Using Magic as a Vehicle to Elucidate Attention

Abstract

Attention, the awareness and selection of elements in our physical or mental environments, is a central concept in neuroscience. Michael I Posner and colleagues have proposed a three-network model of attention. 'Alerting' involves increased readiness for immanent stimuli, 'orienting' refers to selecting amid various stimuli; whereas 'executive attention' links attention to decision making, planning and other higher cognitive functions. Though ignorant of the neural mechanisms underlying human attention, magicians are skilled at exploiting human attention to achieve their effects. Recent interest in the neuroscience of magic has built bridges between the practice of magic and the study of attention. However, beyond illustrating how our attention systems can be tricked, magic can be employed in research to explore otherwise unachievable conditions. Such methods provide a unique opportunity to study atypical attention, providing important insights into the function of human attention and other key cognitive domains.

Where is the ball? Behavioral and neural responses elicited by a magic trick

“…In the last few years, several works have made parallels between synergetic theories developed by magicians and neuroscientists (Cui et al, 2011;Kuhn, Amlani, & Rensink, 2008;Lamont & Henderson, 2009;Macknik et al, 2008;Otero-Millan et al, 2011;Quian Quiroga, 2016;Rieiro et al, 2013). Along this line, a handful of studies have started to show insights into how magic tricks can be translated into novel neuroscience paradigms (Cui et al, 2011;Johansson et al, 2005;Kuhn, Kourkoulou, & Leekam, 2010;Kuhn & Land, 2006;Macknik et al, 2008;Martinez-Conde & Macknik, 2008;Olson et al, 2012;Otero-Millan et al, 2011;Parris et al, 2009;Raz & Zigman, 2001;Rieiro et al, 2013;Shalom et al, 2013), in a late revival of pioneering studies performed at the end of the nineteenth century (Binet & Nichols, 1896;Jastrow, 1897;Triplett, 1900). Within this context, we adapted a known magic trick-the Chop Cup trick, in which after a magic movement a ball may or may not appear in a cup-to study behavioral decisions made by the subjects and their brain evoked responses.…”

Blinded by magic: eye-movements reveal the misdirection of attention

“…There is an increasing awareness that magicians are informal cognitive scientists who continually test hypotheses outside of the sterile confines of the laboratory. The knowledge accrued through this informal experimentation can guide formal scientific theories (Raz and Zigman, 2009 ) as well as translate into fresh methodologies for studying phenomena in the lab (Hergovich et al, 2011 ).…”

The Applied Cognitive Psychology of Attention: A Step Closer to Understanding Magic Tricks

“…Specifically, because researchers and magicians uphold different conceptions of attention, communication between both experts may be essential (Bohm & Peat, 1987). To illustrate the difference between these specialties, Raz and Zigman (2009) drew an analogy between magicians and watchmakers. Although watchmakers are knowledgeable about the mechanics of keeping time and repairing timepieces, they are unlikely to consult about the meaning of the time itself.…”

“…The efficiency of each of these largely autonomous control networks is tenuous, moreover, because attention is a finite resource susceptible to interruption and distraction (Lavie, 2005). Magicians, therefore, frequently exploit the inherent shortcomings of attention to mislead spectators (Lamont & Wiseman, 2005;Lehrer, 2009;Raz & Zigman, 2009).…”