WEBVTT - What Is the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb. Here. Let's pretend you have

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<v Speaker 1>oh Says to spare and you're out shopping for a

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<v Speaker 1>shiny new ride. You've never really cared about cars that

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<v Speaker 1>much before, minus perhaps a cerebral hate for the car

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<v Speaker 1>commercials you see every seven seconds during a televised sporting event.

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<v Speaker 1>But now you're invested. And when someone mentions a certain

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<v Speaker 1>kind of car, one you've never heard of before, but

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<v Speaker 1>maybe that gets high ratings on a consumer review site,

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<v Speaker 1>you're interested. Suddenly that car is everywhere. It's parked on

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<v Speaker 1>your street, your boss's husband has one. You see two

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<v Speaker 1>of them next to in traffic on your way home

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<v Speaker 1>from work. The car is even popping up in those

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<v Speaker 1>ubiquitous commercials during the game, and you swear up and

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<v Speaker 1>down they came out of nowhere. So what exactly is

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<v Speaker 1>happening here? Did this car suddenly come to dominate the

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<v Speaker 1>cultural consciousness? Or is your consciousness playing tricks on you?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the batter Main Haff phenomenon. Otherwise known as

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<v Speaker 1>the frequency illusion or recency illusion. This phenomenon occurs when

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<v Speaker 1>a thing you've just noticed experienced or been told about

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly crops up constantly. It gives you the feeling that

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<v Speaker 1>out of nowhere, pretty much the whole world is talking

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<v Speaker 1>about this subject, or that it's swiftly surrounding you, and

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<v Speaker 1>you're not crazy. You are totally seeing it more. But

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<v Speaker 1>the thing is, of course, that's because you're noticing it more.

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<v Speaker 1>A couple of things happen when the batter main haf

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<v Speaker 1>phenomenon kicks in. One, your brain seems to be excited

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<v Speaker 1>by the fact that you've learned something new, and selective

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<v Speaker 1>attention occurs. Your brain subconsciously thinks, hey, that's awesome, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to look for that thing without you needing to

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<v Speaker 1>actually think about it, so now that your senses are

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<v Speaker 1>on alert for it, you find it. To make it

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<v Speaker 1>all the more powerful, Confirmation bias occurs after seeing it

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<v Speaker 1>even once or twice. Confirmation bias is essentially our desire

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<v Speaker 1>to be correct. It's the psychological trait where we're inclined

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<v Speaker 1>to notice and remember information that supports our pre existing views,

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<v Speaker 1>and to ignore or disregard information that refutes what we

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<v Speaker 1>already believe to be true. In other words, you start

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<v Speaker 1>agreeing with yourself that Yep, you're definitely seeing this thing

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<v Speaker 1>more than you ever have before. Strangely, though, the batter

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<v Speaker 1>Mainhuff phenomenon isn't named for two researchers who studied it,

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<v Speaker 1>as things like this often are. Nope, it's named for

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<v Speaker 1>a militant West German terrorist group that was active in

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen seventies. A nineteen nineties online comment board was

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<v Speaker 1>the unlikely source of the name. A commenter on the St. Paul,

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<v Speaker 1>Minnesota Pioneer press board dubbed the frequency illusion the batter

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<v Speaker 1>Mainhuff phenomenon after they randomly heard two references to batter

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<v Speaker 1>main Hoff within twenty four hours. The phenomenon has nothing

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<v Speaker 1>to do with the gang, in other words, but don't

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<v Speaker 1>be surprised if the name starts popping up everywhere you turn.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Kate Kirshner and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler clang A. Brain Stuff is a production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on this and

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<v Speaker 1>lots of other topics oddly influenced by the nineteen nineties,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet how Stuff Works dot com. And

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