Anthropomorphism is a pervasive cognitive bias where humans attribute human-like characteristics, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. This tendency is deeply rooted in our psychology and natural history and is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
The term stems from two Greek words: anthropos (human) and morphe (form). The propensity to perceive human traits in non-human agents has been observed throughout human natural history.
Early humans attributed spirits and deities with human-like traits to make sense of nature and their surroundings. This tendency has persisted into modern times, where people apply human characteristics to animals, objects, and even abstract concepts, a process linked to our search for consciousness in the world around us.
Psychological Mechanisms
Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel conducted the first empirical research of anthropomorphism in psychology in 1944. The researchers first demonstrated a 2-and-a-half-minute animation of multiple forms moving around on the screen in varied directions and at variable speeds.
When asked to explain what they saw, participants provided extensive assessments of the intentions and personalities of the shapes. The giant triangle, for example, was shown as a bully, following the other two shapes until they could fool the large triangle and escape.
The researchers determined that when people see items moving for no apparent reason, they perceive these objects to be intentional agents (individuals who make conscious choices to pursue goals).
Anthropomorphism is classified as a cognitive bias by modern psychologists. In other words, anthropomorphism is a cognitive process in which people use their schemas about other humans to infer the attributes of non-human entities in order to make efficient decisions about the environment, even if those inferences are not always correct.
Human-centric schemas are utilized as the foundation because this knowledge is learned early in life, is more detailed than knowledge about non-human entities, and is more easily accessible in memory. Anthropomorphism can also be used as a coping mechanism for loneliness when other human connections are unavailable.
Three-factor Theory
Given the cognitive effort required to make inferences, anthropomorphism is likely to be activated only when certain elements of a person and their environment are accurate. To define these qualities and forecast when people are most likely to anthropomorphize, psychologist Adam Waytz and his colleagues developed a three-factor theory of anthropomorphism.
The three-factor theory of anthropomorphism proposes that our tendency to humanize is influenced by three distinct factors:
- Elicited agent knowledge, or the amount of prior knowledge held about an object and the extent to which that knowledge is called to mind.
- Effectance, or the drive to interact with and understand one’s environment.
- Sociality, the need to establish social connections.
People are more prone to anthropomorphize when elicited agent knowledge is low and effectance and sociality are high. These three characteristics can be influenced by a variety of dispositional, environmental, developmental, and cultural variables, such as the demand for cognition, social isolation, cultural ideology, or uncertainty avoidance.
Theory of Mind Development
Children appear to anthropomorphize and use egocentric reasoning from an early age and use it more frequently than adults. Examples of this are describing a storm cloud as “angry” or drawing flowers with faces.
This penchant for anthropomorphism is likely because children have acquired vast amounts of socialization, but not as much experience with specific non-human entities, so thus they have less developed alternative schemas for their environment.
According to previous study, autistic children may tend to characterize anthropomorphized objects in purely mechanical terms (that is, in terms of what they do) because they struggle with theory of mind (ToM). A 2018 study found that autistic people are more likely to object personify, implying that autistic empathy and ToM are not only more complicated but also more all-encompassing.
Individuals often perceive intent and purpose where none exists, especially in interactions with robots or digital interfaces. For instance, cognitive load can increase the anthropomorphism of a humanoid robot, compelling us to ascribe intentions and emotional states to machines.
Social Implications of Anthropomorphism
Studies suggest that anthropomorphic practices shape our social identities and the way we process information about others. For instance, those suffering from loneliness may be more inclined to attribute human-like qualities to pets or virtual characters, a process that satisfies their need for social connection.
This can reflect a deeper psychological interplay whereby identity and emotional states drive the degree of anthropomorphism an individual is likely to engage in. Emotional support animals are a useful component of treatment for people suffering from depression, social anxiety, or other mental illnesses, in part because the anthropomorphism of these animals can satisfy the patients’ need for social connection.
Prejudice and Stereotyping
In the intricate web of social cognition, anthropomorphism acts like a double-edged sword. It affects the way individuals form and maintain their social identity while simultaneously being a potential gateway to fostering prejudice and stereotyping behaviors.
