Baader-Meinhof phenomenon

A cognitive bias by which a recently learned word, concept, etc. suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency.

Noun

  1. A cognitive bias by which a recently learned word, concept, etc. suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency.

    psychology · Topics: human sciences, psychology, sciences

    • There’s a well-known cognitive bias where, after you become aware of something new, you start seeing it everywhere. It’s known as the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, but from this year, I’ll think of it as the Katy B effect, after Katy on a Mission became the unexpected soundtrack of my summer. - [2025 December 25, Elle Hunt, “Paranoia, pop-dubstep and perfectly odd gems: the best old music we discovered this year”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 25 Dec 2025

    Synonyms: Baader-Meinhof effect frequency illusion

Origin

Named in 1994 after the West German Baader-Meinhof Group of the 1970s, when a commentator unexpectedly heard two references to the group within 24 hours. The group is named after two of its leaders, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof.