Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Hindsight Biases01:12

Hindsight Biases

Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now?
Framing Effects03:26

Framing Effects

Information is everywhere and its presentation—such as how and when items are presented—can impact our perceptions and decisions surrounding the info. This broad concept umbrellas framing effects—influences that occur due to the way information is framed in its appearance, whether it’s purely the order or the specific wording of a message. Let’s take a look at numerous ways in which two versions of something can objectively say the same thing, yet we respond in different ways based on the...
Counterfactual Thinking01:19

Counterfactual Thinking

Counterfactual thinking is a cognitive process wherein individuals mentally reconstruct alternative versions of past events, often beginning with “what if” or “if only.” This reflective mechanism plays a significant role in shaping emotional experiences and guiding future behavior. Though typically triggered by unfavorable or unexpected outcomes, counterfactual thinking can also emerge in mundane, everyday decisions and experiences, revealing its deep entrenchment in human cognition.Types of...
Directional Terms01:14

Directional Terms

Directional terms are essential for describing the relative locations of different body structures. For instance, an anatomist might describe one band of tissue as "inferior to" another, or a physician might describe a tumor as "superficial to" a deeper body structure. These terms often use comparative terms in pairs to trace out the relative locations of one body part to another or descriptions of body tissues like the deeper ones from superficially present with reference to the body's upright...
Directional Relays01:25

Directional Relays

Directional relays, essential for managing unidirectional fault currents, enhance the safety and efficiency of power systems. On power lines equipped with directional relays, faults downstream (to the right) of the current transformer typically cause the fault current to lag the bus voltage by approximately 90 degrees, known as the forward direction. In contrast, upstream (left-side) faults may result in the fault current leading the bus voltage by nearly 90 degrees, termed the reverse...
False Memories01:18

False Memories

False memories represent a cognitive distortion in which individuals recall events that did not happen, or remember them in an altered form. This phenomenon highlights the brain's constructive nature in processing and recalling memories, emphasizing that memory is not a perfect representation of past events but rather a dynamic reconstruction influenced by various factors.
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information with...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

EXPRESS: When illusion rivals reality. Investigating error detection and the role of working memory resources in the Vanishing Ball Illusion.

Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006)·2026
Same author

A folk taxonomy of magic.

Cognition·2026
Same author

Aperiodicity in Mouse CA1 and DG Power Spectra.

eNeuro·2026
Same author

Twisted Nonlinear Optics in Monolayer van der Waals Crystals.

ACS nano·2025
Same author

Figure recognition and visual attention patterns behind the observation of Palaeolithic art.

Journal of cultural cognitive science·2025
Same author

Development of Films for Wound Healing Based on Gelatin and Oil/Water Emulsions as Carriers of Bioactive Compounds.

Pharmaceutics·2025
Same journal

The causal efficacy of consciousness: a neuroscientific analysis and explanation.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Temporal-oscillatory entrainment: a multi-timescale framework for rhythmic coordination from neural to social frequencies.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Role of AQP4 in ameliorating heat stress-induced cellular injury in a cell line model through active heat acclimation.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

Correction: Cognitive state monitoring for neuroadaptive information visualization.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

The synthetic self-hypothesis: dopaminergic redirection through self-face recognition in stuttering therapy.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
Same journal

A randomised, placebo-controlled, triple-blind clinical trial to investigate the efficacy of <i>Ginkgo biloba</i> extract EGb 761<sup>®</sup> in cognitive impairment associated with post COVID-19 syndrome-the EGb COCOS protocol.

Frontiers in human neuroscience·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
06:10

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

Misdirection - past, present, and the future.

Gustav Kuhn1, Luis M Martinez

  • 1Department of Psychology, Brunel University Uxbridge, UK.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|January 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Magicians use misdirection to control attention, offering insights into human cognition. This review explores scientific and magic literature on misdirection techniques and their cognitive implications.

Keywords:
attentionawarenessmagicmisdirection

More Related Videos

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language
09:27

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice
08:35

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Published on: January 22, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2026

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
06:10

Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions

Published on: March 31, 2023

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language
09:27

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice
08:35

An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Published on: January 22, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Human Attention Studies

Background:

  • Misdirection, a core element in magic, involves manipulating audience attention, thoughts, and memory.
  • The study of misdirection offers potential insights into fundamental cognitive processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the scientific and magic literature on misdirection.
  • To explore the concept of misdirection from a magician's perspective.
  • To examine scientific paradigms and findings related to misdirection.
  • To identify future research directions in the cognitive science of misdirection.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of scientific and magic publications on misdirection.
  • Analysis of magician's techniques for orchestrating attention and awareness.
  • Examination of experimental paradigms used in cognitive psychology to study misdirection.

Main Results:

  • The magician's concept of misdirection is multifaceted, involving deliberate control of cognitive resources.
  • Established scientific paradigms exist for studying misdirection, though they are continually evolving.
  • Current scientific findings highlight misdirection's impact on attentional focus, working memory, and perception.

Conclusions:

  • Misdirection is a valuable tool for understanding human attention and cognitive control.
  • Further interdisciplinary research integrating magic and cognitive science is warranted.
  • Future studies should focus on developing more sophisticated methods to probe the cognitive mechanisms underlying misdirection.