Humans have been documented throughout history to recognize familiar faces in the most unexpected and unrelated objects. Face pareidolia has piqued the interest of scientists for many years. According to recent studies, the ability to see faces in inanimate objects is not a fixed attribute in adulthood. It appears to be more prevalent among women who have just given birth. This unusual observation has prompted researchers to investigate a possible link between this occurrence and the hormone oxytocin, sometimes known as the “love” or “trust” hormone due to its involvement in social bonding.
“These data, collected online, suggest that our sensitivity to face-like patterns is not fixed and may change throughout adulthood,” the team reportedly wrote.
Oxytocin’s Function
Previous research has shown that oxytocin treatment can improve the detection of specific emotions in facial expressions. Researchers from Australia’s University of Queensland and the University of the Sunshine Coast did a study to explore if oxytocin plays a role in people’s sensitivity to seeing faces in items.
Women who have recently given birth
The researchers recruited women via an online platform, focusing on pregnant women and those who had recently given birth, a period associated with elevated oxytocin levels.
Participants were shown 320 photos in random sequence and asked to rate how easily they could perceive a face within each image on an 11-point scale.
There were 32 human faces, 256 inanimate items with patterns that looked like faces, and 32 inanimate objects lacking facial patterns.
Important discoveries
The study’s findings revealed that all participants easily recognized photographs of human faces, but struggled to recognize faces in the 32 images of inanimate things lacking facial patterns.
Women who had recently given birth, on the other hand, reported more ease in perceiving the 256 illusionary faces than pregnant women.
This shows that sensitivity to perceiving faces in things is not a fixed attribute throughout adulthood and may alter during early parenthood, maybe as a technique to improve social bonding, which could be influenced by increasing oxytocin levels.
Future investigation
While these findings are noteworthy, there are some limitations to the study. Notably, oxytocin levels in participants were not examined, allowing the opportunity for other factors such as worry or stress to potentially explain the results.
Furthermore, the study only recorded participants’ abilities at a single point in time and did not track changes in their proclivity to recognize faces in items before and after becoming parents. More research is needed to confirm these findings and gain a better understanding of the hormonal and psychological processes at work in face pareidolia.
