Rashomon effect

English

Etymology

From Japanese 羅生門 (rashōmon), after Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon (1950), in which a crime witnessed by four individuals is described in four mutually contradictory ways.

Noun

Rashomon effect (plural Rashomon effects)

1. (psychology) The effect of the subjectivity of perception on recollection, by which observers of an event are able to produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of it.
   • 1993, Marcos Leiderman, Technology in People Services: Research, Theory, and Applications:

     And, in accordance with the "Rashomon effect," depending on who is doing the telling, the reported effect of computerization in the same agency may differ widely.

   • 2017 July 19, Lisa Provence, “Rashomon effect: Police chief defends tear gas; activists allege police brutality[1]”, in c-ville.com, retrieved 17 February 2018: