The invisible gorilla strikes again: sustained inattentional blindness in expert observers
Drew, Vo and Wolfe asked whether expert observers are susceptible to inattentional blindness in their own domain. Twenty-four radiologists performed a familiar lung-nodule detection task in which the image of a gorilla, about 48 times the size of an average nodule, was inserted into the final case. Their abstract reports that 83 per cent of the radiologists did not see it, and that eye tracking showed most of those who missed it had looked directly at its location.
Drew, Vo and Wolfe asked whether expert observers are susceptible to inattentional blindness in their own domain. Twenty-four radiologists performed a familiar lung-nodule detection task in which the image of a gorilla, about 48 times the size of an average nodule, was inserted into the final case. Their abstract reports that 83 per cent of the radiologists did not see it, and that eye tracking showed most of those who missed it had looked directly at its location.
Written from the abstract, journal record and Crossref, 2026-10-31.
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Drew, T., Võ, M. L.-H., & Wolfe, J. M. (2013). The invisible gorilla strikes again: sustained inattentional blindness in expert observers. Psychological Science, 24(9), 1848-1853. doi:10.1177/0956797613479386.