The fan effect is a cognitive psychology phenomenon in which recognition time or error rate for a given concept increases as more separate facts, or associations, become linked to that concept in memory. The name refers to the number of associative links, or fan, radiating out from a concept in a person's mental network; the more such links a concept has acquired, the longer it typically takes to retrieve or recognize any one of them.
Facts
Core ClaimRecognition times or error rates for a concept increase as more information about the concept is acquired. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Sources
1. Fan effect (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph
recognition times or error rate for a particular concept increases as more information about the concept is acquired.
History section
The fan effect first appeared in a series of experiments conducted by John R. Anderson, a cognitive psychologist, in 1974.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
The fan effect is a psychological phenomenon under the branch of cognitive psychology where recognition times or error rate for a particular concept increases as more information about the concept is acquired.
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