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What term describes the tendency of people to see and hear what they want, ignoring irrelevant information?

  1. Uptalking

  2. Verbal communication

  3. Selective perception

  4. Paraphrase

The correct answer is: Selective perception

The correct term that describes the tendency of people to see and hear what they want, while disregarding irrelevant information, is selective perception. This concept refers to how individuals filter the information they receive based on their own beliefs, experiences, and expectations. Essentially, it highlights the subjectivity of perception and how personal biases can shape the way we interpret sensory information. In contrast, uptalking refers to a speech pattern where the speaker's intonation rises at the end of statements, making them sound like questions, which does not relate to selective attention. Verbal communication encompasses the use of spoken language to convey messages but does not specifically address how individuals filter information based on what they want to perceive. Paraphrasing involves restating someone else’s ideas in your own words, and while it may be related to understanding communication, it doesn’t pertain to the selective nature of perception itself.