Pareidolia: Seeing Jesus in Toast is Perfectly Normal

Main Digest

People who claim to see "Jesus in toast" may no longer be mocked in the future thanks to a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto and partner institutions in China.

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Researchers have found that the phenomenon of "face pareidolia" - where onlookers report seeing images of Jesus, Virgin Mary, or Elvis in objects such as toasts, shrouds, and clouds - is normal and based on physical causes.

What is Pareidolia?

Pareidolia is defined as the tendency for incorrect perception of a stimulus as an object, pattern or meaning known to the observer, such as seeing shapes in clouds, seeing faces in inanimate objects or abstract patterns, or hearing hidden messages in music. Pareidolia was at one time considered a symptom of psychosis, but it is now seen as a normal human tendency. The Rorschach inkblot test uses pareidolia in an attempt to gain insight into a person's mental state. Pareidolia is also what some skeptics believe causes people to believe that they have seen ghosts.

"Most people think you have to be mentally abnormal to see these types of images, so individuals reporting this phenomenon are often ridiculed", says lead researcher Prof. Kang Lee of the University of Toronto's Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study.

"But our findings suggest that it's common for people to see non-existent features because human brains are uniquely wired to recognize faces, so that even when there's only a slight suggestion of facial features the brain automatically interprets it as a face," said Lee.

Although this phenomenon has been known for centuries, little is understood about the underlying neural mechanisms that cause it.

The Study

In the first study of its kind, researchers studied brain scans and behavioral responses to individuals seeing faces and letters in different patterns. They discovered face paredilia isn't due to a brain anomaly or imagination but is caused by the combined work of the frontal cortex which helps generate expectations and sends signals to the posterior visual cortex to enhance the interpretation stimuli from the outside world.

Researchers also found that people can be led to see different images - such as faces or words or letters - depending on what they expect to see, which in turn activates specific parts of the brain that process such images.

Seeing "Jesus in toast" reflects our brain's normal functioning and the active role that the frontal cortex plays in visual perception. Instead of the phrase "seeing is believing" the results suggest that "believing is seeing."

The research was undertaken by researchers from the University of Toronto, Beijing Jiaotong University, Xidian University, and the Institute of Automation Chinese Academy of Sciences. The findings were published in the journal Cortex. The complete study can be found at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945214000288

Attribution/Source(s):

This quality-reviewed article relating to our Offbeat News section was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World due to its likely interest to our disability community readers. Though the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or length, the article "Pareidolia: Seeing Jesus in Toast is Perfectly Normal" was originally written by University of Toronto, and published by Disabled-World.com on 2014-05-07 (Updated: 2021-01-15). Should you require further information or clarification, University of Toronto can be contacted at utoronto.ca. Disabled World makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith.

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Cite This Page (APA): University of Toronto. (2014, May 7). Pareidolia: Seeing Jesus in Toast is Perfectly Normal. Disabled World. Retrieved September 22, 2023 from www.disabled-world.com/news/offbeat/jesus.php

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