Does Teachers Possess an Attentional Advantage Area Towards Students’ Off-Seat Behavior? Evidence from Inattentional Blindness

Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology Subjects: Psychology >> Educational Psychology submitted time 2024-04-04

Cao, ShuQin Li, Yan Wei, XiuYing Zhang, Hui

Abstract： Teachers often experience inattentional blindness towards off-seat behavior during classroom management, which poses the question: is there a specific attentional advantage area for teachers in detecting such behavior? One study used cartoon images to prove that teachers’ detection does indeed have a location effect. However, it needs to take into account the elements of the real-world scenarios, including three-dimensional features, background and action. The present study aims to explore the impact of seating location factors (row, center versus periphery and each location) on teachers’ detection of off-seat behavior within real classroom scenarios through two experiments. This study carried out an inattentional blindness test with classroom management tasks. The final sample consisted of 230 teachers from special schools. Participants needed to face a computer screen where student seats were arranged in a three-row by three-column pattern. They were tasked to identify who raised their hands and pointed out their locations. The unexpected occurrence involved the disappearance of one student positioned in different seats throughout the task. All participants were randomly divided to nine experimental locations. The study employed a static IB task akin to self-study (Experiment 1) and a dynamic IB task modeled after interactive teaching as material (Experiment 2), both based on real classroom contexts. The results revealed that teachers do indeed have a certain attentional advantage area when it comes to detecting off-seat behavior: 1. Row effect was observed stably in both scenarios with off-seat behavior of students in the front rows being more readily detected. 2. The central inhibitory effect was noted only in static situation, not dynamic ones. In static condition, students with off-seat behavior were more likely to be detected when seated peripherally rather than centrally. 3. There was a significant correlation in detection rates among the same teachers across the two experiments, with teachers’ performance in the second experiment not being influenced by expectations set by the first. These findings indicated: 1. The inattentional blindness of individual teachers to students’ off-seat behavior is relatively stable. 2. Front row seating is more detectable for the teachers to notice the “missing student.” 3. In the static situation teacher should avoid arranging students prone to off-seat behavior in central area. The study extends the research paradigm of the IB test in educational settings. Moreover, it provides scientific basis for teachers to strategically arrange seating plans, especially for students with special needs.

Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review

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