The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon
One of the side effects of being a writer (or is it a cause?) is a fascination with words. A few years ago, I wrote about my discovery that there is actually a name-- the Diderot Effect--for a phenomenon I'd observed but never knew had a label. I felt a similar sense of ah-ha elation when I stumbled upon what is known as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.The Baader-Meinhof Group was the original name of the Red Army Faction, a West German far-left militant group responsible for a number of terrorist acts in the 1970s especially. (Fun fact: in my previous life as an academic, I once edited a friend's master's thesis on post-World War II German far left groups.) But they're not very well known these days, which is how their name came to be attached to a phenomenon also known (less colorfully) as "frequency illusion."
So what is it? Basically, it's a term used for the phenomenon in which something--a person, an idea, a word, whatever--that you'd never heard about suddenly seems to be everywhere, appearing again and again. Psychologists tell us it's the result of what they call "selective attention" (when you learn about a new thing, you start watching for it) and "confirmation bias" (so that each new exposure reinforces the impression that the new found thing is suddenly everywhere).So how did this phenomenon end up with the name "Baader-Meinhof phenomenon"? Evidently back in the 90s, some online commenter at the St. Paul Pioneer Press came up with the label after hearing about the B-M Gang twice in one day. From there it spread.
And now we can all watch to see how many times the term suddenly appears in our lives.
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W2
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Jun 30, 2015 10:53AM
Good to know this name. Recently, there have been at least 4 mentions of that scene in the 1989 movie "Say Anything" wherein John Cusack holds a boom box playing "In Your Eyes" over his head outside of his girlfriend's house. Weird. Now I know that this has a name.
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W2 wrote: "Good to know this name. Recently, there have been at least 4 mentions of that scene in the 1989 movie "Say Anything" wherein John Cusack holds a boom box playing "In Your Eyes" over his head outsi..."It is so weird when that happens. I'm still not convinced it's all selective attention and confirmation bias!
C.S. wrote: "W2 wrote: "Good to know this name. Recently, there have been at least 4 mentions of that scene in the 1989 movie "Say Anything" wherein John Cusack holds a boom box playing "In Your Eyes" over his..."I am unconvinced, too!
When my son told use he and his wife were expecting for the first time, I told him it was going to be a girl. Then I started seeing or hearing the name Sophie or Sophia everywhere. Yes they had a girl, No they they named her Zoey. My grandmother would have said it's a sign.
So glad to find this phenomenon has a name. This past May, the week that we decided to vacation in Savannah, I met a woman named Savannah, a friend recommended an old movie called "Savannah Smiles", and I received a cookbook as a gift written by the Savannah Junior League....I'm positive all that cannot possibly be attributed to selective attention.
JoAnn wrote: "When my son told use he and his wife were expecting for the first time, I told him it was going to be a girl. Then I started seeing or hearing the name Sophie or Sophia everywhere. Yes they had a g..."I've always loved the name Sophie.
Judith wrote: "So glad to find this phenomenon has a name. This past May, the week that we decided to vacation in Savannah, I met a woman named Savannah, a friend recommended an old movie called "Savannah Smiles"..."Yeah, I'm with you. Something else is going on!
