For the study, Legge asked 102 participants to hide three index cards within two minutes under 70 tiles placed around a room with couches, tables, pictures, and desks. The room included a dark corner and a window. Then the subjects had another two minutes to locate cards concealed in the room.

When hiding their index cards, participants obscured them under tiles in the center of the room and immediately inside the entrance. When searching, participants looked at the darkest parts of the room, avoiding the open areas (exactly where they hid their own cards).

“We found people didn’t search where they would hide and they didn’t hide where they would search,” Legge explained. “It was a weird disconnect where people think they are kind of smarter than the other person and would over-think where they would hide [the cards].”