Question

Nina is having a conversation with her friend in noisy, busy coffee shop. She is focusing on just her conversation, but what would be most likely to draw her attention away from her conversation with her friend?

Answer 1

Sudden noises like breaking glass or loud crashes in a noisy environment are likely to draw a person's attention away from their conversation due to bottom-up processing.

Step-by-step explanation:

While having a conversation with a friend in a noisy, busy coffee shop, the most likely thing to draw Nina's attention away from her conversation would be a sudden, unexpected noise, such as the sound of breaking glass or a loud crash. These sounds are likely to penetrate Nina's attentional filters in a process known as bottom-up processing. Our attention can be captured by loud or sudden environmental noises that stand out against the background hubbub, prompting an involuntary shift of our attention towards the new stimulus.