selective attention

British  

noun

1. psychol the process by which a person can selectively pick out one message from a mixture of messages occurring simultaneously

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Example Sentences

Previous research had shown pigeons learned how to solve complex categorization tasks that human ways of thinking -- like selective attention and explicit rule use -- would not be useful in solving.

From Science Daily

Christopher F. Chabris, a research psychologist who has studied selective attention, said there may be “a memory phenomenon going on here.”

From New York Times

For example, there’s a “selective attention test” available on YouTube that illustrates perceptual distortion by asking you to count the number of times certain players pass a basketball to each other.

From Washington Post

If you watched the selective attention test, did you see the gorilla?

From Washington Post

Its behavioral side effects include decreased motivation, decreased processing agility and diminished selective attention.

From Washington Post