Inattention Blindness: The Unstructured Attention In The Coffee Shop

Selective attention is the ability to focus on one specific source of information while ignoring other stimuli. In the coffee shop example being able to screen out surrounding noises to focus on one stimuli, listening to the clanking of coffee cups while at the same time listening to the couple gossiping about their friend who happens to have your same name are all factors of divided attention. Inattention blindness is also at play since you are listening to the conversation between the couple but also listening to the cappuccino being made while actively thinking about whether you should get another. There is less attention being devoted to the conversation as a consequence you are not getting the whole story and missing details. Attention capture is the unstructured redirection of attention in the world based on physical characteristics.
The cocktail party effect describes the ability of being able to focus on a specific message in a loud and crowded setting. In this example, the actual coffee shop can be perceived as the “cocktail party” which is the loud environment in which you are managing to block surrounding stimuli to focus on one specific message. The clanking of the cups, the cappuccino machine and the thought of getting another coffee are being blocked to be able to accurate hear the conversation between the couple. This is just one of the combinations that can be happening. Selective attention, attention capture and the cocktail party effect all describe ways that an individual can use to focus on certain information depending on the goal and circumstances. The way that an individual chooses to focus, ignore, and process information depends on these and other attention