Alvaro
Sep 28th, 2006

Attention and working memory

Do we have selective attention? Do we all have "attention deficits"? or are they "working memory" challenges?

basketballLet's try this little experiment, conceived by Simons and Chabris for their classic study on sustained inattentional blindness (1999).You will watch a brief video clip, and your challenge is to count the total number of times that the basketballs change hands.

Click here to view the Basketball Experiment clip (To view it, you will need to have Java active in your browser. The video is fairly large, 7.5MB, and it might take a while to finish loading.)

You can read about the fascinating results here.

Credit for pic: Haines World

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61 Responses to “Attention and working memory”
  1. # Brain and Mind Fitness Programs: resiliency, on top of attention, memory… « SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolutionon 04 Oct 2006 at 11:21

    [...] You may also try an enlightening experiment on our habits. [...]

  2. # SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution » Blog Archive » Brain and Mind Fitness Programs: resiliency, on top of attention, memory…on 28 Oct 2006 at 7:45

    [...] You may also try an enlightening experiment on our habits. [...]

  3. # SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution » Blog Archive » Well-deserved break: Top 10 Brain Teaserson 01 Dec 2006 at 8:33

    [...] 2. Can you count?: Basketball attention experiment [...]

  4. # Well-deserved break: Top 10 Brain Teasers « SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolutionon 09 Dec 2006 at 8:55

    [...] 2. Can you count?: Basketball attention experiment [...]

  5. # Paul M. Hoffmanon 14 Dec 2006 at 11:09

    So... how many times did the dam kids pass the balls around? I counted 37. Might I add, what the hell was that dam gorilla doing walking around in a highscool, someone could have been killed. Gorilla's belong in a jungle or exploited in a zoo. LOL

  6. # Alvaroon 15 Dec 2006 at 3:48

    A gorilla? and did you also see the flying pig? :-)

  7. # » Well-deserved break: Top 10 Brain Teasers   « Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains     on 30 Jan 2007 at 11:07

    [...] 2. Can you count?: Basketball attention experiment [...]

  8. # Kitsuneon 02 Feb 2007 at 1:43

    Did anyone else notice the dancing Gorilla passing by? O_o

  9. # Brian Egedyon 25 May 2007 at 11:42

    well, yes, i noticed the gorilla. it got in the way of several of the handoffs and i was quite annoyed. i counted 28.

  10. # Stephanieon 07 Jun 2007 at 4:56

    I saw the gorilla and I counted 31 handoffs.

  11. # gon 14 Aug 2007 at 4:46

    nooooooooo, I did not see the damn gorilla (until I went back and watched it again!)
    And I had 30 to 31 handoffs! They did not ask me to count the gorillas...just the hand offs!

  12. # Alvaroon 15 Aug 2007 at 10:49

    Happy to see that all of you are enjoying the experiment :-)

  13. # yolon 22 Aug 2007 at 11:02

    25?

  14. # yonon 13 Sep 2007 at 4:58

    30?

  15. # Alvaroon 13 Sep 2007 at 7:17

    No, there was only 1 Gorilla...you would probably have noticed 25 or 30 of them :-)

  16. # » Happiness and Brain Wellness   « Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains     on 29 Sep 2007 at 9:28

    [...] 2) Why the use of "can"? Well, this reminds me a great quote by Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramon y Cajal, who said that "Every man can, if he so desires, become the sculptor of his own brain". Each of us has immense potential. However, in the same way that Michaelangelo’s David didn’t spontaneously appear out-of-the-blue one day, becoming happier requires attention, intention, and actual practice. Attention: Every second, you choose what to pay attention to. You can focus on the negative and thereby train your brain to focus on the negative. You can choose to watch TV five hours in a row, thereby training your brain to become a passive spectator of events. Or you can do the opposite. Attention works outwards and inwards: you can pay attention to your own meaningful emotions or try to ignore them. Many times we are not aware of the choices we are really making and their implications, which is why practices like mindfulness meditation can help. Try this experiment on selective attention. [...]

  17. # Espenon 02 Oct 2007 at 12:28

    I saw the gorilla, I thought it was there to psyche me out so I would miss some passes. I counted 37 passes, how many are there really?

  18. # Studenton 04 Oct 2007 at 3:50

    My AP Pysch teacher showed us this today, but he told us to ignore the people in black shirts completely and only count the passes made by the people in the white shirts. As a result of this selective attention experiment, only 4 people in our 30+ person class (I was one of them) saw the gorilla on the first time around. Very amusing.

  19. # Alvaroon 04 Oct 2007 at 6:09

    Hello student, great to hear there is a connection between our blog and AP Psych classes!

    were you able to count the passes as well?

