Final answer:
Lonnie's behavior of appearing to listen but not remembering could be best described as inattentional blindness, a lack of attention to visible stimuli that fails to notice unexpected objects or events when attention is focused elsewhere.
Step-by-step explanation:
Burt complains that although his wife, Lonnie, appears to be listening when he talks, she often has no memory of what he has said and seems to be 'in a world of her own.' This behavior suggests that Lonnie may be demonstrating inattentional blindness. Inattentional blindness is a psychological lack of attention that is not associated with any vision defects or deficits. It occurs when an individual fails to recognize an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight. This is different from absentmindedness, where attention may shift away from the task at hand, leading to memory lapses. In the case of inattentional blindness, the individual's focus is so narrowly tuned to one interaction or task that they completely miss other stimuli.
Amnesia refers to the loss of memories, such as facts, information, and experiences, but we can exclude anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia as they are related to the inability to remember past events or form new memories after a specific incident, not everyday inattention. Dissociative amnesia is characterized by an inability to recall important personal information, usually after a traumatic or stressful event, which also does not align with Lonnie's behavior described by Burt.
Given the information provided, and understanding that Lonnie's situation seems to reflect a lack of attention rather than a deficit in memory formation or retention, the most appropriate answer is (c) Inattentional blindness.