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Attentional blink
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<p>Attentional blink (AB) is a <a href="/facts/Psychology/duoqW7Sz">psychological</a> effect where people struggle to notice a second visual target in a rapid sequence if it appears 200 to 500 milliseconds after the first and is followed by distractions. For instance, in a fast stream of letters like "B, X, C, K," if "X" and "K" are targets to spot, "K" is often missed if a letter like "C" comes between them. </p><p>The AB is typically measured by using <a href="/facts/Rapid_serial_visual_presentation/zLMlN3R9">rapid serial visual presentation</a> (RSVP) tasks (tasks where items flash quickly one after another), where participants often fail to detect a second salient target if it is presented within the blink. The AB has also been observed using two backward-masked targets and auditory stimuli. The term attentional blink was first used in 1992, although the phenomenon was probably known before. </p>