Selective attention is an ability of the brain that selects important information and ignores irrelevant information. The selected information will appear clearer and more intense, and are chosen according to the interest and meaning for the subject most of the time in an unconscious way.
The stimuli sent to the brain can be visual, olfactory, audible, gustatory or tactile, but at a certain moment the brain is unable to assimilate all of them, and ends up using selective attention as a strategy to filter the information.
Usually people receive stimuli according to the current need. For example, if someone is thinking about buying a car, they will pay more attention to cars on the street, to advertisements and conversations about it.
Selective attention has a great influence on learning as it helps individuals to maintain the focus of attention in class or in the book, avoiding distractions and providing good and growing performance.
