Question

Marisa has just sat through three class lectures at school, and now heads to a fourth, due to start in ten minutes. She found that halfway through her third class, she was having a hard time paying attention. This was most probably due to:

A) sleep deficits.
B) active filtering.
C) attention economy.
D) sensory overload.

Answer 1

Marisa's difficulty in maintaining attention during class is likely due to sleep deficits, which can lead to reduced sensory awareness and impair cognitive functions like learning and memory.

Step-by-step explanation:

Marisa's difficulty in maintaining attention during her third class is likely due to several potential factors. Given the scenario, the most probable cause seems to be sleep deficit. As we find in sleep research, lack of adequate sleep can result in reduced sensory awareness and an increased need for sleep, known as sleep rebound. Sleep is critical for various aspects of cognitive functioning, including learning and memory, and inadequate sleep can impair a student's ability to pay attention in class. Sensory overload could also be a contributing factor if the classroom environment had too many distractions or if Marisa's third class involved very complex material that overwhelmed her. Active filtering and attention economy can also affect focus, but in this context, these are less likely to be the primary causes, as they relate more to conscious decisions about where to direct attention rather than involuntary attention capacity.