The Reading / Listening - Happy Faces - Level 4

The process of seeing faces in objects is called pareidolia. We all see "false" faces in everyday objects such as clouds or in objects as common as an electrical socket. Scientists from a university in Australia conducted a study to look at whether our brain processes false faces in the same way it does with human faces. Their research shows there are some similarities in how we recognise both human and false faces.

In the study, volunteers looked at false and human faces. They rated the strength of emotion they felt upon seeing each one. The researchers said the brain was involved in the same processes when deciding what was or wasn't a real face. A researcher said: "We know these objects are not truly faces, yet the perception of a face lingers." He said our brain sees two things at once, and that we focus more on the image of the face than the object.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Happy Faces - Level 5 or  Happy Faces - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-why-we-tend-to-see-faces-everywhere-we-look
  • https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/07/so-happy-to-see-you-our-brains-respond-emotionally-to-faces-we-find-in-inanimate-objects-study-reveals
  • https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.0966


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. seeing faces
  2. We all
  3. everyday
  4. an electrical
  5. our brain
  6. in the same
  7. Their research shows there are
  8. both human
  1. socket
  2. some similarities
  3. objects
  4. way
  5. and false faces
  6. see "false" faces
  7. processes false faces
  8. in objects

Paragraph 2

  1. looked at false and
  2. They rated the
  3. deciding what was or
  4. We know these objects are
  5. the perception of a face
  6. our brain sees two
  7. we focus
  8. the image
  1. wasn't a real face
  2. more
  3. lingers
  4. of the face
  5. strength of emotion
  6. not truly faces
  7. human faces
  8. things at once

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The (1) ___________________ faces in objects is called pareidolia. We all see "false" faces in everyday (2) ___________________ clouds or in objects as common as (3) ___________________. Scientists from a university in Australia (4) ___________________ to look at whether our brain processes false faces in the (5) ___________________ does with human faces. Their research shows there (6) ___________________ in how we recognise both human and false faces.

In the study, (7) ___________________ false and human faces. They rated the (8) ___________________ they felt upon seeing each one. The researchers said the brain was involved in (9) ___________________ when deciding what was or wasn't a real face. A researcher said: "We know these objects are (10) ___________________, yet the perception of a face lingers." He said our brain sees two (11) ___________________, and that we focus more (12) ___________________ of the face than the object.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Theprocessofseeingfacesinobjectsiscalledpareidolia.Weallsee"false
"facesineverydayobjectssuchascloudsorinobjectsascommonasanel
ectricalsocket.ScientistsfromauniversityinAustraliaconductedastud
ytolookatwhetherourbrainprocessesfalsefacesinthesamewayitdoes
withhumanfaces.Theirresearchshowstherearesomesimilaritiesinho
wwerecognisebothhumanandfalsefaces.Inthestudy,volunteerslook
edatfalseandhumanfaces.Theyratedthestrengthofemotiontheyfeltu
ponseeingeachone.Theresearcherssaidthebrainwasinvolvedinthesa
meprocesseswhendecidingwhatwasorwasn'tarealface.Aresearcher
said:"Weknowtheseobjectsarenottrulyfaces,yettheperceptionofafa
celingers."Hesaidourbrainseestwothingsatonce,andthatwefocusmo
reontheimageofthefacethantheobject.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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