Seeing Patterns That Aren’t There: Apophenia and Pareidolia Explained
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Humans are hardwired to seek patterns—it’s a trait that has helped our species survive by detecting threats and making predictions. But sometimes, this powerful instinct goes a little too far. Two common psychological phenomena—apophenia and pareidolia—describe our tendency to perceive connections or patterns where none actually exist.
What Is Apophenia?
Apophenia is the general term for perceiving meaningful connections between unrelated things. This can include seeing links between random events, numbers, or symbols. It’s often associated with conspiracy theories, gambling fallacies, or even creative inspiration.
Examples of apophenia:
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A person believes that every time they wear a certain shirt, their favorite team wins—so the shirt must be lucky.
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A gambler sees a “pattern” in roulette results and bets accordingly, even though the spins are random.
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Someone notices that a series of random events in their day match numbers from a dream they had and believes it’s a sign or message.
What Is Pareidolia?
Pareidolia is a specific type of apophenia: it’s when people perceive familiar images—usually faces or figures—in unrelated visual stimuli.
Examples of pareidolia:
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Seeing a face in the front of a car (headlights as eyes, grill as mouth).
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Noticing the shape of a person or animal in a cloud or rock formation.
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Seeing the “Man in the Moon” or the Virgin Mary in a piece of toast.
Pareidolia taps into the brain’s strong facial recognition system, which is so sensitive it often registers faces even when none are present.
Why Do These Happen?
Both apophenia and pareidolia arise from the brain’s effort to find order in chaos. Evolutionarily, it's better to be overly cautious (mistaking a shadow for a predator) than to miss a real threat. While this has benefits, it also makes us prone to seeing false patterns or meanings.
Conclusion
Apophenia and pareidolia remind us how powerful and fallible our perception can be. Recognizing these phenomena helps us better understand human behavior, from superstition to creativity—and why sometimes a burnt tortilla might just look a little too much like Elvis Presley.
References
Brugger, P. (2001). From haunted brain to haunted science: A cognitive neuroscience view of paranormal and pseudoscientific thought. Hauntings and Poltergeists: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 195–213.
Lindeman, M., & Aarnio, K. (2007). Superstitious, magical, and paranormal beliefs: An integrative model. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(4), 731–744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2006.06.009
Liu, J., Li, J., Feng, L., Li, L., Tian, J., & Lee, K. (2014). Seeing Jesus in toast: Neural and behavioral correlates of face pareidolia. Cortex, 53, 60–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2014.01.013
Shermer, M. (2008). Patternicity: Finding meaningful patterns in meaningless noise. Scientific American, 299(6), 48. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1208-48
Vitz, P. C. (1966). Preference for different amounts of visual complexity. Behavioral Science, 11(2), 105–111. https://doi.org/10.1002/bs.3830110202
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