Peer Review

Try It - Selective Attention

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Reviewed:: Apr 11, 2016 by Psychology

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Ratings

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Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

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Overview:: The Try It section of Daniel Simons' YouTube channel presents classic demonstrations of selective attention. A series of videos allows viewers to experience change blindness and the illusion of memory (i.e., we expect that we will remember presented changes). The effect is discussed by Daniel Simons across a variety of videos on the site.
Type of Material:: Simulation; video demonstration of a single concept
Recommended Uses:: • This learning material is useful for students in Introduction to Psychology, Sensation & Perception, and Cognitive Psychology as well as anyone interested in how we do not notice all presented visual information. • The videos would be best utilized as an in-class activity. The videos are very brief (most are approximately several minutes in length) and can be viewed/completed by an entire class.
Technical Requirements:: The videos are hosted by YouTube and are easily accessed via multiple browsers.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Learners will: 1) Experience overconfidence in memory accuracy; 2) Understand change blindness; 3) Explore factors influencing the accuracy of our memory.
Target Student Population:: • Students taking Introduction to Psychology at any level are a target audience, as is anyone studying attention, perception, and cognition. • High school or undergraduate students studying memory (amenable to a general psychology course or a course dedicated to memory) would derive the most benefit. The demonstration is likely too simplistic for advanced students.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None.

Content Quality

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Strengths:: • The examples provided clearly explain change blindness. One can use just one of the videos or several. The explanation by Daniel Simons (where he wears a gorilla suit) is particularly effective in that the use of humor will help those watching it recall the effects. • The videos offer a clear and succinct demonstration of a single topic (change blindness and its impact on memory). The demonstrations allow students to experience change blindness for themselves (and to explore how accurate they believed their memory was prior to seeing the overview of all the changes).
Concerns:: None.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

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Strengths:: • The effectiveness of multiple videos is that even if one has seen the original, there will still be an effect (e.g., even a knowledgeable audience misses an unexpected effect in one of the videos). • The videos are effective for group use in classes of any size. The material is clearly related to psychological concepts and provides both demonstration and explanation.
Concerns:: None.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

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Strengths:: • Because multiple videos are available, one can use the videos even if the audience previously has seen some of these effects. • The videos are clear, intuitive and brief. Students will enjoy participating in the exercise and will likely be "tricked" by their own change blindness. The videos provide a good demonstration of the concept and lead nicely into course discussions on the impact of change blindness in our everyday lives.
Concerns:: None

Other Issues and Comments:: • Using the videos will show how there is much in our environment to which we do not attend, and information that is not attended to is neither noticed nor remembered.
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