Selective Attention: This refers to the ability to focus on specific stimuli while filtering out irrelevant information. In the context of a noisy party, selective attention would involve trying to concentrate on one person's speech while disregarding the surrounding noise.
Cocktail Party Effect: This term describes our ability to selectively attend to one conversation in a crowded environment, like tuning in on someone speaking amid multiple conversations at a cocktail party.
Auditory Processing: Auditory processing involves how our brain interprets and makes sense of sound information. During a noisy party, difficulties in auditory processing might contribute to challenges understanding speech amidst background noise.