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Paranormal and religious believers are more prone to illusory face perception than skeptics and non-believers
- Type
- Study
- By
- Riekki, Lindeman, Aleneff, Halme, and Nuortimo
- Journal
- Applied Cognitive Psychology
- Source
- Applied Cognitive Psychology
- Published
- 2013
An experiment showing that paranormal believers see faces in random noise more often than skeptics do — direct evidence for the apophenia link.
This 2013 study from the University of Helsinki, published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, tested a simple prediction: if apophenia underlies paranormal belief, then believers should see faces in random noise more often than skeptics. That is exactly what the researchers found.
The result is important because it converts a talking point into a measurement. Believers are not making anything up — they genuinely perceive more patterns. The skeptic's conclusion follows directly: the tendency to see meaning in noise predicts belief, which is precisely the mechanism the skeptical account has always described.
The meaning
It shows the difference is real and measurable, not a slur: believers genuinely perceive more patterns.
The skeptic
It demonstrates that the tendency to see meaning in noise predicts belief — the exact mechanism skeptics have always pointed to.
About the research
Researchers at the University of Helsinki studying the cognitive roots of supernatural belief.
Key takeaways
- Paranormal believers detected faces in noise more often than skeptics.
- Direct experimental support for the apophenia explanation.
- Published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2013.