Laurie, Jim's wife, complains that he never notices when she has made changes in her hair style. At her latest hair appointment, she had several inches cut from her hair. When Jim came home from work, he greeted her and did not notice or make a comment about her new hair style until Laurie pointed out his failure to notice. Jim may not have noticed the difference because of a(n):

Encoding encompasses the brain's capability to store a piece of particular information and thereafter recall that particular information related to some event and it either be for short-term and long-term.

Encoding Failure: In psychology, the term encoding failure is defined as an individual's brains incapability or occasional failure to form a memory link. Encoding failure can happen due to various reasons including substance abuse, trauma, etc.

In the question above, Jim may not have noticed the difference because of an encoding failure.