Fascinatingly, the way people anthropomorphize animals or objects can mirror the biases and stereotypes they hold against different human groups. For example, certain animals are often attributed characteristics based on racial or gender stereotypes, which reflects and potentially reinforces societal biases.
Additionally, the process of dehumanization, which is in many ways the opposite of anthropomorphism, plays a role in prejudice. By stripping away human qualities from individuals or groups, people can justify unfair treatment and discrimination.
Technology and Artificial Intelligence
Technology provides a powerful platform for anthropomorphism, especially within the realm of artificial intelligence. The degree of anthropomorphism can influence perception and interaction, shifting how users relate to machines. For example, computer-animated characters designed with human-like movements are often perceived as more lifelike, leading to different responses from human observers.
Interestingly, the response bias reduces as the anthropomorphism in these characters is dialed down. Meanwhile, cognitive theories suggest that under cognitive load, individuals may be more prone to attribute human-like qualities to robots, a concept pointed to as the “automatic path of anthropomorphism.” This notion posits that as the brain becomes taxed, there is a greater tendency to personify robots, potentially as a mental shortcut.
Social Connection
A 2016 study found that as a means of establishing social connection, individuals’ propensity to anthropomorphize objects may be diminished by evoking memories of intimate, nurturing connections. The study replicates and extends earlier findings showing that people who report feeling lonely are more likely to ascribe humanlike characteristics to inanimate objects than those who aren’t lonely.
People who are socially detached can reconnect in a variety of ways, including attempting to strengthen current social links or forging new ones, but there are other options as well. According to a 2008 study published by psychology researcher Nicholas Epley and colleagues, one way people may try to boost their sense of connection and belonging is by anthropomorphizing inanimate objects such as a pillow or an alarm clock.
The research serves as a reminder of the significance of our intimate relationships and underscores the ways in which individuals will go to “reestablish” contact when they feel isolated, according to psychological scientist Jennifer Bartz lead researcher on the 2016 study:
“Most of us, at some point or another, will experience feelings of disconnection, loneliness, and isolation. Whether these feelings are long-lasting or due to temporary circumstances like being relocated for a job or school, social disconnection is something we’re all vulnerable to experiencing.”
Bartz and study co-authors Kristina Tchalova and Can Fenerci, all of McGill University, wondered whether attachment anxiety – marked by a preoccupation with closeness and intimacy and heightened sensitivity to social cues of rejection – might be one individual characteristic associated with this tendency to anthropomorphize.
Investigating Attachment Anxiety
To find out, the researchers conducted an online experiment with 178 participants, who completed a variety of established survey measures aimed at assessing their attachment anxiety and avoidance, loneliness, self-esteem, and need to belong.
Some of the participants were then asked to consider someone significant to them and in whom they could place their trust. They listed six characteristics that characterized that individual, imagined what it would be like to be with that person, and then wrote a few phrases expressing their thoughts and feelings. These activities were designed to elicit feelings of social connection by reminding participants of times when they felt connected and cared for.
Other participants did the same activities but were instructed to consider an acquaintance rather than someone close to them as a comparison group.
After reading descriptions of four devices, including an alarm clock that rolls off your nightstand when it goes off, participants in both groups scored the objects on several social and nonsocial dimensions.
Participants who reported feeling lonely were more likely to attribute human features to the devices than non-lonely people, confirming Epley and colleagues’ findings with a much larger sample size.
Importantly, the findings revealed that thinking about a personal relationship makes a difference: individuals who thought and wrote about someone close to them were less likely to anthropomorphize the objects than those who thought about an acquaintance.
Furthermore, the researchers discovered that attachment anxiety was connected with a proclivity to anthropomorphize, and that it was a greater predictor than loneliness.
“The fact that attachment anxiety was linked with anthropomorphism but other forms of interpersonal insecurity, like attachment avoidance, weren’t suggests that this may be a ‘motivated cognitive process’ driven by an intense need to seek out and identify sources of support in the environment,”
explained Bartz.
“Although anthropomorphism is one of the more creative ways people try to meet belonging needs, it is nevertheless difficult to have a relationship with an inanimate object. Reliance on such a compensatory strategy could permit disconnected people to delay the riskier — but potentially more rewarding — steps of forging new relationships with real people,”
Bartz, Tchalova, and Fenerci write in their paper.
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