Why is it always that when you zone out or don’t pay attention you can’t hear anything, but as soon as someone says your name you hear it all clearly. Why is that?
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This answer is probably not quite right, but I remember learning the answer to this in a psychology class I took. It is something to do with the way perception works – and the idea that whilst you technically perceive quite a lot of what goes on around you, there are multiple stages to perception. Basically, your brain will filter out anything it doesn’t think is important, so you won’t consciously realise you heard/saw/perceived it. If something your brain recognises as important comes up, it will allow it to ‘pass through’ the filter.
I’m not sure the reason why one’s name has particular significance, but I’m sure you can imagine why. If we hear our name it means that something is happening that potentially involves us, therefore our brain flags that as important to our overall functioning and survival.
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