Pattern recognition enhancement

Face in a cloud by Neil Usher - This image serves as an example of pattern recognition enhancement.

Pattern recognition enhancement can be described as an increase in a person's ability to recognize significant imagery (usually faces) within vague stimuli.

This innate ability which human beings possess in everyday life is referred to by the scientific literature as pareidolia and is very well documented. Common examples of this include spotting faces in everyday objects or perhaps viewing clouds as fantastical objects.

During the experience of this effect pareidolia can become significantly more intense and pronounced. For example, scenery may look remarkably like people or objects, every single leaf on a tree may look like many tiny green faces, or clouds might appear to be easily recognizable as fantastical objects, all without any visual alterations actually taking place.