What phenomenon occurs when attention is so focused that other visible stimuli are not perceived?

The phenomenon where attention is so intensely focused that other visible stimuli are not perceived is known as inattentional blindness. This concept refers to the failure to notice a fully visible, but unexpected object or event because attention was engaged on another task or object.

In studies showcasing this phenomenon, when individuals are asked to focus on a specific task, such as tracking moving objects or identifying certain changes, they often overlook significant changes or unexpected items in their visual field. This demonstrates how limited cognitive resources can lead to a lack of awareness about environmental details that are not the focus of one's attention.

Inattentional blindness highlights the limitations of our perceptual capacities and shows how selective attention can create blind spots in our awareness. This can be seen in various scenarios, such as the famous experiment involving a basketball game where viewers are asked to count the number of passes; many fail to notice a person in a gorilla suit walking through the scene.

This concept is distinct from change detection or change blindness, which pertain to noticing differences in visual stimuli across time or failing to notice changes, respectively, but do not directly address the lack of awareness due to focused attention on a specific task. Covert attention involves directing attention without overt movements and does not necessarily result in