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Introduction
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There is usually more information around you than you can examine closely. While reading a paragraph, you give its words more attention than the shape of the chair beneath you. In a conversation, you may follow one voice while other people continue speaking nearby.
Selective attention gives priority to some information over other information. This selection helps you perform the task you are trying to do. It also means that being exposed to information is different from noticing it.
Understanding selection helps explain an otherwise puzzling experience: something can be visible, relevant, and later seem obvious, yet still go unnoticed at the time.