Suppose you're studying in the library and you hear someone else's cell phone conversation, which, in turn, causes you to lose your focus on your work. This example illustrates ___.

The answer is Distraction

Explanation:

Distraction occurs when the attention of an individual or group of people is diverted from a desired area of focus. This, in turn, leads to blockage in the reception of information or gross diminishing in the amount of information received.

In other words, anything that prevents someone from concentrating on something or takes the attention of someone away from an activity that he/she is supposed to be focused on counts as a distraction. For example, when someone hears/listens to someone else's phone conversation in the library instead of studying is a distraction.