| Title |
Control blindness: Why people can make incorrect inferences about the intentions of others
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, January 2017
|
| DOI | 10.3758/s13414-016-1268-3 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Andrew B. S. Willett, Richard S. Marken, Maximilian G. Parker, Warren Mansell |
| Abstract |
There is limited evidence regarding the accuracy of inferences about intention. The research described in this article shows how perceptual control theory (PCT) can provide a "ground truth" for these judgments. In a series of 3 studies, participants were asked to identify a person's intention in a tracking task where the person's true intention was to control the position of a knot connecting a pair of rubber bands. Most participants failed to correctly infer the person's intention, instead inferring complex but nonexistent goals (such as "tracing out two kangaroos boxing") based on the actions taken to keep the knot under control. Therefore, most of our participants experienced what we call "control blindness." The effect persisted with many participants even when their awareness was successfully directed at the knot whose position was under control. Beyond exploring the control blindness phenomenon in the context of our studies, we discuss its implications for psychological research and public policy. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 32 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 11 | 34% |
| United States | 4 | 13% |
| Korea, Republic of | 1 | 3% |
| Denmark | 1 | 3% |
| Turkey | 1 | 3% |
| Argentina | 1 | 3% |
| France | 1 | 3% |
| Australia | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 11 | 34% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 19 | 59% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 6 | 19% |
| Scientists | 5 | 16% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 2 | 6% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 37 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 1 | 3% |
| Unknown | 36 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 8 | 22% |
| Other | 4 | 11% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 11% |
| Researcher | 4 | 11% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 11% |
| Other | 3 | 8% |
| Unknown | 10 | 27% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 15 | 41% |
| Sports and Recreations | 3 | 8% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 1 | 3% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 3% |
| Computer Science | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 3 | 8% |
| Unknown | 13 | 35% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 62. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 27 July 2022.
All research outputs
#703,900
of 25,759,158 outputs
Outputs from Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics
#27
of 2,384 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#14,743
of 425,997 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics
#1
of 52 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,759,158 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 97th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,384 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.6. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 52 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 98% of its contemporaries.