How our brains are drawn to and spot faces everywhere

If you have ever spotted faces or human-like expressions in everyday objects, you may have experienced the phenomenon of face pareidolia. Now, a new study by the University of Surrey has looked into how this phenomenon grabs our attention, and could be used by advertisers in promoting future products.

The study, published in i-Perception, investigated the differences between our attention being directed by averted gazes—when a subject looks away from another subject’s eyes or face—and when it’s directed by pareidolia—imagined face-like objects.

The researchers conducted four “gaze cueing task” experiments with a total of 54 participants, to measure how our attention is influenced by the direction of another subject’s gaze. They found that participants consistently shifted their attention in response to the appearance of both averted gazes and pareidolia.

However, the underlying mechanisms through which attention is drawn are quite different. While we are primarily drawn to the eye region of averted gazes, we are drawn to pareidolia’s holistic structure of their “faces,” and as a result, experience a stronger response and attention.

Dr. Di Fu, Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Surrey, said, “Our research shows that both averted gazes from real faces and perceived faces on objects can direct where we look, but they do so through different pathways. We process real faces through focusing on specific features, like the direction of the eyes. However, with face-like objects, we process their overall structure and where their ‘eye-like features’ are positioned, resulting in a stronger attention response.”

The findings of the study may have implications that go beyond a better understanding of how our brain processes information.

Dr. Fu adds, “Our findings may have practical implications too, particularly in areas like product advertising. Advertisers could potentially incorporate face-like arrangements with prominent eye-like elements into their designs, increasing consumer attention and leaving a more memorable impression of their products.”