pareidolia

(noun)

The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the observer, such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals, seeing shapes in clouds, or hearing hidden messages in reversed music.

Related Terms

  • apophenia
  • heuristic

Examples of pareidolia in the following topics:

  • Heuristics and Cognitive Biases

    • Pareidolia is when a vague and random stimulus is perceived as significant when it is not.
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

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