When we fuss, our movements ahead of the ability of the brain to process what he saw information. Such divergence motor and receptive systems makes us not to notice what we're looking for, even if it is in plain view.

The disagreement motor and receptive systems of the brain can do bad service - for example, during rescue works. (Photo By Ali Arkady.)

Imagine the morning, you slept and now hastily going to work, so as not to be late. In the blink of an eye you got dressed, washed, combed his hair and... froze on the threshold, in search of keys. Or phone. Or skip. The situation is familiar to everyone: at the speed of light you turn the house upside down, and not once, not yet find that the keys lie in plain view! The common advice that give ourselves in such cases, calm down and start to search slowly and calmly...

Psychologists at the University of Waterloo (Canada) decided to investigate this phenomenon. They had planned the experiment in which people had to find on the monitor screen desired color figure among the stacks of others, and to do that relied as soon as possible. In General, it was like a speed of card solitaire. According to the results of the experience of the probability of error ranged from 10 to 20%.

The researchers suggested that people simply forget what you were looking for, and therefore does not notice of the subject, even when looking at him. Perhaps, the brain receives and processes a large number of data at the expense of memory that you want to find. To test this, the researchers asked the subjects to remember a list of "extra" objects, which are then, after a session, you need to remember. Then they again sought to speed the shape, but the error rate remained the same. That is a load of RAM nothing to do with it.

After that, the authors of the experiment tested, it affects the care that moves the object or not. It turned out that with moving subjects of the error probability remained the same. Finally, analyzed the movement of a computer mouse, and it turned out that the manipulation of it slows down, if the person made an error, although he didn't realize it.

In an article published in the journal Cognition, authors, discussing the results of the experiments, put forward this theory: the parts of the brain responsible (1) for the analysis of visual information, and (2) for the control of movement, work at a different pace. When we run about the house in search of keys or phone our motor skills outpaces the ability to analyze everything that came in sight. Thus, the stronger we are, the worse are looking for.

When stress is ahead of the activity of the motor system can be quite useful in an emergency there is no time for the viewing and the analysis of danger to "do your feet." If the goal is still the search, the brain (retroactively sentient error) gives the order to slow down the traffic, although we may not realize it. (Indeed, if we were wrong, every time understood this, and wouldn't have problems.) Motor and receptor system of the brain help us to find, but they do it rassoglasovaniya that becomes especially apparent when we hurry. The results of this mismatch can be much less harmless than being late for work: it is enough to see the doctor, in a hurry out x-rays, or security service of the airport, feverishly dosmatrivaetsya the baggage bomb...

Prepared according to NewScientist.