“…The secondary more general goal was to determine the effects of eyeblinks on people’s ability to detect new items. For example, Doughty (2001) concluded that depending on task type (reading, gaze, conversation), spontaneous eyeblink frequency could range from 1.4 to 32.5 blinks per minute (see also Al-Abdulmunem & Briggs, 1999; Garcia, Pinto, Barbosa, & Cruz, 2011; Schaefer, Schaefer, Abib, & José, 2009; Stern, Walrath, & Goldstein, 1984; Tsubota et al, 1996). However, despite this apparent frequency, we do not normally perceive the occurrence of eyeblinks in our everyday functioning, most likely because vision is suppressed during an eyeblink (e.g., Volkmann, Riggs, & Moore, 1980), especially during the initial stages of eye closure (Volkman, Riggs, Ellicott, & Moore, 1982).…”