Did you see the unicycling clown? Inattentional blindness while walking and talking on a cell phone

TLDR

The study examined the impact of walking while using a cell phone on attention. Participants were grouped by walking condition: cell‑phone use, MP3 listening, no electronics, or walking in pairs. Cell‑phone use slowed walking, increased directional changes, reduced social acknowledgment, and heightened inattentional blindness to a unicycling clown. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract We investigated the effects of divided attention during walking. Individuals were classified based on whether they were walking while talking on a cell phone, listening to an MP3 player, walking without any electronics or walking in a pair. In the first study, we found that cell phone users walked more slowly, changed directions more frequently, and were less likely to acknowledge other people than individuals in the other conditions. In the second study, we found that cell phone users were less likely to notice an unusual activity along their walking route (a unicycling clown). Cell phone usage may cause inattentional blindness even during a simple activity that should require few cognitive resources. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.