Apophenia

{{short description|Tendency to perceive connections between unrelated things}} {{redirect|Apophany|the concept in linguistics|Apophony}} [[File:Martian face viking cropped.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cropped version of the original batch-processed image (#035A72) of the "Face on Mars"<ref name="pia01141">{{cite web | url=http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia01141 | title=PIA01141: Geologic 'Face on Mars' Formation | date=2 April 1998 | access-date=12 February 2011 | publisher=NASA}}</ref>]] '''Apophenia''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|p|oʊ-|ˈ|f|iː|n|i|ə}}) is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things.<ref name=skepdic>{{cite web|title=apophenia|author=Carroll, Robert T.|url=http://skepdic.com/apophenia.html|website=The Skeptic's Dictionary|access-date=17 July 2017}}</ref>

The term ({{langx|de|Apophänie}} from the {{langx|el|ἀποφαίνειν|apophaínein|label=Greek verb}}) was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia.<ref name=Klaus>{{cite book |first=Klaus |last=Conrad |title=Die beginnende Schizophrenie. Versuch einer Gestaltanalyse des Wahns |year=1958 |publisher=Georg Thieme Verlag |location=Stuttgart |language=de |trans-title=The onset of schizophrenia: an attempt to form an analysis of delusion|oclc=14620263}}</ref> He defined it as "unmotivated seeing of connections [accompanied by] a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness".<ref name=Mishara>{{cite journal |last=Mishara |first=Aaron |title= Klaus Conrad (1905–1961): Delusional Mood, Psychosis and Beginning Schizophrenia. |year=2010 |journal=Schizophr Bull |volume=36 |number=1 |pages=9–13 |pmc=2800156 |pmid=19965934 |doi=10.1093/schbul/sbp144}}</ref><ref name=dbskeptic>{{cite web|last=Hubscher |first=Sandra L |title=Apophenia: Definition and Analysis |url=http://www.dbskeptic.com/2007/11/04/apophenia-definition-and-analysis/ |website=Digital Bits Skeptic |publisher=Digital Bits Network, LLC |date=4 November 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130121151738/http://www.dbskeptic.com/2007/11/04/apophenia-definition-and-analysis/ |archive-date=21 January 2013}}</ref> He described the early stages of delusional thought as self-referential over-interpretations of actual sensory perceptions, as opposed to hallucinations.<ref name=skepdic /><ref>Brugger, Peter. "From Haunted Brain to Haunted Science: A Cognitive Neuroscience View of Paranormal and Pseudoscientific Thought", ''Hauntings and Poltergeists: Multidisciplinary Perspectives'', edited by J. Houran and R. Lange (North Carolina: McFarland Publishing, 2001) {{ISBN| 978-0786409846}}</ref>

Apophenia has also come to describe a human propensity to unreasonably seek definite patterns in random information, which can occur in gambling.

==Introduction== Apophenia can be considered a commonplace effect of brain function. Taken to an extreme, however, it can be a symptom of psychiatric dysfunction, for example as a symptom in paranoid schizophrenia,<ref>{{cite web |last=Shiel Jr. |first=William C. |title=Medical Definition of Apophenia |url=https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=39714 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107084338/https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=39714 |archive-date=7 November 2020 |website=MedicineNet |date=21 December 2018 |access-date=11 August 2020}}</ref> where a patient sees hostile patterns (for example a conspiracy to persecute them) in ordinary actions.

Apophenia is also typical of conspiracy theories, where coincidences may be woven together into an apparent plot.<ref>Poulsen, Bruce. "[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reality-play/201207/being-amused-apophenia Reality Play: Being Amused by Apophenia"], ''Psychology Today'', 31 July 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2020.</ref>

== Examples ==

=== Pareidolia === {{Main|Pareidolia}}

Pareidolia is a type of apophenia involving the perception of images or sounds in random stimuli.

