Watch for
Thinking something has suddenly become more common when you have simply become more sensitive to it.
Memory & AttentionBias #59
Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon
Newly noticed things seem to appear everywhere.
The phenomenon where after noticing something for the first time you suddenly perceive it appearing everywhere with improbable frequency.
Why it matters: Also called the Frequency Illusion. A combination of selective attention and confirmation bias.
Try this
Remember that selective attention not a change in the world explains the pattern.
Real-world example
You learn a new word and then see it three times in the same week.
Key researchers
Arnold Zwicky
First described in 2005
Psychological mechanism
Selective attention followed by confirmation bias. Noticing something primes your attention system. Each subsequent encounter confirms prevalence while non-encounters are ignored.
Seminal research
Named by linguist Arnold Zwicky (2005) in a discussion of frequency illusions.
Related Biases
Debrief
Biases are not character flaws. They are recurring patterns in how minds compress uncertainty, save energy, and narrate reality. Once you recognise the pattern, you can slow the decision down, test the assumption, and make space for a better explanation.
Sources
EducationalZwicky (2005) — Frequency illusion
EncyclopediaWikipedia overview