What is Baader Meinhof Phenomenon – Its Causes and Examples
Published by at June 11th, 2023 , Revised On August 28, 2024
Have you ever experienced that the word or concept that you have recently learned is all around you? After learning something new, you start seeing that particular thing every now and then. If you think it only happens to you, then you are wrong because it happens to millions of people living across the globe.
It happens to humans because of the “Baader Meinhof Phenomenon,” which makes people feel that the car or smartphone they are planning to buy is all around them by making them more observant and attentive to the thing that they have recently become familiar with.
It is a kind of cognitive bias, that directly influences the decision-making process through psychological manipulation of our minds.
What is the Baader Meinhof Phenomenon?
Baader Meinhof phenomenon also known as frequency or recency illusion, is a psychological effect that makes us feel more attentive towards the things we have learnt recently. Like, if you have learned the word “eccentric” while reading a psychology dissertation, you will start observing that this word is regularly spoken or written by humans, but in reality, you have just started noticing it in everything you encounter due to the availability bias at work behind this phenomenon.
It makes you believe that something is happening more often, while in reality, it is not, you have just started focusing on it.
Meaning of Baader Meinhof Phenomenon
The Baader Meinhof phenomenon is the process of encountering a concept or word more often, that a person has just learned. Due to different biases like confirmation bias, we unconsciously start seeking words or concepts with more attention that resonate with our beliefs or interests.
Origin of the Term Baader Meinhof Phenomenon
The term Baader Meinhof phenomenon was coined in 1944 by a journalist named Terry Mullen in a formal sitting of Pioneer Press. After the journalist experienced that, he had written a column about a far militant group in West Germany and got a response from them subconsciously. (Source: Pioneer Press)
Some psychologists suggest that this phenomenon is merely the result of selective attention bias. The same kind of phenomenon happened in 2019, when a third-year medical student Kush Purohit communicated with the editor of Academic Radiology about his experience of facing the “bovine aortic arch” patients right after learning about this condition. (Source: Academic Radiology Organization)
It is a German term and can be pronounced as “bah-der-myn-hof.”
Baader Meinhof Phenomenon VS Recency Illusion
People usually use both terms interchangeably, believing that they work in the same manner. But in reality, there’s a slight difference between the working mechanisms of both terms, though they are quite similar but not the same.
| Baader Meinhof Phenomenon | Recency Bias |
|---|---|
| It is a cognitive bias, that makes people believe that the word or concept that they have learned occurs more frequently to them after learning about it. | It is a cognitive bias, noted by linguistics professor Arnold Zwicky in 2005. It is the belief that things you have noticed are newer than they actually are. |
Causes of Baader Meinhof Phenomenon
There are several causes of the Baader Meinhof phenomenon, related to the different offshoots of cognitive biases. But we’ll discuss the main three causes now, to make things easy for you to understand.
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Selective Attention
The first cause of the recency illusion is selective attention which directs people’s focus toward the objects or ideas that stimulate their curiosity.
For example, if you are interested in buying unique cars, the selective attention factor will make you focus only on unique cars while you are on the road. That’s how you will only be exposed to the things of your interest.
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Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias plays a pivotal role in enforcing the Baader Meinhof phenomenon in humans. It influences people’s perspectives by forcing them to seek out only information supporting their beliefs or ideas to feel a sense of conformity while making decisions.
For example, if you are planning to vote for a specific political party, you can look for similar-minded people or groups to get confirmation approval for your mind.
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Enhanced Perception
Enhanced perception is the most evident cause of this phenomenon, as it alters our perception of what we see or hear. The frequency of this cause is not so high in our lives, but our heightened awareness makes it seem more prevalent.
For example, you read about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD a week ago, and right after reading about this concept, you start seeing some signs of it in people around you
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How To Divert Baader Meinhof Phenomenon in Positive Direction
It is not a bad thing completely and can be used in a positive way as well for boosting your productivity in daily activities as well. Let’s have a look at these strategies briefly.
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Intentional Learning
If you want to learn a specific word or topic, make sure to immerse yourself in it with complete intention. Read about it, talk about it, and soon because of the Baader Meinhof phenomenon, you will start noticing it more often.
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Diverse Learning
Try to expose yourself to diverse learning sources or topics to encounter new concepts or ideas. After some time, because of the Baader Meinhof phenomenon, your curiosity will be triggered unconsciously.
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Mindfulness
Stay present-minded in your surroundings and remain attentive while living in society, to improve your mindfulness. Baader Meinhof’s phenomenon can enhance your overall mindfulness.
Baader Meinhof Phenomenon Examples
Marketing Industry
Marketers use this phenomenon to up-sell their products by influencing consumers buying decisions.
For example, if a mouth freshener brand has to sell its newly launched products, it will be more likely to show repetitive ads to the consumers to make them feel everyone is talking or looking at their products and lastly, people may get persuaded and become their customers.
Medical Sciences
Doctors are more likely to be influenced by this phenomenon because they read and learn about different diseases from research papers and essays.
Due to their fresh knowledge, it is more likely that while examining the patients they identified the newly learned disease in the patient even though it is not in the patient.
Arts & Literature
Artists and authors are more likely to be influenced by this phenomenon when they learn about anything new like a literary genre or a hidden author. They unconsciously start observing things about that particular genre in everything around them.
For example, if a novelist had learned about the role of “Unity of Time” in a play and how it works in writing a perfect play for the stage. He will start observing this specific element in everything he watches or reads and analyse its effectiveness unconsciously.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Baader Meinhof phenomenon is a cognitive process that makes people believe that the new thing or concept they have learned recently occurs more frequently to them after becoming aware of it.
There are several causes of the Baader Meinhof phenomenon, but the top three are selective attention, confirmation bias, and enhanced perception.
This concept was introduced by a journalist named Terry Mullen in 1944 during a formal sitting of Pioneer Press after the unconscious interaction with a West German far militant group.
You can use different strategies like intentional learning, mindfulness, and so on, to benefit yourself in learning about new things with a critical perspective.
