We live in a world where we multitask, studying while watching Netflix and texting our friends. Our smartphones light up with push notifications. But can being distracted warp our perceptions of reality? Research says yes—distractions (interruptions that pull us away from our focus) might change our perception, making us believe we see something different from reality. The study also suggests that most people don’t realize their perception changed. Moreover, they may defend their perception errors by exaggerating their view of reality. Researchers wanted to know what happens when you are trying to pay attention and get distracted. They showed study participants four different-colored squares on a computer screen. Next, the participants were asked to look at only one of the squares. Then, a bright light lit up around another square of a different color causing the participant to become distracted from the instruction of focusing on the target square. When the participants with the distraction were asked to click the original color on a color wheel, most were unable to do it. People confused the color of the square they were asked to remember with the one that had the light around it. When they were asked how confident they were in their choice of color, they responded by picking a color very different from the original color. They became defensive about their perceptions, which led to greater perceptual errors. For example, if they were asked to look at a green square and the distraction was orange, they picked a blue-green area close to the original color, but farther away from the distraction color, as if to compensate for the error........

Discussion Questions

1. How many different things do you do at once? Give an example of a distraction that may be causing you to misperceive reality.

2. What steps can you take to improve your perceptions for the example you provided in question 1?

3. Why do you think that people became defensive when they made a perceptual error? Give an example of when you have seen this happen from work or school.

4. Explain why it is important for a leader to understand that their perception may not be reality? Give an example of what could happen if leaders are distracted and make errors.