The noise of the crowd in the bar fades into the background as Latriece becomes engrossed in a conversation with her date.Suddenly,she hears her name mentioned a dozen feet down the bar: her ears perk up.This example illustrates the ___ effect,a ___ influence on auditory perception.
A) cocktail party; top-down
B) cocktail party; bottom-up
C) happy-hour; top-down
D) happy-hour; bottom-up

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario exemplifies the "cocktail party effect," which is a top-down influence on auditory perception. Latriece is able to focus her attention on her conversation with her date, but her name catches her attention due to top-down processes that facilitate the filtering and recognition of relevant information from background noise.

The Noise of the Crowd in the Bar Fades into the Background