Selective Attention: The Key to Improved Focus and Information Processing

What is the ability to ignore distracting or misleading information known as?

a) Inattentional blindness

b) Selective attention

c) Distraction filtering

d) Misinformation suppression

Answer:

Selective attention is the ability to ignore distracting or misleading information, often demonstrated through studies of inattentional blindness.

In psychology, the ability to ignore distracting or misleading information is known as selective attention. Researchers have conducted studies to demonstrate how attention plays a crucial role in determining our perception of the environment.

For example, in a study by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris, participants were asked to count the number of times a basketball team dressed in white passed the ball, completely ignoring a person dressed in a black gorilla costume walking among the players. This phenomenon is referred to as inattentional blindness.

Selective attention allows us to focus on specific stimuli while filtering out irrelevant information, which helps us process information more efficiently.