New Study Discovers that Causality Is in the Eye of the Beholder’s Brain

We rely on our visual system more heavily than previously thought in determining the causality of events, according to researchers who recently showed that we don’t always need to use cognitive reasoning in making judgments about causality. In some cases, our visual brain — the brain areas that process what the eyes sense — can make these judgments rapidly and automatically. The results of this new study appear in the latest issue of the journal Current Biology.

“Our study reveals that causality can be computed at an early level in the visual system,” says Martin Rolfs, who conducted much of the research as a post-doctoral fellow in NYU’s Department of Psychology. “This finding ends a long-standing debate over how some visual events are processed: We show that our eyes can quickly make assessments about cause-and-effect — without the help of our cognitive systems.” For more information, click here to read the full release.