The first woman you see in this image depends on your age

With this optical illusion, known as 'My Wife and my Mother-In-Law,' you can discern two distinct images. First, you may feel like you are seeing a young woman with her head turned and looking away, or an old lady with sharp features and looking to the left. It first appeared on a German postcard in 1888, and then was adapted by a British cartoonist for a humour magazine in 1915.

Age of the viewer determines what they see

According to a study published by Scientific Reports and conducted by two Australian psychologists, young people tend to see a young woman, and older people are more likely, at first sight, to see an old lady. A test was conducted on 393 people, mostly men (141 women and 242 men), all between the ages of 18 and 68. By showing them the image for only half a second, the panel's mission was to determine the age and sex of the person present on this optical illusion.

The results confirmed this hypothesis... All individuals considered to be young distinguished a woman from their age group, unlike older people, who were more oriented towards the distinction of anold woman.

Age-related prejudices

The purpose of this study is simple: to determine whether ‘age-related prejudices affect the initial interpretation of an image at a subconscious level.’ Thanks to this rather conclusive test, the creators of this analysis have succeeded in giving a conclusion to this phenomenon: ‘Although facial perception depends on neural processes, it is also conditioned by social processes.’

So, what about you? Do you see a young woman or old lady at first?