Pareidolia is the term for the phenomena that happens when people see patterns in seemingly unconnected things, including faces, animals, or objects on clouds and rock formations. It is not a clinical diagnosis, nor is it a disorder. Information from any source can be interpreted by the human brain naturally. Due to the way our brains are wired to recognize and process facial features, we regularly see faces or important patterns when none are there.
This phenomenon explains why patterns in tree bark, constellations, or toast patterns can appear to individuals as faces. I thought this was incredibly interesting because it never occured to me that there was a name for this experience. The concept of pareidolia highlights how our minds constantly scan our surroundings for patterns and significant information, often leading us to perceive well-known shapes and forms when none are present. Psychology and neuroscience have been interested in this phenomenon because it provides insights into how our innate cognitive processes affect our perception.
References:
https://sites.uw.edu/libraryvoices/2024/02/03/pareidolia-the-phenomenon-of-seeing-faces-everywhere/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/pareidolia
It's interesting how our minds see patterns in things and anthropomorphize everything. Evolutionarily, it makes a lot of sense that we should be able to recognize when a fellow human is near, even if it means seeing their face in something inanimate. It makes me wonder to what extent this applies to other animals.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot about his topic. When reading through this, I remember thinking about all the times I have seen faces in random objects, and felt silly. Now, it's much better to understand why it is that my brain scans those shapes/figures the way it does. Thank you for sharing this!
- Luci