Hey, how’re you feeling? This week was unbearable. The Milestone School Tragedy of Bangladesh is proof that politics and corruption won’t spare even the little souls. Sometimes, the fireflies don’t glow—they grieve.

Today’s Story:

I found some interesting psychological phenomena that we face regularly but don’t give attention to. Thought to share with you!

The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon (Frequency Illusion)

‘Selenophile’~ a moon lover, learned the word from an Insta post. Then I saw this word used more than I thought. Before the post, I didn’t even know selenophile existed. 

Terry Mullen, a commentator on an online forum, learned about an extremist German group, ‘Baader-Meinhof’, for the first time. Then noticed the reference used more often. That’s the origin of frequency illusion. 

The more you focus on something, the more it captures your attention. The human brain loves to recognize patterns, familiarity. Once your brain gets hold of something, you will notice its existence everywhere. 

The only drawbacks or problems might be the negative thinking pattern. Some of us are more prone to negative thoughts, then they start to notice every negative thing around them. It can create turmoil in mental health. 

The Spotlight Effect

What’s the most awkward moment of your life? You might have many. Why is that your most awkward moment, though? Because you have put yourself in that spotlight. Most of the time, we define these moments based on how others might have judged us. But do they?

The root is egocentrism, where we are fixated on ourselves rather than others. A lot of shame, social anxiety, and consciousness come as a byproduct. I had a prejudice about red lipstick for a long time. I used to feel very bright colors, and people would just think that was too much. But what am I wearing? Do they care? 

Barry Manilow’s face on a t-shirt, and you're going out wearing that. You might think everyone is noticing, embarrassed, and so on. Actually, a study on this thing showed only 20~25% looked where participants assumed 50%.  

Confirmation Bias

The first impression matters - heard often. Why though? 

On a first date, people have pre-loaded assumptions in mind. They try to find those expectations in the other, and if found, then the chemistry seems to have ignited. This is confirmation bias. 

How do you think companies hire workers based on a mere 20-minute interview? They have expectations from the workers in mind in these 20 minutes, and they match or try to find those qualities in them.

Confirmation bias works at both ends. Even doctors diagnose primarily with assumptions in mind and match those with test results to get confirmation. 

The gap between generations are also because of the polarized thinking pattern. Older generations don’t want to come out unbiased, and younger ones don’t accept the outdated thoughts. 

During COVID, I was thinking, is the vaccine safe? Then saw some complications due to vaccination. Got more determined that vaccines are not safe. Because I had evidence that fed my belief.

Next time, you can easily identify your biased thoughts, then actively remind yourself of other possibilities. 

Hedonic Adaptation(Hedonic Treadmill)

Can a job promotion keep you happy forever? Feeling of Happiness is like a treadmill; you keep chasing, never really changing the place. Whatever achievements or events of happiness occur, you don’t remain happy forever; after a while, you return to the baseline of happiness. 

It’s true that once you stop chasing, your growth stops. But the treadmill is a vicious cycle. You have a new phone, feel excited then run for the next event. You have gone on tour, and after the tour, you run for the next dose of happiness. 

The loop becomes: Gain -  enjoy- Adapt - Repeat

But the emotional baseline quite fluctuates in the case of tragedy. Losing your loved ones might have a permanent scar on your mind. But you won’t cry forever for losing a job or a breakup or any losses generally. We say “ time heals everything”. The truth relies on the statement that our emotional compass eventually finds its balance again. 

This psychological phenomenon is escapable, though through mindshift practice.