In the vast sea of social media content, memes, and viral posts, few topics intrigue people as much as quick, eye-catching “personality tests.” You might have scrolled through your feed, stumbled upon an image with concentric circles, and read a bold claim: “The Number of Circles You See Determines If You’re a Narcissist.” Perhaps you paused and tried to count the circles, or maybe you shared it with friends, curious about their reactions. Whatever the case, this particular meme taps into a powerful and enduring human desire: the wish to understand ourselves, and perhaps to understand others as well.

Why do we give so much credence to a simple image that purports to measure something as complex as narcissism? In a world where personality quizzes, from the “What Kind of Pizza Are You?” variety to the more established Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, are endlessly shared, this question is worth asking.

The Number of Circles You See Determines If You’re a Narcissist: Exploring Optical Illusions, Personality, and the Myth Behind the Meme

This article takes a deep dive into the nature of optical illusions, the psychological concept of narcissism, and the broader cultural fascination with quick-and-easy “tests” that promise to reveal who we really are. Ultimately, we will see that the meme in question is more entertainment than fact. Nonetheless, it opens a window into how people perceive, how illusions can fool us, and why we are so eager to believe that a single glance at a picture might unmask our innermost traits.

By examining the context, background, and implications of this viral meme, we can better understand how illusions intersect with human psychology—and why the question of narcissism is so deeply compelling in our modern, image-conscious era.

2. Understanding Optical Illusions

Before we delve into the specifics of this circle meme, it helps to have a baseline understanding of optical illusions. Optical illusions have existed for centuries, captivating the human mind and providing insight into how we process visual information. These illusions occur when the external reality (the shapes, lines, and colors we see) conflicts with how our brain interprets that information. The result is often a surprising or puzzling experience in which we see something that doesn’t match objective reality.

2.1 Types of Optical Illusions

Optical illusions can be broadly categorized into several types:

Literal Illusions: Images that differ from the objects that create them. For instance, a classic example is a depiction of a figure that looks like a duck from one perspective and a rabbit from another. The image is literally ambiguous.
Physiological Illusions: These result from excessive stimulation of the eyes or brain—brightness, color, size, position, or movement. A well-known example is the “grid illusion,” where you see gray spots at the intersections of a black-and-white grid.
Cognitive Illusions: These rely on our unconscious inferences about the world. Examples include the Müller-Lyer illusion, where two lines of equal length appear different because of the arrow-like tails at their ends.
2.2 Why We’re Drawn to Illusions

We are inherently drawn to illusions because they challenge our understanding of reality. They remind us that our brains do not merely record what is “out there” but actively interpret sensory data. The idea that something as basic as seeing can be “tricked” is both fascinating and unsettling, prompting us to share illusions widely and discuss them with friends. This interest lays the groundwork for why an optical illusion that claims to reveal something about our personality might be particularly compelling.

3. The Meme in Context: “The Number of Circles You See Determines If You’re a Narcissist”

The image in question features concentric circles, with an accompanying caption that essentially states: “The Number of Circles You See Determines If You’re a Narcissist.” The layout is straightforward: multiple white circles on a black background, with a small circle or dot near the bottom-right. The suggestion is that your interpretation of how many circles are present—whether you see one big circle, multiple concentric circles, or some other count—somehow correlates with how narcissistic you are.