PAREIDOLIA: WHY IT ARISES AND 15 EXAMPLES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind senses a familiar pattern in a stimulus that does not really contains, usually a sound or an image. It is a word derived from the Greek terms para (meaning "beyond") and eidolon ("image" or "form").

There are many different examples of pareidolia; but most of them include the viewing of familiar faces or shapes in images that do not actually contain them. However, auditory versions of this phenomenon can also appear, such as hearing "hidden messages" within a song or recording.

Example of pareidolia in cut fruit

Although it may seem like a strange phenomenon, the truth is that experiencing pareidolia is a sign that our brain is working properly. Evolution has prepared us to detect patterns in our environment, and one of the side effects of this ability is finding shapes in places where there really aren't.

In this article we will tell you why pareidolia occurs, in addition to showing you several of the most common examples of this phenomenon.

Why does pareidolia arise?

There are several explanations for the fact that we detect patterns in places where they do not exist. As with many other psychological phenomena, there is no single cause, but all of them are capable of showing us a part of the truth about this capacity of our mind.

Evolutionary explanation

One of the main functions of our brain is to detect patterns in our environment. Thanks to this ability, we are able to learn from our experience, to predict what will happen in a given situation, and to relate to our surroundings in an appropriate way.

Due to the environment in which we develop as a species, evolution has favored people who detect patterns where there are none, rather than those individuals who fail to detect one when it does exist. The possible disadvantages of the first case are much less important than those of the second.

And, when one of our Stone Age ancestors heard a noise in the bushes, he was more likely to survive if he thought it was a predator stalking him than if he stayed calm believing that it was just the noise of the wind between leaves.

In the same way, babies who recognize a human face and smile at it have a better chance of staying alive than those who do not. This is because one of our most basic instincts is to protect the young of our species that give us some display of affection.

Brain explanation

A large number of neuroimaging studies have indicated that the same areas of our brain involved in the recognition of human faces are activated (although in a slightly different way) when they are in the presence of stimuli that bear some resemblance to them.

Thus, for example, even an image as simple as a circle with two points and a curved line transmits information to us. Our brain interprets it as if it were a human face, and only with four elements are we able to recognize the "emotional state" that we want to represent.

This also happens with other brain areas, such as the one in charge of recognizing spoken language. When listening to a noise, our mind can try to interpret it as a word or a phrase, even if it really is something without any relation to what we think we hear.

The same studies suggest that not all of us experience pareidolia with the same intensity. In fact, some experts believe that the smarter a person is, the more likely they are to find patterns even in items that don't actually include them.

Emotional explanation

Emotion experts have theorized that most cases of pareidolia arise as a result of our incredible ability to detect another person's emotional status. This is especially true when the shape we see bears some resemblance to a human face.

And it is that, in most cases, if we want to detect the emotions that another person is feeling, the only clue we will have is the way their eyes and mouth move. That is why even a few lines make us see sentimental expressions on inanimate objects.

Examples

To clarify what exactly pareidolia consists of, below we will look at some of the best-known examples of this phenomenon.

1- Suitcase on the stairs

This image shows us which are the main elements we need to detect the emotion of surprise in another person: open eyes and mouth. Only with these data, our brain interprets the presence of one of the universal human feelings in a palm tree.

3- Robot shooting

But not all examples of pareidolia involve just face detection; on the contrary, our brain is also capable of finding more complex patterns. This is what happens with this surveillance camera, which in our minds bears a great resemblance to a robot shooting.

4- Tree smiling

This case of pareidolia can be a bit more difficult to detect than the previous ones. Apparently, we are only before the image of a child hugging a large tree.

However, if we look closely at the bark, we can see what appear to be facial features: closed eyes, nose, and a smile of what appears to be satisfaction. An eyebrow can even be detected at the top of the tree trunk.

5- Face in the trash

But not only famous politicians are represented in this list of peculiar images: figures from children's television also appear in the minds of people with pareidolia. For example, the driver of this car thought he detected the face of the Cookie Monster on the back of a freight truck.

7- Musical Pareidolia: «Pingüino Rodríguez»

As we mentioned previously, the phenomenon of recognizing patterns in places where they don't really exist is not exclusive to the sense of sight. On the contrary, many people also claim to hear sounds or phrases in recordings that do not contain them.

This phenomenon occurs with special frequency in the world of music. Many songs in foreign languages, when heard by Spanish speakers, seem to contain hidden messages in Spanish; but of course, it is only a misinterpretation of a series of sounds that we do not understand.

One of the most famous cases of this type is that of the song "All Right" by Christopher Cross. In the chorus of the song, when the singer says "we think we're gonna make it", thousands of people around the world understand the phrase "Rodriguez penguin." You can see the example at minute 0:47 of the following video.

8- Musical Pareidolia: «A little Chinese fishing»

Another of the most famous cases of songs in English with apparently hidden messages in Spanish is that of Hotel California, the classic by The Eagles. At minute 1:31, instead of understanding "then she lit up a candle", the original message, many people from all over the Hispanic world hear the singer say "a little Chinese fishing."

9- A rabbit on the Moon

But not all examples of pareidolia appear in strange images or in photographs taken specifically for the occasion. One of the easiest examples to find in our day-to-day lives is seen nothing less than on the visible side of the Moon: if we look closely, we can recognize the image of a rabbit in the spots that cover it.

10- Appearances of Jesus Christ in the food

Perhaps the most peculiar cases of pareidolia are those in which the people who see the patterns believe that the images they discover are about some kind of signal. This is especially prevalent among those with strong religious convictions, such as Christians who believe they see the face of Jesus on pieces of food.

11-Face on Mars

A good example of this is the well-known "face of Mars". On July 25, 1976, the Viking space probe took several photos of the Martian soil relief, in the Cidonia region.

In one of the rock formations photographed, a great similarity with a human face could be observed, especially due to the effect of the shadows that were projected on them, when the sun's rays arrived with an inclination of 20 degrees.

Subsequently, many other photos of this formation were taken, with higher resolution and without these shadows, and the human face was not so clearly appreciated.

11- Face on rocks

12- Face in bag

13- Face in airplane seat

14-Face on wooden furniture

15- Face on the rock

conclusion

As you have seen, pareidolia is not only totally harmless, but it is a much more common phenomenon than it might seem. So, the next time you see a face in an unexpected place, don't panic: run for the camera and upload the image to the Internet so that the rest of the world can enjoy it too.

References

1. "Pareidolia: The science behind seeing faces in everyday objects" in: Lenstore. Retrieved on: December 28, 2018 from Lenstore: lenstore.co.uk.
2. "The Pareidolia Phenomenon: Explained With Significant Examples" in: PsycholoGenie. Retrieved on: December 28, 2018 from PsycholoGenie: psychologenie.com.
3. "34 Hilarious Examples Of Pareidolia (Seeing Faces In Everyday Objects)" in: Just Something. Retrieved on: December 28, 2018 from Just Something: justsomething.co.
4. "559 Funny Examples Of Pareidolia In Everyday Objects (Add Yours)" in: Bored Panda. Retrieved on: December 28, 2018 from Bored Panda: boredpanda.com.
5. "Pareidolia" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 28, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.