The textbook problem of how many socks to take out of a drawer to get a matched pair when the drawer contains a four to five mixture of white and black socks requires the reader to realize that the four to five mixture is irrelevant information and that the only relevant information is that there are two colors of socks. Getting the correct answer of three socks requires the reader to first use which of Davidson's insight abilities?
A)selective combination
B)selective attention
C)selective comparison
D)selective encoding

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Selective encoding is the ability to focus on relevant information while ignoring irrelevant information. In this problem, recognizing that the specific mixture of white and black socks is irrelevant and that the only important detail is the existence of two colors requires selective encoding.

The Textbook Problem of How Many Socks to Take Out