From the abstract, the authors state that the previous documentation has made attempts to examine visual changes that occur between the views of a scene. The reviews have suggested that the observed variation contain limited details regarding the actual object. Based on the fact that the previous research does not correctly provide an assessment of the capacity to give a representation of the objects in the real world, the authors sets up a study that aims at examining and rejecting the idea that change blindness can be as a consequence of passive viewing of a two-dimensional display (Simons " Levin, 1998, p. 644). Besides, the study also has secondary aims like the effect of the state of motion on the interaction and visualisation and the association between the social group membership and a successful detection. By using the experimental approach, the research also aimed at showing that the variations to the attended objects may not be detected in a similar scene so long as they occur in a natural, real-world interaction. These aims are explicitly discussed in the discussion parts of the article.
Indicate whether or not the study was theoretically motivated
From the introductory sections of the paper, the author attempts to provide a review of the previous experimental studies on the same subject matter (Simons " Levin, 1998, p. 644). Such experiments are used to find out the gaps in the topic and hence motivate the study. From the reviews, it is evident that individuals tend to fail in detecting the changes to photographic representations of objects and the scenes of the real world, especially when the detection of the retinal differences is not under consideration. The same findings are supported by the recent work of Song et al. (2001) which was drawn on the classification of change detection using the Landsat TM data. Even though the work was based on the data analysis and simulation, the results were in agreement with this study’s hypothesis. The main point in the previous studies is that the observers of a scene may fail to detect changes to the visual details of the eye movement or a flashed blank screen is involved in masking in a retinally localizable information signalling. Indeed, the studies on change blindness suggest that observers may not have the actual visual representation of their world from one view to the next (Smits " Annoni, 2000, p. 1485).
It is true that all the previous studies on the change blindness (before this publication was made) and the scenery exposure were mediated by the photographs and the displays from the computers and the television monitors. However, the same details of a scene can as well be represented fully through a real-world interaction with the objects. From the results of the previous studies and the aims of this study, there seems to be a gap in the existing literature that the article aimed at filling. The authors intend to fill the gap by assessing the possibility of taking the change blindness to the real world. Despite this original approach to the subject matter, there are also aspects of the article, and the study at large that may require further clarification in as far as the theoretical perspective is concerned.
Firstly, it is not clear how the element of sample selection was considered in identifying the pedestrian to interview for the study. In the first experiment, the authors state that the samples were just picked without giving a prior notice of the intended interview. Under normal circumstances, the responses provided by the interviewees would be affected by other variables like the emotional status, the importance that one assigns to his or her journey vis a vis the interview session, and the other social aspects like language barrier (Smits " Annoni, 2000). The experiments were also done by different people who carried the door at different time intervals with the assumption that the change detection failures would be uniform. The methodology is a weakness of the experiment since not all the experimenters are likely to do it in a manner that conforms with the objectives of the research. Under the discussion section, the authors fail to explain the effects of such assumptions in the final results of the study.
Secondly, the authors build up an argument regarding the relationship between age and the ability to detect changes through observation. Even though this is a good argument that is worth consideration according to (Pashler, 1988, p. 370), it is not explicitly stated as one of the objectives of the study. Regarding the same, the authors further note that the ages of the experimenters and the interviewees were correlated to the extent that those who were older, failed to detect the change variations. The article explains that the difference is because younger pedestrians are likely to put more effort encoding the aspects of the object that would differentiate the experimenters due to the variations between generations. In the case of the older pedestrians, the experimenters would be encoded without much attention to the differentiating features, and instead pay attention to the social groups (Rensink, 2002, p. 246). The explanations are anchored on the ideas of social psychology that assert that members of the ‘in-groups' are treated differently from the members of the "out-groups". The analogy is right; however, it may not be used as the only foundation upon which the experimental results are explained since theories have flaws, due to the many assumptions involved.
Thirdly, the introduction is represented in the form of a literature review, but some of the materials lack the academic relevance to the nature of the study. That is, the study is experimental, but the article like Linville, Fischer, " Salovey (1989), but has been cited was based on simulation; thus, the interpretation may not provide the exact relevance to an observation-based experimental kind of study.
Methodology description and Appropriateness
The authors employed an innovative design which was done in two stages. The initial experiment involved the selection of a sample consisting of 15 pedestrians within the campus setting. The participants were either approached as individuals or as a pair. The focus of the first experiment was on determining whether or not failures related to change detection have a basis on the passive nature of the mediated stimuli.
On the other hand, the second experiment was to examine the role of social group membership in change detection. 12 pedestrians were used instead of 15, but these were the same ones who had been used in experiment 1 and could detect the change variations. The test was now done in a construction site, with the experimenters dressed like the constructors. Similar questions to those asked in experiment 1 were repeated, and the identity of the interviewers revealed as soon as the questioning was done. Many potential problems accompany the methodology, and the authors address some.
In the first experiment, 15 of different age groups pedestrians were used within the campus setting, but the number per age classification is not given. However, the conclusions are drawn based on a classified age group system. The authors only use the age factor based on the assumption that it is likely to affect the judgement ability of an individual (Song et al., 2001). The other problem with the design was the identification of the pedestrians. If the selection was made within the setting of a University, then it is most probable that the people interviewed may be students who are a little bit more informed than the other population of the country. Therefore, the results obtained could be biased since the sample used was not a representative of the total population. As a result, it becomes challenging to know whether the findings would be used as a generalisation of the other areas of the country. Also, replication of the study becomes very difficult (Pashler, 1988). Indeed, the elements of the social class are one that has a bearing on every experimental research, and therefore the researchers ought to have included as a limitation.
Briefly outline the researchers' conclusions and discuss whether the results of the study supported them.
From the results of the study, the authors make four fundamental conclusions. Firstly, essential changes to a scene should be those that are easy to verbalise so that they can cross the boundary for detection. Secondly, simultaneous viewing should allow for discrimination of the original and changed objects to avoid camouflaging of the change, that would otherwise make it difficult to detect even in the presence of the original and the modified version (Simons " Levin, 1998, p. 648). Thirdly, changes should influence the immediate needs of the perceiver which are functional. Fourthly, younger subjects have a higher potential of predicting change detection than their older counterparts. The first and second conclusions are supported by the results in experiment 2 which indicated that the shirt colours black and blue have the primary names. Even though the justification for the third conclusion is not very clear, the last finding was supported by reading out a description of the psychology event to a group of 50 students.
Indicate whether the study was ethical
From the writings of the article, there seem to be no visible unethical activities. However, given the third conclusion has not been justified, the integrity of the work could be questionable due to misinterpretations by the authors.
References
Pashler, H., 1988. Familiarity and visual change detection. Perception " Psychophysics, 44(4), pp. 369-378.
Rensink, R. A., 2002. Change detection. Annual review of psychology, 53(1), pp. 245-277.
Simons, D. J. " Levin, D. T., 1998. Failure to detect changes to people during a real-world interaction. Psychonomic Bulletin " Review, 5(4), pp. 644-649.
Smits, P. C. " Annoni, A., 2000. Toward specification-driven change detection. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 38(3), pp. 1484-1488.
Song, C. et al., 2001. Classification and change detection using Landsat TM data: when and how to correct atmospheric effects?. Remote sensing of Environment, 75(2), pp. 230-244.
