*An image of Adele that has been circulating on social media since 2016 has resurfaced to highlight the Thatcher effect.
As Bored Panda reports, the Thatcher Effect is an optical illusion where changes in facial features, like flipped eyes and mouth, are difficult to detect when a face is upside-down but become obvious when the face is upright. Named after British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the effect was first demonstrated in 1980 by psychologist Peter Thompson. The phenomenon occurs because, when upside-down, the brain doesn’t recognize the flipped features, as they appear in a familiar orientation.
Learn more about the Thatcher effect in the clip above and below you’ll find the Adele photo in question. On X/Twitter, one person wrote, “What I enjoy about this effect is even though I know what’s going to happen, and can identify which parts of her face have been altered, I still can’t mentally picture what the image will look like until I rotate the screen.”
Another user added, “I always thought the Thatcher effect was mass unemployment and the breakdown of society. Every day is a school day.”
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There’s a website dedicated to the Thatcher Effect where you can have the AI Thatcher your image.
Meanwhile, Dr. Julie Smith, a clinical psychologist based in London, shared a TikTok video showing similar images of Barack Obama, and rapper Kanye West. Peep the clip below.
@drjulie check out my IGTV video for why this happens (link in bio) #psychologyfacts #illusion #psychologytest #psychologytricks #psychology #learnontiktok ♬ Dr Julie Smith The Thatcher Effect – Dr Julie | Psychologist
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