Final answer:
Wylene's selective focus on street signs, to the exclusion of being aware of street noises, is an example of focused awareness, a state of conscious attention that is directed and selective.
Step-by-step explanation:
Wylene's experience of paying attention to street signs while driving but not being aware of noises from the street and other vehicles is an example of focused awareness. This is a state where an individual's conscious attention is directed towards certain aspects of the environment while filtering out others. It demonstrates the ability of our consciousness to selectively concentrate on one aspect of our environment while ignoring others, due to the limited capacity of our attentional resources. Such selective attention is essential for functioning effectively in a world that is full of sensory stimuli, allowing us to process relevant information and perform tasks without getting overwhelmed. Inattentional blindness is a related phenomenon where something can be plainly visible yet not perceived, because the person's attention is engaged elsewhere. This was famously shown in the study by Simons and Chabris, where participants failed to notice a gorilla in a video because they were focused on counting basketball passes.