Lonely or neurotic?

Living in London it seems almost impossible not to be bombarded with human contact. On the tube, in the streets, in the 45 minute queue for the new restaurant that just opened around the corner — we live with very little time truly on our own. However, despite this constant connectivity with those around us, our minds tend to seek out faces in the inanimate objects which provide a backdrop to our social interactions. Is this the Hollywood problem of the persistence of loneliness and anonymity within the presence of crowds, or are our minds just innately programmed this way?

 

Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon involving the perception of patterns, most especially those pertaining to faces, where none actually exist. Our brains love to find patterns. It helps us reduce uncertainty and it makes sense of our experiences with the world around us. Pareidolia has long been the associated reason for this, however a Japanese study conducted in 2015 has developed an alternative explanation suggesting that people with the ability to see these faces maybe especially neurotic. The study, which was presented at Paris' annual Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, forms connections between specific personality types and emotional characteristics with its subjects' abilities to distinguish faces. The results suggested a strong connection between neurotic personalities and facial recognition.

 

So the question raised is — are you neurotic?
Have a look at the images below and if you can see faces... I think we both know the answer.