insight from a classic change blindness paradigm

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate what factors influence whether adults detect a change between social partners in a brief interaction. In two experiments, we examined whether locale diversity, a stranger’s marginalized minority status (e.g., minority race, minority religious affiliation), and race congruence (e.g., own or other race) influenced the likelihood of being differentiated. Using a change blindness paradigm, an experimenter approached pedestrians asking for directions, then surreptitiously changed places with a confederate. After the switch, we measured whether pedestrians noticed if the person had changed. In Experiment 1, noticing rates were significantly lower for confederates belonging to a minority race compared to White confederates, but only in the more homogenous location and not in the highly diverse location. In Experiment 2, pedestrians were least likely to detect a change when confederates belonged to a religious minority and a racial minority. We discuss the important implications for prejudicial behaviour and eyewitness identification, as well as the utility of performing psychological research outside of the lab.

Looks can be deceiving: Investigating change blindness in an online setting.

“…By placing individuals in common situations (i.e., a virtual meeting where they complete online questionnaires), we are able to witness what individuals prioritize and dismiss in virtual situations. Building on prior research (Hirose & Hancock, 2007; Marquis et al, 2021), our results have implications for both social and cognitive psychology, suggesting that in-group and out-group biases can have an effect on change blindness rates. Virtual interactions are here to stay, and understanding how one’s attention may vary across virtual and real environments is of great importance.…”

“…In E1, the RAs were both of African ethnicity and none of the participant ethnicities were African, while in E2, the RAs were both of European ethnicity, and 17 participants were also of European ethnicity, which could lead to enhanced memory for faces in E2. Additionally, prior research has found that Europeans show lower rates of change blindness (Marquis et al, 2021) and are better able to recall faces without a hijab than those with one (Megreya et al, 2012), which is known as the headscarf effect; because the RAs in E1 wore a headscarf while those in E2 did not, the headscarf effect may provide some explanation for the opposite change blindness rates across the two experiments. We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the familial similarity between the E1 RAs, as they are presumably more facially similar than the RAs in E2.…”

“…This effect of ethnicity on change blindness has also been seen in naturalistic studies. For instance, in an extension to the classic Simons and Levin (1998) study, one group investigated if the ethnicity of the RAs, or if wearing religious garb (e.g., hijab vs. a hat), affected rates of change blindness (Marquis et al, 2021). They found that change blindness rates were higher when either minority RAs or RAs wearing hijabs asked for directions as compared to White RAs or RAs wearing a hat.…”