Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
The cocktail party effect is the ability to focus one's auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli, much like when a person can focus on a single conversation in a noisy room.
Related terms
Auditory Attention: Auditory attention refers to how we selectively process specific sounds while ignoring others. It's what allows us to concentrate on one voice among many in a crowded place.
Echoic memory is sensory memory related to auditory information coming from the ears. It can hold information for up to 3-4 seconds after the original stimuli have ended.
Dichotic Listening: Dichotic listening is a task often used in cognitive psychology studies, where two different audio stimuli are presented simultaneously (one to each ear) and subjects are asked to attend only one.