Why Your Brain Sees Faces Everywhere, Can’t Look Away

New research, published in the journal i-Perception, shows we react strongly to both real faces and fake ones in objects, but through different brain pathways. In fact, those imaginary faces can hold our attention even more than real gazes, offering surprising insight into how our brains work—and how clever design could use this effect to grab our focus.

If you have ever noticed a face or a human-like expression in an everyday object, you have likely experienced what scientists call face pareidolia. Researchers at the University of Surrey recently explored how this curious visual effect draws our attention, and their findings suggest it could be useful for advertisers seeking to capture consumer interest in future campaigns.

The work examined how our focus shifts in two situations: when a person’s gaze is turned away from another face (averted gaze) and when we encounter objects that resemble faces (pareidolia).

To investigate, the team carried out four “gaze cueing task” experiments with a total of 54 volunteers. These tests measured how participants’ attention changed based on the direction of another subject’s gaze. The results showed that people reliably shifted their attention both when they saw an averted gaze and when they saw face-like patterns in objects.

However, the brain processes these cues in distinct ways. With real faces, our attention is drawn mainly to the eyes and where they are looking. With pareidolia, we tend to take in the overall arrangement of the “face,” including the position of any eye-like features, which leads to a stronger and more sustained focus.

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 in objects can direct where we look, but they do so through different pathways. We process real faces by 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.”

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