You look up the phone number of your favorite pizza maker and say it over and over to yourself as you walk across the room to the phone.Before you reach the phone,your roommate bursts in and exclaims,"Look at this-it's the new Beck album!" "Cool!" you reply.Then you become frustrated because you cannot remember the phone number.This is most likely due to the process of ____.
A) decay
B) proactive inhibition
C) selective attention
D) the primacy effect

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The interruption caused by your roommate's exclamation about the new Beck album diverted your attention from the task of remembering the phone number. This is an example of selective attention, where your focus shifted from the phone number to the new album, causing you to forget the number.

You Look Up the Phone Number of Your Favorite Pizza