Because human information processing has to do with how people receive messages, it is a critical topic in communication study. Message reception consists of paying attention to particular messages in the environment and then using them as a guide to behavior. This is a very active process that consists of three separate but related activities: information selection, interpretation, and retention.

Information Selection

Humans operate in an environment that is filled with signals of various kinds. These may be in the form of sights (visual cues), sounds (auditory cues), touch (tactile cues), taste (gustatory cues), or smell (olfactory cues). The number of such cues that are available to individuals at any instant is almost limitless, and were individuals to try to pay attention to all these, they would immediately find themselves in a total information overload situation. It is therefore necessary for people to select...