A common example is the perception of a face within an inanimate object—the headlights and grill of an automobile may appear to be "grinning". People around the world see the "Man in the Moon".<ref name="faces">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/health/psychology/13face.html|title=Facial Recognition – Brain – Faces, Faces Everywhere|work=New York Times|access-date=3 July 2010 | first=Elizabeth | last=Svoboda | date=13 February 2007}}</ref> People sometimes see the face of a religious figure in a piece of toast or in the grain of a piece of wood. There is strong evidence that psychedelic drugs tend to induce or enhance pareidolia.<ref>{{cite web |last=Watkins |first=Matthew |date=10 June 2022 |publisher=University of Exeter |title=Faces in things? Psychedelic visuals, Pareidolia and AI |url=https://sites.exeter.ac.uk/philosophy-psychedelics/transdisciplinary-research-colloquium-on-psychedelics/colloquium-recordings/689-2/ |access-date=19 January 2025}}</ref>

Pareidolia usually occurs as a result of the fusiform face area—which is the part of the human brain responsible for seeing faces—mistakenly interpreting an object, shape or configuration with some kind of perceived "face-like" features as being a face.

=== Gambling === Gamblers may imagine that they see patterns in the numbers that appear in lotteries, card games, or roulette wheels, where no such patterns exist.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilke |first1=Andreas |last2=Scheibehenne |first2=Benjamin |last3=Gaissmaier |first3=Wolfgang |last4=McCanney |first4=Paige |last5=Barrett |first5=H. Clark |title=Illusionary pattern detection in habitual gamblers |journal=Evolution and Human Behavior |date=July 2014 |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=291–297 |doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.02.010 |bibcode=2014EHumB..35..291W }}</ref> A common example of this is the gambler's fallacy.<ref name=Slate_article>{{cite magazine |last=Waldman |first=Katy |title=It's All Connected |date=16 September 2014 |magazine=Slate |url=https://slate.com/technology/2014/09/apophenia-makes-unrelated-things-seem-connected-metaphors-paranormal-beliefs-conspiracies-delusions.html}}</ref>

=== Statistics === In statistics, apophenia is an example of a type I error – the false identification of patterns in data.<ref name="skepdic"/> It may be compared to a so-called ''false positive'' in other test situations.

== Related terms == In contrast to an epiphany, an apophany (i.e. an instance of apophenia) does not provide insight into the nature of reality nor its interconnectedness but is a "process of repetitively and monotonously experiencing abnormal meanings in the entire surrounding experiential field". Such meanings are entirely self-referential, solipsistic and paranoid—"being observed, spoken about, the object of eavesdropping, followed by strangers".<ref>{{cite news |last=Conrad |first=Klaus |title=Gestaltanalyse und Daseinsanalytik |periodical=Nervenarzt |year=1959 |number=30 |pages=405–410}}</ref>

=== Synchronicity === {{main|Synchronicity}}

Synchronicity can be considered synonymous with correlation, without any statement about the veracity of various causal inferences.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Love |first=Shayla |date=2023-09-19 |title=When the human tendency to detect patterns goes too far {{!}} Psyche Ideas |url=https://psyche.co/ideas/when-the-human-tendency-to-detect-patterns-goes-too-far |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250825030525/https://psyche.co/ideas/when-the-human-tendency-to-detect-patterns-goes-too-far |archive-date=2025-08-25 |access-date=2025-10-06 |website=psyche.co |language=en}}</ref>

=== Patternicity === In 2008 Michael Shermer coined the word ''patternicity'', defining it as "the tendency to find meaningful patterns in meaningless noise".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shermer |first1=Michael |title=Patternicity |journal=Scientific American |date=December 2008 |volume=299 |issue=6 |pages=48 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1208-48 |pmid=19143444 |bibcode=2008SciAm.299f..48S }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=GrrlScientist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2010/sep/25/michael-shermer-belief-self-deception |title=Michael Shermer: The pattern behind self-deception |newspaper=The Guardian |date=29 September 2010|access-date=2011-06-29 |location=London}}</ref>

=== Clustering illusion === A clustering illusion is a type of cognitive bias in which a person sees a pattern in a random sequence of numbers or events. Many theories have been disproved as a result of this bias being highlighted.<ref name=Brogaard_article>{{cite magazine |last=Brogaard |first=Berit |title=Why Do Bad Things Seem to Happen in Clusters? |date=25 February 2025 |magazine=Psychology Today |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-superhuman-mind/202412/why-do-bad-things-seem-to-happen-in-clusters}}</ref>

One case, during the early 2000s, involved the occurrence of breast cancer among employees of ABC Studios in Queensland. A study found that the incidence of breast cancer at the studios was six times the rate in the rest of Queensland. An examination found no correlation between the heightened incidence and any factors related to the site nor any genetic or lifestyle factors of the employees.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://nbcf.org.au/research/our-research/search-our-research/pathologic-and-molecular-investigations-of-the-abc-breast-cancer-cluster/|title=Pathologic and molecular investigations of the ABC breast cancer 'cluster'|date=2015-11-13|work=National Breast Cancer Foundation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013852/http://nbcf.org.au/research/our-research/search-our-research/pathologic-and-molecular-investigations-of-the-abc-breast-cancer-cluster/|url-status=dead |access-date=2017-05-23|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-11-07}}</ref>

== Causes == Although there is no confirmed reason for why apophenia occurs, there are some respected theories.

