The ‘so that’s what you look like’ moment used to be reserved for people at dark bars and clubs, but thanks to mask mandates being lifted, it’s now happening in the daylight. Many people are seeing the faces of others they’ve been interacting with in the past year for the very first time and what their learning is… they guessed the bottom half of their head completely wrong. Here’s why:
- We’re Sensitive To Seeing Faces. Ever wonder why you’re always seeing faces on inanimate objects or why people that put googly eyes on things get so many likes online? Anthony Little from the University of Bath says it’s a phenomenon called “face pareidolia” where “we see faces even when they’re not there.” Looking at you electrical outlets.
- It’s That Sensitivity That Throws Off Our Mask Senses. According to neuroscientist Erez Freud, our brains not only love to look for faces, but they also process holistically. Meaning we tend to look at and recognize faces as a whole and not by just specific features. So all of a sudden seeing someone’s mouth is bound to throw you off.
- We Fill In The Blanks With Attractive Features. The other issue at hand is we can’t help but think of people at their hottest. A recent study had people assess the attractiveness of faces in complete and incomplete photographs, and in the end, they thought the models in the cutoff pics were more attractive. And more to the point, another study found average-looking folks were rated as more attractive when wearing masks. Ouch.
Source: Vice
