Change detection: training and transfer

PLoS One. 2013 Jun 28;8(6):e67781. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067781. Print 2013.

Abstract

Observers often fail to notice even dramatic changes to their environment, a phenomenon known as change blindness. If training could enhance change detection performance in general, then it might help to remedy some real-world consequences of change blindness (e.g. failing to detect hazards while driving). We examined whether adaptive training on a simple change detection task could improve the ability to detect changes in untrained tasks for young and older adults. Consistent with an effective training procedure, both young and older adults were better able to detect changes to trained objects following training. However, neither group showed differential improvement on untrained change detection tasks when compared to active control groups. Change detection training led to improvements on the trained task but did not generalize to other change detection tasks.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Automobile Driving
  • Education / methods
  • Humans
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Transfer, Psychology / physiology*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

The Office of Naval Research supported this project (grant number N000140710903). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.