3 research outputs found
Allocating Attention to Detect Motorcycles: The Role of Inattentional Blindness
Objective: To determine whether inattentional
blindness (IB) can be used to understand the psychological
mechanisms around looked-but-failed-to-see
(LBFTS) crashes involving motorcycles
Background: IB occurs when an observer looks
directly at an object yet fails to see it, thus LBFTS
crashes may be a real-world example of IB. The study
tests a perceptual cycle model in which motorcycles
are detected less frequently because they fall lower on
the attentional hierarchy for driving.
Method: A driving-related IB task with photographs
of driving situations investigated whether an additional
stimulus, a taxi or motorcycle, would be more likely to
be missed by participants. In Experiments 2 and 3, the
“threat value” of objects in the scene were varied to
determine the degree to which this influences participants’
tendency to notice motorcycles.
Results: Participants were twice as likely to miss a
motorcycle compared with a taxi. Moreover, participants
reported that they would expect to miss a motorcycle
on the road. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants modulated
their attention to accommodate motorcycles when
necessary, suggesting that motorcycles are afforded the
lowest level of attentional bandwidth.
Conclusion: Inattentional blindness forms a good
psychological framework for understanding LBFTS
crashes, particularly in the context of attentional set,
such that LBFTS crashes occur because motorcycles
do not feature strongly in a typical driver’s attentional
set for driving.
Application: The findings here are important
because LBFTS crashes can be reduced if we can change
the expectations of road users around the presence of
motorcycles on the road.This research was supported by the Australian
Research Council and the NRMA-ACT Road
Safety Trust (Grant No. LP13010081)
Towards Youth Mental Health System Reform: An Evaluation of Participatory Systems Modelling in the Australian Capital Territory
Australia’s mental health system is failing young people. Calls for accountability, strategic long-term policy planning, and regional leadership have been identified as solutions to guide mental health reform. Developing system dynamics models using a participatory approach (participatory systems modelling (PSM)) is recognized as a useful method that can support decision-making for strategic reform. This paper reports evaluation findings of a youth mental health PSM process conducted in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Baseline and follow-up mixed-methods evaluation data were collected in 2022 across diverse stakeholder groups to investigate the feasibility, value, impact, and sustainability of PSM. Although youth mental health system reform was viewed as desirable and a necessity across all stakeholder groups, shared perceptions of disabling powerless was observed regarding their ability to influence current decision-making processes to improve the youth mental health system. This suggests greater accountability is required to support systemic reform in youth mental health. PSM offers promise in improving transparency and accountability of decision-making for youth mental health, as exemplified in the ACT. However, more support and time are required to facilitate transformational change. Future research should investigate empowerment strategies to complement the implementation of findings from dynamic models developed through PSM, as well as the effectiveness of regional youth mental health policy decision-making supported by systems modelling