Reminders of Social Connection Can Attenuate Anthropomorphism
- PMID: 27777375
- DOI: 10.1177/0956797616668510
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.
Keywords: anthropomorphism; attachment; belonging; loneliness; priming.
Similar articles
-
Creating social connection through inferential reproduction: loneliness and perceived agency in gadgets, gods, and greyhounds.Psychol Sci. 2008 Feb;19(2):114-20. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02056.x. Psychol Sci. 2008. PMID: 18271858
-
On seeing human: a three-factor theory of anthropomorphism.Psychol Rev. 2007 Oct;114(4):864-86. doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.114.4.864. Psychol Rev. 2007. PMID: 17907867 Review.
-
A Friendly Article: The Qualitative Investigation of Anthropomorphism in Autistic and Nonautistic Adults.Autism Adulthood. 2019 Dec 1;1(4):286-296. doi: 10.1089/aut.2019.0027. Epub 2019 Dec 13. Autism Adulthood. 2019. PMID: 36601321 Free PMC article.
-
Making sense by making sentient: effectance motivation increases anthropomorphism.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2010 Sep;99(3):410-35. doi: 10.1037/a0020240. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2010. PMID: 20649365
-
Anti-anthropomorphism and Its Limits.Front Psychol. 2018 Nov 15;9:2205. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02205. eCollection 2018. Front Psychol. 2018. PMID: 30498465 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
People with Autism Spectrum Disorder Could Interact More Easily with a Robot than with a Human: Reasons and Limits.Behav Sci (Basel). 2024 Feb 12;14(2):131. doi: 10.3390/bs14020131. Behav Sci (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38392485 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The relationship between loneliness and mobile phone addiction among Chinese college students: The mediating role of anthropomorphism and moderating role of family support.PLoS One. 2023 Apr 28;18(4):e0285189. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285189. eCollection 2023. PLoS One. 2023. PMID: 37115749 Free PMC article.
-
An examination of dispositional social needs, agent knowledge, and two dimensions of product anthropomorphism: A serial mediation model.Front Psychol. 2022 Oct 13;13:913978. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.913978. eCollection 2022. Front Psychol. 2022. PMID: 36312082 Free PMC article.
-
'They ask no questions and pass no criticism': A mixed-methods study exploring pet ownership in autism.J Autism Dev Disord. 2023 Aug;53(8):3280-3294. doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05622-y. Epub 2022 Jun 9. J Autism Dev Disord. 2023. PMID: 35678947 Free PMC article.
-
Anthropomorphic Strategies Promote Wildlife Conservation through Empathy: The Moderation Role of the Public Epidemic Situation.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 30;18(7):3565. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073565. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. PMID: 33808181 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
