The mere exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon in which people come to like a stimulus, such as a word, image, sound or person, more simply because they have been repeatedly exposed to it, independent of the stimulus's actual qualities. The effect has been demonstrated even when the repeated exposure occurs below the threshold of conscious awareness. Early groundwork was laid by Gustav Fechner in 1876, but the psychologist Robert Zajonc developed the modern theoretical account and the term itself in a series of studies published in 1968.
Facts
Core ClaimSimple, repeated exposure to something, on its own, tends to increase a person's liking for it. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Mere Exposure Effect
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The mere-exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a liking or disliking for things merely because they are familiar with them.
Research section
Gustav Fechner conducted the earliest known research on the effect in 1876.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The mere-exposure effect is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a liking or disliking for things merely because they are familiar with them.
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