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memory
Your brain ignores uniform items but highlights the oddity.
The Von Restorff effect states that an item that stands out from a group of similar items is more likely to be remembered.
Research dating back to 1933 demonstrated that when a list of words contains one outlier, that specific word is recalled with significantly higher frequency than the others.
Your focus is tuned to look for the break in the pattern.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Von Restorff, 1933
- What the check found
- The definition and the 1933 citation are accurate. The supporting text is a slight oversimplification regarding the specific study materials but captures the essential mechanism of the isolation effect.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.