Have you ever caught yourself looking for shapes in the clouds? Did it ever happen that you could see figures in stars during the night? Finding structure even in ambiguous figures/situations is one of the survival related skill. The human brain craves pattern. We have an Innate ability for pattern recognition. It was important for ancient humans to look at the footprints of animals and determine which animal it was, whether to run for safety or not. Determining which plant was healthy to eat and which were not helped them survive.
Today, looking at our body signs, we recognise whether these signs are of a healthy body or an unhealthy one. All these are pattern-seeking behaviours. Sometimes we connect dots and try to make meaningful cause-and-effect relationships. This helps in understanding, for future references, what situations will lead to what outcomes. Thus, pattern seeking influences how we think, act, behave and predict.
Read More: The Psychology of Belief: Why We See Meaning in Random Events
Discomfort with Randomness
People have a tendency to detect patterns in data that are random. Even adults, along with children, often involve themselves in finding correlations between events and variables that randomly co-occur (William and Griffiths). Studies show that when humans encounter random events or are unable to predict the future, they experience significant distress ( Grupe and Nitschke, 2013). Uncertainty makes it difficult to properly prepare oneself for future events. Uncertainty about possible future events and threats impacts our ability to avoid or to deal with them.
This leads to a feeling of anxiety. To avoid such anxiety, the human brain looks for patterns to predict events in the future. This helps in effectively preparing our mind and body. For this purpose, pattern recognition has become a human instinct. Despite our efforts to maintain order and predict events, randomness may find us in the most unexpected ways.
This leads to people perceiving connections between unrelated events. This phenomenon is called illusory correlation. Certain coincidences, for example, losing a match every time you wear a particular pair of shoes, may lead to thinking that those particular shoes are unlucky for you. Although the two events may be unrelated, our brain is wired to connect the two events. Another example could be, every time you go to a particular cafe, it rains. Such events are truly random in nature, but we perceive them to be correlated because of the pattern recognition instinct.
Pattern Recognition
The human brain has evolved to recognise patterns ( Konavlov, 2018). After collecting information from our surroundings, our brain may analyse it or compare it to already existing patterns in our brain. Thus, pattern recognition is the ability to identify and observe patterns in our environment within some data. It is considered a process of sensing pattern information and matching it with the information in long-term memory ( Pi, Liao, Liu, Lu, 2008). Researches show that pattern processing is a fundamental basis of many unique features of the human brain, including intelligence, language, inventions and imagination (Mattson 2014).
The three major brain areas important in pattern processing include the visual cortex, the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. The visual cortex identifies shapes, colours, and spatial arrangements, which help us to recognise objects. The prefrontal cortex plays a role in pattern recognition by identifying trends in data, reasoning and visual information. The hippocampus is important for memory formation and enables us to recognise patterns based on previous experiences. Various theories have been developed to understand the process of pattern recognition. Previous knowledge and experiences play an important role in recognising patterns and making meanings. Another factor that impacts pattern processing is attention.
Patterns attract our attention. Also, when a familiar or similar pattern appears across us, our memory primes our attention and identifies it. For example, when you are thinking of buying a newly launched phone, we suddenly start seeing more people around us with that phone. For us, it may seem a coincidence, but actually, we are attentionally biased and patterned to notice it more around us due to our previous knowledge and experiences. Pattern processing makes our amygdala calmer, and the nucleus accumbens fills with dopamine.
Assigning Meaning To Coincidence
Due to the brain’s need for order and predictability, coincidences alert the brain about possible causal relationships between events. This helps us see the world as more orderly and predictable. These patterns may not be true, but are suggestive in nature. For example, a teenage girl may feel resentment towards her mother forgot letting her go out with her friends. The mother, the next day, gets a heart stroke.
The girl may then believe her feelings and thoughts contributed towards her mother contributed to such an outcome. Studies show that people with firm religious and spiritual beliefs show a greater tendency to analyse coincidences (Rushnell, 2002). They find more evidence regarding connectedness among and between people and their surroundings. Their belief in God and human connectedness is confirmed by weird coincidences ( Harmer D., 2004). How people interpret coincidences is also impacted by cultural and personal meanings. These include many cognitive biases, for example, confirmation bias and hindsight bias.
Read More: Cognitive Biases in Everyday Life
Assigning Meaning To Symbols
Symbols play an important role in our thinking and communication. They help in the expression of complex ideas as well as emotions. But have you ever wondered how we understand symbols? Our brain is wired to identify symbols through a system called resemblance-based representation ( Williams and Collings, 2018). Our brain processes information in patterns, including symbols and what they denote.
These patterns are formed due to structural similarities. For example, the heart is a symbol for love. Although the heart isn’t literally love, these have become associated over time. Hence, our brain actively compares new information and symbols with existing mental models. They are then recognised and interpreted. They help us navigate our world and better understand our environment.
Apophenia and Pareidolia
Apophenia is a term used for the human tendency to seek patterns in ambiguous and meaningless data, including visual, auditory and other senses. For example, you may feel that the same numbers keep appearing. You may believe it to be some signs, while it could be just a coincidence.
Pareidolia is a specific form of apophenia where people see visual patterns in ambiguous visual stimuli. Although these are both commonly occurring phenomenon but, it can be problematic if someone gets fixated on a particular pattern. Studies show a link to mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and autism (Rose H., 2022). It also impacts our decision-making as well as rigid beliefs.
Psychological Impact Of Pattern Seeking
Pattern recognition plays an important role in memory encoding as well as retrieval. It helps in easy storage of information instead of heaps of knowledge. It helps in making effective decisions by analysing patterns and fostering critical thinking. Also, recognising patterns in diverse stimuli, it helps in drawing analogies, making connections and generating new ideas.
It also influences emotional and social perception as it impacts how we interpret facial expressions and emotional signals from others. By recognising similar and familiar patterns of expression, body posture and language, voice tone, we infer others’ emotional state, and hence it facilitates communication.
Refreneces +
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Grupe, D., Nitschke, J. Uncertainty and anticipation in anxiety: an integrated neurobiological and psychological perspective. Nat Rev Neurosci 14, 488–501 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3524
Mineka, S., & Kihlstrom, J. F. (1978). Unpredictable and uncontrollable events: A new perspective on experimental neurosis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87(2), 256–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.87.2.256
Mineka, S., & Hendersen, R. W. (1985). Controllability and predictability in acquired motivation. Annual Review of Psychology, 36, 495–529. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.36.020185.002431
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Pi, Y., Liao, W., Liu, M., Lu, J., & School of Automation Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology. (2008). Theory of Cognitive Pattern Recognition. In Pattern Recognition Techniques, Technology and Applications (p. 434). I-Tech. https://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs/5795/intech-theory_of_cognitive_pattern_recognition.pdf
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Keloglanian, N. (2025, October 13). The symbolism of it all: How do symbols influence our decisions ? Spiegeloog. https://www.spiegeloog.amsterdam/the-symbolism-of-it-all-how-do-symbols-influence-our-decisions/
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