Selective information processing is a type of cognitive process that involves a person’s ability to focus on and prioritize certain information while disregarding other information. It is a common phenomenon that most people experience on a daily basis, as they focus their attention on certain aspects of their environment while ignoring other details. Selective information processing has been studied extensively in psychology and is considered to be an important part of mental functioning (Koch & Tymms, 2015).
The concept of selective information processing was developed by American psychologist George A. Miller in 1956. Miller proposed that people have a limited capacity to process and store information, and thus must select which information is most relevant for their current needs. This process of selection is referred to as selective attention (Miller, 1956). Selective attention allows people to focus on important information while ignoring unimportant information, which can help them to better process and remember the relevant information.
Selective information processing is related to the concept of selective memory, which involves the recollection of certain memories while disregarding other memories. This phenomenon is thought to be a result of selective information processing, as memories are selected for recall based on the relevance of the information (Koch & Tymms, 2015).
Selective information processing is also related to the concept of selective forgetting. Selective forgetting occurs when people are unable to remember certain information, even though they are exposed to it. This phenomenon has been linked to selective information processing, as people may be unable to remember certain information due to their focus on other information (Koch & Tymms, 2015).
Selective information processing is an important part of cognitive functioning, as it allows people to focus on the most important information while disregarding irrelevant information. This phenomenon has been studied extensively in psychology, and is thought to be related to both selective memory and selective forgetting.
References
Koch, T., & Tymms, P. (2015). Selective information processing. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 20, pp. 783-786). Oxford, UK: Elsevier.
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97.