The effects of attention and memory representations on change blindness during global motion direction transients in traffic-scene images

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.0809

Abstract

Abstract:

Change blindness is one of the main causes of human factors errors in traffic operations, posing a serious threat to public safety. This study employed an experimental paradigm of global motion direction transients to induce change blindness. Through three experiments, it systematically examined the effects of attention and memory representation on change blindness in traffic scene images during turning. Experiment 1 manipulated the movement speed, movement path, and change type of the scenes. Among these, movement speed might affect change detection by intensifying competition for attentional resources at the moment of turning. The results showed that faster movement significantly exacerbated change blindness only under turning conditions, with no significant effect under straight motion conditions. Experiment 2 controlled movement speed while manipulating movement time (pre-change), movement path, and change type. Here, the duration of the original scene presentation might influence change detection by enhancing the precision of memory representations. It was found that longer encoding time for memory representations could alleviate change blindness within a limited range. Experiment 3 controlled both movement speed and time while manipulating movement path and change type under different levels of expectation, which were established based on the probability distribution of turning directions along the path. The results indicated that individuals demonstrated better detection performance for target changes under high-expectation conditions. In summary, change blindness during the turning motion of traffic scene images stems from the combined effects of attentional resource competition and the limited nature of memory representations. Furthermore, expectation may endogenously modulate both the allocation of attention and the effective construction of memory representations, thereby influencing the occurrence of change blindness. These findings support and extend the attention-representation theory of change blindness.

Key words: change blindness, visual search, motion-induced blindness (MIB), attention, memory representation

REN Ruyue, LIU Yu, LAN Jijun, LI Yuan, YOU Xuqun. (2026). The effects of attention and memory representations on change blindness during global motion direction transients in traffic-scene images. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 58(5), 809-826.

Figures/Tables 12

Figure 1. Schematic Visualization of Traffic Scene Complexity.
Note. The left panel shows the input image, and the right panel displays the predicted complexity heatmap. The number at the bottom indicates the complexity score predicted by ICNet. A color version is available online; hereinafter the same.

Figure 2. Schematic Illustration of Change Types in Traffic Scenes.
Note. The image was divided into eight regions after the change, each corresponding to keys 1-8 on the number pad.

Figure 3. Movement Paths in Experiment 1 (turning motion vs. straight motion).
Note. At position, an instantaneous change in the scene is triggered. The same applies below.

Figure 4. Flowchart of the Experiment.

Figure 5. A: Box-Violin Plot of the Effect of Movement Speed on Change Detection Accuracy Rate under Different Movement Paths. B: The Effects of Movement Speed and Change Type on Change Detection Accuracy Rate in the Turning Motion and Straight Motion Groups. Note. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, hereinafter the same.

Figure 6. A: Box-Violin Plot of the Effect of Movement Speed on Reaction Time for Correct Change Detection under Different Movement Paths. B: The Effects of Movement Speed and Change Type on Reaction Time for Correct Change Detection in the Turning Motion and Straight Motion Groups.

Figure 7. Turning Movement Paths in Experiment 2 (short movement time vs. long movement time).

Figure 8. A: Box-Violin Plot of the Effect of Movement Time on Change Detection Accuracy Rate under Different Movement Paths. B: The Effects of Movement Time and Change Type on Change Detection Accuracy Rate in the Turning Motion and Straight Motion Groups.

Figure 9. A: Box-Violin Plot of the Effect of Movement Time on Reaction Time for Correct Change Detection under Different Movement Paths. B: The Effects of Movement Time and Change Type on Reaction Time for Correct Change Detection in the Turning Motion and Straight Motion Groups.

Figure 10. Movement Paths in Experiment 3.

Figure 11. A: Box-Violin Plot of Change Detection Accuracy Rate under Different Movement Paths. B: The Effects of Movement Path and Change Type on Change Detection Accuracy Rate.

Figure 12. A: Box-Violin Plot of Reaction Time for Correct Change Detection under Different Movement Paths. B: The Effects of Movement Path and Change Type on Reaction Time for Correct Change Detection.

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