<p>Is there a word or a (catch) phrase for the phenomenon that after something (that is often more or less complex, mostly abstract) has a name, it becomes recognisable and usable?</p>

<p>An example where this happened is the perception of serendipity after the name "serendipity" for the referred henomenon was invented / became popular.</p>

<p>It may overlap with the baader-meinhof-phenomenon / frequency illusion, but in my experience there is more to it than an illusion, fallacy or bias.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-06T04:34:44.737Z
it's called **contextual prerequisite for understanding**, aka Bransford & Johnson experience. You can read it here: https://scienceblogs.com/mixingmemory/2007/11/30/my-favorite-experiments-bransf
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-07T05:13:02.613Z
Related questions: [Does language and/or culture affect an individual's cognitive capacity?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/15342/7001) and [Is there any evidence that language is the limit of the world?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/228/7001)
Arnon Weinberg
<terminology>
Phrase for: Something needs a name before it can be perceived
demento
# Phrase for: Something needs a name before it can be perceived

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-06-05)

Is there a word or a (catch) phrase for the phenomenon that after something (that is often more or less complex, mostly abstract) has a name, it becomes recognisable and usable?

An example where this happened is the perception of serendipity after the name "serendipity" for the referred henomenon was invented / became popular.

It may overlap with the baader-meinhof-phenomenon / frequency illusion, but in my experience there is more to it than an illusion, fallacy or bias.

**Tags:** terminology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: it's called **contextual prerequisite for understanding**, aka Bransford & Johnson experience. You can read it here: https://scienceblogs.com/mixingmemory/2007/11/30/my-favorite-experiments-bransf  
> **username_2**: Related questions: [Does language and/or culture affect an individual's cognitive capacity?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/15342/7001) and [Is there any evidence that language is the limit of the world?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/228/7001)  

---

## 0 answers

