What is apophenia and when does it become a problem?

The human brain is designed to find patterns, although sometimes it believes it detects some that do not actually exist. This is what is called apophenia, a curious phenomenon that the following article explains.

Written and verified by the psychologist Elena Sanz.

Do you know someone who always uses the same pen in their exams because they feel it gives them luck? Do you think that going outside without an umbrella will make it rain that day? Have you ever felt like you attract a phone call with your thought? These are all examples of apophenia, a phenomenon that anyone has experienced at some point and that could be pathological.

If you look at the previous cases, you will see that they all have one element in common: establishes a connection between two events that are not actually related. In other words and taking one of the cases, the pen used and the grade obtained in the exam are not associated in any way; but that someone thinks so.

This is the basis of apophenia, which It is very similar to magical thinking and is enhanced by certain religious currents. or spiritual movements. If you want to know more about it, we invite you to continue reading.

What is apophenia?

Apophenia is a cognitive bias that leads a person to see a pattern or connection between various objects or events that do not have one. It was the German neurologist and psychiatrist Klaus Conrad who coined the term in 1958; Since then, various investigations have been carried out in this regard.

To better understand what this experience consists of, it is pertinent to highlight that it consists of two elements that we will detail:

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The person detects connections unmotivatedly, that is, without reason for it. It is not about seeing patterns that are already there, but rather about imagining them, assuming them, assuming them and taking them as true without there being evidence to support it.The experience of giving a subjective meaning to facts is lived. These are taken to be more important than they are and a hidden meaning behind their occurrence is presumed. It is not assumed that these are just anecdotal or random events with no relationship to each other.

Some everyday examples

Even if you have never heard this term, it is likely that you experienced the phenomenon on more than one occasion. To understand it better, review the following examples that you may identify with:

Someone is heading to a job interview and as he sees several people smiling along the way, he understands that it is a sign that everything will be fine. You feel that you frequently see certain times on the clock (for example, 11:11) and that This is a confirmation of some concern in your life. A man always wears the same scarf when his favorite soccer team plays, because he assumes that it will bring him luck and help him win the game. You think of a friend who hasn’t been there for a long time. You see and at that moment he calls you. You interpret that, in some way, you attracted communication with your thoughts. You have broken off the relationship with your partner and you keep hearing his name and his favorite song everywhere. You understand this as a sign that the other person misses you or that they should come back. A woman is pregnant and, suddenly, she keeps seeing other pregnant women on the street. She assumes this is because there was a boom recent pregnancy; but, in reality, the only thing that happens is that she now pays more attention.

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Why does apophenia occur?

As you realize, anyone has experienced this phenomenon at some point. It is not a mental disorder, nor does it have to strictly constitute a symptom of poor psychological health. The truth is that it responds to the human need for security.

The mind likes predictability, we need to feel like we have some control about our environment. Because of this, it is possible to fall into apophenia. To avoid that feeling of uncertainty, meaning is given to what does not have it and relationships are created between random events.

Although it is more likely to be used by people who are insecure and perceive their surroundings as threatening or worrying, we can all fall into it. In fact, according to Michael Shermer in his article published in Scientific American, the brain is programmed to recognize patterns and find meaningsince this is an evolutionary ability that contributes to surviving as a species.

Furthermore, as Brugger (2001) states, apophenia is related to creativity and many artistic creations use it.

However, when this phenomenon occurs too frequently or becomes the habitual way of interpreting the world, there may be an underlying psychosis. According to an article in Psychiatry Research, this tendency to perceive independent events as significantly connected is part of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia.

Likewise, there appears to be a biological correlation for apophenia. And according to some research, such as that published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, high levels of dopamine would be linked to a greater appearance of the phenomenon.

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How to address this cognitive bias?

As we said, although apophenia is in principle harmless and can happen to anyone, it is possible that it leads to making bad decisions and, if it happens in excess, it disconnects from reality. Therefore, it is important to prevent and take some measures.

First of all, activate critical thinking. Although this requires more effort than the mental shortcut of identifying patterns, it can save you from falling into superstitions and fallacies. On the other hand, it is also important to avoid the consumption of certain drugs or substances that predispose to apophenia and paranormal experiences.

If this results as a symptom of a psychosis, some medications that regulate dopaminergic levels They help reduce the tendency to find non-existent connections and subjective meanings.

Apophenia and pareidolia: are they the same thing?

It is essential not to confuse apophenia with pareidolia, another related but different phenomenon. The latter is a perceptual alteration that leads to specifying recognizable shapes in a vague or random visual stimulus. For example, finding figures of animals in the clouds or believing that you can identify the face of a virgin or a demon in a stain on the wall.

Both experiences share the characteristic of granting meaning to objects or events that do not have them; It is important to take care of them. Otherwise, you may believe you find an order, causality or symbolism in completely random events.