Illusory perception of visual patterns in pure noise is associated with COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs.
Iperception
; 14(1): 20416695221144732, 2023.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2230818
ABSTRACT
Just as perceptual heuristics can lead to visual illusions, cognitive heuristics can lead to biased judgements, such as "illusory pattern perception" (i.e., seeing patterns in unrelated events). Here we further investigated the common underlying mechanism behind irrational beliefs and illusory pattern perception in visual images. For trials in which no object was present in the noise, we found that the tendency to report seeing an object was positively correlated with the endorsement of both COVID-19 specific conspiracy theories and paranormal beliefs. The present results suggest that the cognitive bias to see meaningful connections in noise can have an impact on socio-political cognition as well as on perceptual decision making.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Risk_factors_studies
Language:
English
Journal:
Iperception
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
20416695221144732
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