I can understand PF becoming fixated on seeing what they wanted to see and not noticing 'the gorilla'. PM's brain is not so fixated and I'd expect more relaxed and neutral.
I don't understand how you can line up on a taxiway….
IAN W wrote a very good post # 167 about cognition experiment and Bergerie1 posted the video. Worth to see it, you’ll see the gorilla, but…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY
This incident must be related to visual perception and visual cognition.
The players start the passes:
altimeter set, speed brake armed, flaps position, lights on, so on…
They expect to see two runways, so from far they see two lines of lights as expected. Then oops!! PF see a gorilla, strobe lights stand out from the 28R runway. He talks to PM, but he sees three gorillas. They continue passing the ball: gear down, flaps full, but keep the eyes on the gorillas, the curtain color change from bright white light to green lights, the PAPI is leaving the scene but nobody notice. The gorillas are four now and the time of the game is running out fast: "Tower, just want to confirm [for you, because for us is pretty clear] This is Air Canada 759.
We see lights on the runway there. Across the runway. Can you confirm are we cleared to land?” “Confirmed cleared to land. Runway 28 Right. There's no one on 2-8 Right but you." “OK, [if you insist, let’s buzz them a little], Air Canada 759”