The type of attention most relevant to the cocktail party problem is ____ attention.

• A. Selective
• B. Sustained
• C. Divided
• D. Alternating

Answer: (A)

Selective attention is what matters in the cocktail party problem. It’s the ability to focus on one stream of information—like a single conversation—while filtering out competing sounds and distractions in a noisy environment. This filtering lets you follow the talk you’re interested in even when many other conversations are happening around you.

Sustained attention is about maintaining focus over time, which is helpful for staying with a conversation, but it doesn’t capture the core challenge of selecting one input from many. Divided attention involves handling multiple tasks or inputs at once, which isn’t the primary demand of focusing on one chat in a crowded room. Alternating attention refers to switching between tasks, which also isn’t the key issue here.