Tunnel Vision
Updated 2026-08-05
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Under extreme tension, speed, or pressure, peripheral vision fails and sight contracts into a narrow tube; only what is straight ahead registers and environmental information disappears. The same collapse occurs in cognition. In a crisis a manager stares at one metric, the share price or a single bug, while systemic risks such as public sentiment or team collapse go unnoticed in the periphery. The countermeasure is deliberate: step back and open the wide angle.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Forced step back: in a crisis, widen your view physically and mentally before deciding. - Peripheral checklist: cover known risk areas by name so they cannot be ignored. - Delegated watch: assign someone to monitor the edges you cannot see yourself.
Anchor fast decisions
High arousal narrows the attentional and visual field as the brain funnels resources toward the immediate threat. What sits outside the funnel stops existing for the decision-maker, and because the narrowing feels like focus, it disables the very checks that would correct it.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_visionverified
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