Chapter 7- Post 2

The text describes selective attention as choosing one message over the other (Harris & Sherblom, 2011, p. 115). This means that the messages we choose to focus on have some sort of "programmed importance." I agree that this is true, not just for myself but for all individuals. Selective attention is a component of "sensing a message" and like I stated in my previous post, is an unconscious action. This is because we are naturally drawn to messages that are of interest of us, whereas we are less likely to provide our full attention if we cannot relate or do not care about the matter being discussed. I am guilty of this on several accounts; however, I found myself practicing selective attention just yesterday when one of my friends was recounting a relationship story that I had previously heard multiple times. Though I wanted to be there for her, the story at this point had become redundant as was no longer interesting to me, which ultimately caused me to divert my thoughts and attention elsewhere.