Broadbent's filter theory of attention assumed that selective attention was necessary because people have limited _____ capacity and thus must focus on the most _____ information.
A) short-term memory; important
B) sensory memory; important
C) short-term memory; transient
D) sensory memory; transient

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Broadbent's filter theory of attention is based on the idea that we have limited capacity to process sensory information. According to this theory, selective attention is necessary because we cannot attend to all incoming sensory information at once. To filter out irrelevant information, Broadbent proposed a model in which information is processed through a sensory buffer (sensory memory) and then selectively filtered based on its physical characteristics (e.g. pitch, volume, location). Therefore, option B is the best choice as it correctly identifies the limited capacity system as being the sensory memory and highlights the importance of attending to the most important information to alleviate sensory overload.

Broadbent's Filter Theory of Attention Assumed That Selective Attention Was