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frequency_illusion
The perception that something you have recently noticed or learned about suddenly appears everywhere, when in reality its frequency has not changed. Once the brain is primed to notice something, it begins detecting instances that were always there but previously filtered out. This creates a false impression of increasing prevalence.
After deciding to buy a red Toyota, a person suddenly notices red Toyotas everywhere and concludes they have become more popular recently. In reality, the same number were always on the road — the person's attention filter has simply changed.
A first-time expectant father suddenly notices pregnant women everywhere — in the supermarket, on his commute, in TV commercials — and remarks to his partner that there must be a 'baby boom' happening, unaware that his attention has simply been recalibrated.
After reading an article about a rare psychological concept called 'sonder,' a college student starts encountering the word in books, podcasts, and conversations within the same week, and concludes the idea is suddenly trending, when in fact she simply never registered it before.
Binary (yes/no) questions an LLM must answer to identify this aspect:
Did awareness of something recently increase before the perceived frequency increase?
Type: binaryHas the actual frequency changed, or just the noticing of it?
Type: binaryWould tracking data confirm the perceived increase in frequency?
Type: binaryThe perception that something you have recently noticed or learned about suddenly appears everywhere, when in reality its frequency has not changed. Once the brain is primed to notice something, it begins detecting instances that were always there but previously filtered out. This creates a false impression of increasing prevalence.
Two mechanisms work together: selective attention (you notice what you are primed for) and confirmation bias (each new sighting reinforces the belief that the frequency has increased). The brain's reticular activating system filters for recently primed concepts.
Recognize that noticing something more often does not mean it is occurring more often. Check objective data on actual frequency before concluding something has increased.
The frequency illusion affects how people perceive trends, diseases (learning about a condition then 'seeing it everywhere'), and social phenomena. It can create false trend narratives in journalism and business.
Use these tools to detect, analyze, or train this aspect.