Sensation. Perception, and Attention

Essay by lclanetxCollege, UndergraduateB, December 2008

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Sensation, Perception and � PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT �1�

Introduction

Auditory stimulus is what makes us pay attention to something that is being said. It is the focus of your attention through hearing. The cocktail party effect describes the ability to focus attention on one single person speaking rather than that of the many conversations and surrounding background noises. This effect is how we are able to talk in noisy places. It is proven that one can focus their attention on one speaker, but once another voice or noise grabs their attention, they are then focused elsewhere. In any given group of people, each person will have their own way of using this effect. Some are able to concentrate with noise where others must complete silence to be able to focus their attention on one thing. This paper will show that in a study group environment, each member has their own opinion of how they work best.

Cocktail Party Phenomenon

The view point of dichotic listening and the cocktail party phenomenon can be interpreted by different viewpoints such as the listeners, or the psychological perspective. In this case, the view point comes from the individual opinions of each team member. Each member of the team expressed their experiences and comfort levels of dichotic listening, or the 'cocktail party' phenomenon. When comparing the similarities that each team member had, the majority of the group suggested that their dichotic listening skills are not as high as they would like but still multi listen at some point and time. Many of the team members have indicated that dealing with noises in the background at work seems to be a common occurrence for each of them. Of course this comes down to each person's individual outlook on the cocktail party phenomenon, but it is important...