Patternicity

Patternicity

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

The tendency to see patterns where none exist.

What it is

Seeing faces in clouds or links between unrelated events is a common feature of perception. One account holds that the tendency persists because missing a real pattern was once costlier than a false alarm. In experiments by Jennifer Whitson and Adam Galinsky, the research term is illusory pattern perception, and people made to feel a lack of control showed more of it.

In effect

In the article on why people believe conspiracy theories, it is the perceptual habit that conspiracy explanations draw on.

What it does not say

It is a general tendency, not a flaw in particular people. Seeing patterns is also how people find real ones.

Sources

  1. Whitson, J. A., & Galinsky, A. D. (2008). Lacking control increases illusory pattern perception. Science, 322(5898), 115-117.
  2. Munthe, T. Why We Think What We Think.