During dinner, a father, who is a psychologist, tells his 4- and 8-year-old sons, "Only pay attention to what I say," then later tests how much each boy remembers of his own and everyone else's conversation. Based on the selective-attention research, which are the MOST likely test results?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to the selective-attention research, younger children have a harder time selectively attending to relevant information in a noisy environment. Therefore, the 8-year-old would be better at selectively attending to his father's conversation, while the 4-year-old may get distracted and pay attention to everything. However, both boys are likely to remember everyone else's conversation equally well, as they were not instructed to selectively attend to those conversations.

During Dinner, a Father, Who Is a Psychologist, Tells His