  20. # Relentless Media » 7 Tips to Deal with TMI (Too Much Information)on 09 Oct 2007 at 2:02

    [...] 6. Make sure to keep stress and anxiety under control. Why is this important? Because stress can narrow your focus of attention too much and make you miss the big picture. Why is this so? Well, imagine you are a zebra about to be attacked by a lion. Your only priority now is to run as fast as possible and try to survive. It is not the time for complex thinking, for learning new skills. In fact, most of the blood flow that usualy goes to the brain gets diverted and gets sent to the zebra's main muscles, to run faster. And the same happens with humans, when we see a real or imaginary "lion": we can not think clearly. For example, try this experiment: Attention and working memory. [...]

  21. # » Brain Teasers and Games for adults, with a neuroscience angle: our Top 50    « Brain Fitness Revolution at SharpBrains     on 16 Oct 2007 at 10:43

    [...] 2. Can you count?: Basketball attention experiment (Interactive). [...]

  22. # Keetsa Mattress Store - Keetsa! Blog - Eco-Friendly and Green News » Blog Archive » 50 Fun Brain Gameson 17 Oct 2007 at 6:33

    [...] 2. Can you count?: Basketball attention experiment (Interactive). [...]

  23. # mikaalon 18 Oct 2007 at 1:43

    31

  24. # FreeBeeon 18 Oct 2007 at 6:31

    I counted around 30 hand offs, but I'm SURE I may have missed a few. There was an APE in the way.

    Not that I registered her as such - I wasn't paying attention to anything but the balls - until I read the article and then watched it a second time. In fact, the first time, I noticed that ppl were constantly blocking view one way or another... The fact that an Ape joined in to help them confuse me, escape my attention completely.

  25. # JFargoon 25 Oct 2007 at 8:25

    Now, granted, I'm working while doing this, but I think I counted 32 passes.

    Where can we get the answer?

  26. # jon 25 Oct 2007 at 11:23

    My AP PSYCH teacher showed this to us yesterday. Amazingg. No one in the saw the gorilla. crazy stuff

  27. # Scotton 27 Oct 2007 at 6:02

    I counted 30 passes but did not notice the gorilla until I read the comments.

  28. # jmaloneon 28 Nov 2007 at 5:58

    I count'd 28 but the gorilla freaked me out so i missed a few passes...but then when i saw the duck .....

  29. # Το πείραμα με τον γορίλλα | άκυρο.net :: the blogon 28 Nov 2007 at 6:17

    [...] Μεταξύ άλλων links, πέτυχα και το παραπάνω πείραμα, μπορείτε να δείτε το video στο παρακάτω post με τίτλο Attention and working memory. [...]

  30. # Jimmyon 29 Nov 2007 at 4:57

    Well, I only counted 29 passes, and like someone else said, I saw the gorilla, but thought it was there to distract from counting the passes.

    After reading the website this individual linked to, I realize that the point isn't to count the balls accurately (will probably never get a straight answer on that one) but to show that most people will just simply miss the gorilla.

    So yay if you saw it the first time, and even yay if you had to be told!

  31. # Martí Cabréon 01 Dec 2007 at 5:32

    32 gorillas

  32. # deeption 07 Dec 2007 at 7:27

    i counted 22 passes. what's the correct answer.

  33. # Dumbstruckon 12 Dec 2007 at 9:27

    I can't believe I NEVER saw the Gorilla! All of you who did see it, bravo! And I thought I was so smart...

  34. # Abhijiton 13 Dec 2007 at 7:35

    I have noticed 25 times hands change of the basketball.

  35. # Michaelon 17 Dec 2007 at 10:34

    I did see the gorilla but it didn't have anything to do with what I was doing so I ignored it after noticing it come in. : P

    I counted 31.

  36. # Gerardon 19 Dec 2007 at 8:46

    This is the most fun reading a blog I've had in ages. firefox crashed on two attempts so I did not even see the video!!

  37. # Alvaroon 21 Dec 2007 at 3:03

    Hello everyone, great to see so much activity! we are looking for similar fun experiments to offer, given the success of this one.

    Gerard, the video is back up!

  38. # Michaelon 31 Dec 2007 at 11:46

    I counted 31 handoffs and I saw the gorilla. What does all of this mean and how can I use it? How do I develop a better brain?

  39. # Alvaroon 31 Dec 2007 at 5:02

    Hello Michael, this is simply an experiment on how perception works. You may have seen in this thread that a number of people didn't see the gorilla. The paper we link to explain it in much more detail , and its implications in daily life-like missing the big picture when we are too focused on details.

