1. Bottoms Up:
The Cocktail Party Problem from
a Communication Perspective
Clint Graves, Patricia “Didi” Hill, and Brandi Martin | Communication Studies 499
Overview
Methods Quantitative Results
Hypothesis 1
• An unintended message highly relevant to a
receiver’s instrumental goal will garner more
attention from the receiver.
Hypothesis 2
• An unintended message highly relevant to a
receiver’s self-presentation goal will garner more
attention from the receiver.
Hypothesis 3
• People who frequently engage in social functions
are less likely to attend to unintended messages.
Hypothesis 1
• Significant relationship between instrumental
relevance and attention
Hypothesis 2
• No significant relationship between self-
presentation relevance and attention
Hypothesis 3
• No significant difference between high and low
social involvement
Qualitative Results
SMCR Model of CPP
• Participants demonstrate innate understanding
of CPP
• Participants undertake range of actions in
response to unintended messages
Implications
The cocktail party problem (CPP) is typically a problem of psychology and acoustics.
Our project shifted the focus to communication.
Message relevance has some effect on attention in the context of CPP
Commanding attention is a function of inducing an instrumental or self-presentation goal
Future research should generalize a theory that predicts the types of words that capture attention
Sampling:
Convenience and Snowball
Survey:
Quasi-experimental with 4 randomly assigned
experimental conditions
Survey measures of our own design
2 experimental groups, 2 control groups
62 participants of any age, sex, and ethnicity
Interview:
Single protocol that asked participants about
their reactions in certain scenarios
Hypotheses