An employee explains about his problem to the boss who is preoccupied with an important file. The boss does not understand the message.

Identify the category of psychological barrier in the above statement.

Lack of attention

The correct answer is Option (4) → Lack of attention.

 Lack of attention is the psychological barrier reflected in the given statement.

Lack of attention: The preoccupied mind of receiver and the resultant non-listening of message acts as a major psychological barrier. For instance, an employee explains about his problems to the boss who is pre-occupied with an important file before him. The boss does not grasp the message and the employee is disappointed.

OTHER OPTIONS

• Loss by transmission: When communication passes through various levels, successive transmissions of the message results in loss of, or transmission of inaccurate information. This is more so in case of oral communication. Poor retention is another problem. Usually people cannot retain the information for a long time if they are inattentive or not interested.

• Distrust: Distrust between communicator and communicate acts as a barrier. If the parties do not believe each other, they can not understand each others message in its original sense.

• Premature evaluation: Some times people evaluate the meaning of message before the sender completes his message. Such premature evaluation may be due to pre-conceived notions or prejudices against the communication.