    How to develpp a better brain? well, there are may places to start, but let me suggest our home page, www.sharpbrains.com. Every person comes from a different place, and has different priorities, so we cannot give you a "recipe" but offer you good quality and comprehensive information.

    And Happy 2008!

  40. # valon 01 Jan 2008 at 9:41

    I was aware of some image that briefly interfered with my ability to concentrate and count. My brain sort of shooed it away. When I watched again after reading the results, the human in a gorilla suit was clear as day. Food for thought. . .

  41. # Emilyon 08 Jan 2008 at 12:11

    Wow:)
    Yehh Saw Gorilla :D
    Good Test :)
    I Saw About 29-33
    Its Hard :D
    x

  42. # keithon 21 Jan 2008 at 3:07

    Does no one make mention of the two very large S's on the walls? I did not notice those the first time I saw the video either. :)

    I counted 31 or 32

  43. # Alvaroon 21 Jan 2008 at 5:27

    Great point, Keith...we need to contact Simons and Chabris to do some follow-up experiments :-)

  44. # KSon 22 Jan 2008 at 9:37

    I saw the Gorilla and counted 32-35. Where do I find the actual number of passes ?

  45. # CRon 23 Jan 2008 at 3:04

    WAS IT A REAL GORRILA?

  46. # miraon 23 Jan 2008 at 2:04

    I saw the gorilla. Frist I looked at the basketballs and I tried to follow them, than I just relaxed and decided to just count the times when I saw them in the air without following the students (when they have the ball in their hand).

  47. # Kaition 28 Jan 2008 at 12:09

    31 + gorilla? lol

  48. # stuarton 19 Feb 2008 at 3:17

    For those that want the number, it seems easiest to count each 'team' seperately: white pass 14 times, black 19. I am very confident on the white count, slightly less so on the black team because twice they pass the ball while all three are standing behind each other (which is probably why so many see only 31 when having to track white at the same time)

  49. # stuarton 19 Feb 2008 at 3:25

    Btw, I think the experiment would work better on visitors when you don't basically telegraph what the experiment is about before getting people to do it themselves.

  50. # Trevon 25 Feb 2008 at 7:36

    I counted 32 passes.

  51. # Lisaon 04 Mar 2008 at 8:06

    I JUST GOT IT!!!
    Look closely and you'll notice that all the people in white are only throwing the ball to the people in white. The people in black are only throwing it to the people in black. I counted 14 for the white team and 19 for the black team.... and yes I noticed the Gorilla

  52. # LDon 15 Mar 2008 at 8:37

    i didn't even see the basketballs.

  53. # Matton 17 Mar 2008 at 7:00

    i counted 32>???

  54. # sriramon 18 Mar 2008 at 9:51

    ya i counted 26 but did not see gorilla

  55. # blau augenon 23 Mar 2008 at 11:17

    I got 32, that was fun and sometimes they throw while someon's in the way O.o

  56. # blau augenon 23 Mar 2008 at 11:19

    Wait, why is everyone confused with the gorilla? Is that the hard part, because I seen him no problem lol.

  57. # luckyno7on 26 Mar 2008 at 11:35

    I counted an even 20. I got sidetracked. Anyway, If I'm wrong I blame it on that blasted gorilla, so there!

  58. # DannieGirlon 27 Mar 2008 at 11:15

    OK, i watched the video twice well 3 times.
    The first time i noticed the "gorilla", i noticed the 2 big S's on the wall, and i noticed that the people in white shirts passing to white shirts, & black shirts passing to the black shirts.
    I counted 29 passes the first time.
    after reading some comments like the other person i decided to count the "white shirt passes" and then the "black shirt passes", that time i counted 34 passes in total.
    So like i said, i saw the gorilla, the S's, the white shirts, and the black shirts, i think i saw 34 passes.
    Now, please tell me how many times the ball was passed for each color shirt and passes in total.

    Please =)`
    Thank you

  59. # Gigion 31 Mar 2008 at 1:29

    I counted 27 passes (but I never played basketball, so the whole thing was very confusing). I did not know about the gorilla until I read the article, and I was stunned! Consider myself pretty observant. This is a great experiment. The number of passes is irrelevant, for all of you who still wonder! The point is that when you're attention is on something specific, you fail to notice other things. I'm not sure I believe the people who say they noticed the gorilla the first time --- unless they weren't really counting the passes.

  60. # Alvaroon 31 Mar 2008 at 9:47

    Hello Gigi, glad you enjoyed it. You got the point.

    Now, we all have our strong and weak points...there are in fact people who can notice the gorilla the first time, even while counting. Impressive, I know

  61. # eldofason 07 Apr 2008 at 5:16

    Gorilla!?!?! I can´t belive it. I had to watch it again to see the gorilla.

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