=== Models of pattern recognition === Pattern recognition is a cognitive process that involves retrieving information either from long-term, short-term, or working memory and matching it with information from stimuli. There are three different ways in which this may happen and go wrong, resulting in apophenia.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.psychology24.org/pattern-recognition-and-your-brain/|title=Pattern Recognition and Your Brain|date=2016-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606042609/http://www.psychology24.org/pattern-recognition-and-your-brain/|work=psychology24.org|access-date=2017-05-23|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-06-06|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Template matching ==== The stimulus is compared to templates, which are abstracted or partial representations of previously seen stimuli. These templates are stored in long-term memory as a result of past learning or educational experiences. For example, D, d, ''D'', ''d'', '''D''' and '''d''' are all recognized as the same letter.

Template-matching detection processes, when applied to more complex data sets (such as, for example, a painting or clusters of data) can result in the wrong template being matched. A false positive detection will result in apophenia.<ref name=":0" />

==== Prototype matching ==== This is similar to template matching, except for the fact that prototypes are complete representations of a stimulus. The prototype need not be something that has been previously seen—for example it might be an average or amalgam of previous stimuli. Crucially, an exact match is not needed.<ref name=":0" />

An example of prototype matching would be to look at an animal such as a tiger and instead of recognizing that it has features that match the definition of a tiger (template matching), recognizing that it's similar to a particular mental image one has of a tiger (prototype matching).

This type of pattern recognition can result in apophenia based on the fact that since the brain is not looking for exact matches, it can pick up some characteristics of a match and assume it fits.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Solso |first1=Robert L. |last2=MacLin |first2=Otto H. |last3=MacLin |first3=M. Kimberly |title=Cognitive Psychology |page=155 |publisher=Pearson |edition=8th |year=2013 |orig-date=2007 |isbn=978-1292042824}}</ref>

==== Feature analysis ==== The stimulus is first broken down into its features and then processed. This model of pattern recognition says that the processing goes through four stages: detection, pattern dissection, feature comparison in memory, and recognition.<ref name=":0" />

=== Evolution === One of the explanations put forth by evolutionary psychologists for apophenia is that it is not a flaw in the cognition of human brains but rather something that has come about through years of need. The study of this topic is referred to as error management theory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/comm/haselton/webdocs/EMT.html|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20210311123608/http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/comm/haselton/webdocs/EMT.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 March 2021|title=Error Management Theory|last=Haselton|first=Martie|date=January 2000|website=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology}}</ref>

One of the most accredited studies in this field is Skinner's box. This experiment involved taking a hungry pigeon, placing it in a box and releasing food pellets at random times. The pigeon received a food pellet while performing some action; and so, rather than attributing the arrival of the pellet to randomness, the pigeon repeats that action, and continues to do so until another pellet falls. As the pigeon increases the number of times it performs the action, it gains the impression that it also increased the times it was "rewarded" with a pellet, although the release in fact remained entirely random.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://io9.gizmodo.com/5746904/how-pigeons-get-to-be-superstitious |title=How pigeons get to be superstitious|last=Inglis-Arkell|first=Esther|work=io9|access-date=2017-05-23|language=en-US}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book |first=Mica R. |last=Endsley |chapter=Situation Awareness: Progress and Directions |year=2004 |title=A Cognitive Approach To Situation Awareness: Theory and Application |editor1-first=Simon |editor1-last=Banbury |editor2-first=Sébastien |editor2-last=Tremblay |publisher=Ashgate |location=Aldershot |isbn=978-0-7546-4198-8}} * {{cite book |first=William |last=Gibson |year=2003 |title=Pattern Recognition |location=New York |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |isbn=978-0-399-14986-3 |oclc=49894062 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/patternrecogniti00gibs }}

== External links == * {{Wiktionary-inline|apophenia}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apophenia}} Category:Cognitive biases Category:Randomness