Reminders of Social Connection Can Attenuate Anthropomorphism

Abstract

It is a fundamental human need to secure and sustain a sense of social belonging. Previous research has shown that individuals who are lonely are more likely than people who are not lonely to attribute humanlike traits (e.g., free will) to nonhuman agents (e.g., an alarm clock that makes people get up by moving away from the sleeper), presumably in an attempt to fulfill unmet needs for belongingness. We directly replicated the association between loneliness and anthropomorphism in a larger sample ( N = 178); furthermore, we showed that reminding people of a close, supportive relationship reduces their tendency to anthropomorphize. This finding provides support for the idea that the need for belonging has causal effects on anthropomorphism. Last, we showed that attachment anxiety-characterized by intense desire for and preoccupation with closeness, fear of abandonment, and hypervigilance to social cues-was a stronger predictor of anthropomorphism than loneliness was. This finding helps clarify the mechanisms underlying anthropomorphism and supports the idea that anthropomorphism is a motivated process reflecting the active search for potential sources of connection.

What am I thinking? Perspective-taking from the perspective of adolescents with autism

“…Research on anthropomorphism indicates that individuals are more likely to anthropomorphize when they are lonely (Epley et al, 2008), while reminders of close social connections can decrease anthropomorphism (Bartz, Tchalova, & Fenerci, 2016). A significant body of research indicates that autistic people and those with the broader autism phenotype experience higher degrees of loneliness and show smaller interpersonal networks than NTs (Jobe & Williams White, 2007;Lamport & Zlomke, 2014;Mazurek, 2013;White, Ollendick, & Bray, 2011).…”

A Mind like Mine: The Exceptionally Ordinary Underpinnings of Anthropomorphism

“…A motivation to form a social bond with a nonhuman agent, such as a god or a pet, might then increase attention to the mind of these nonhuman agents, thereby increasing the likelihood of perceiving humanlike traits in them. Several experiments have supported this hypothesis involving nonhuman animals and religious agents (Epley et al 2008;Aydin, Fischer, and Frey 2010;Powers et al 2014;Bartz, Tchalova, and Fenerci 2016) and also consumer products (Mourey, Olson, and Yoon 2017;Chen, Sengupta, and Adaval 2018). The second motivation is a desire to explain, predict, and therefore potentially control another agent.…”

Anxious attachment and excessive acquisition: The mediating roles of anthropomorphism and distress intolerance

“…Potentially, children develop stronger anthropomorphic tendencies when their parents are regularly unavailable. Studies with adults have shown that greater anxious attachment is related to greater anthropomorphic tendencies ( Bartz, Tchalova, & Fenerci, 2016 ; Neave, Tyson, McInnes, & Hamilton, 2016 ; Wang, 2017 ). Research has also shown that greater anthropomorphic tendencies are associated with greater hoarding behaviors, especially excessive and compulsive acquisition ( Burgess, Graves, & Frost, under review ; Neave et al., 2016 ; Timpano & Shaw, 2013 ).…”