Part of forming your own identity is defining yourself by the traits that make you unique. To do this, you categorize others as belonging to your group – based on characteristics that matter to you, ...

The illusory truth effect is the tendency for any statement that is repeated frequently—whether it is factually true or not, whether it is even plausible or not—to acquire the ring of truth.

However, studies have largely disproven the connection, with one 2019 publication calling it a “typical illusory correlation.” Still, finding one of these fish has been exceedingly rare ...