Anthropomorphism is the tendency to attribute human traits, emotions, intentions or consciousness to non-human entities, including animals, objects, natural phenomena and abstract concepts. It is a deeply rooted cognitive tendency studied across psychology, anthropology and the cognitive science of religion, and researchers have linked it to the same mental processes that let people infer the mental states of other people, applied outside their normal target. The tendency can shape everyday judgment, from naming and personifying pets and cars to interpreting the behavior of animals or machines in human terms, and it has been proposed as a factor in phenomena ranging from product design preferences to religious belief.
Facts
Core ClaimThe tendency is treated as innate rather than a simple error: people apply the same mental-state-inference machinery they use to read other humans to animals, objects and natural events, which researchers link to phenomena from pet-naming to religious belief. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Sources
1. Wikipedia: Anthropomorphism
Wikimedia Foundationlead paragraph, definition
Anthropomorphism is the ascribing of human personality, appearance, conduct, cognition, or other attributes to non-human entities, often including non-human animals.
lead section, defining sentence
Anthropomorphism is the ascribing of human personality, appearance, conduct, cognition, or other attributes to non-human entities, often including non-human animals.
Scientific views section, sentence naming the 1944 Heider and Simmel study
In psychology, the first empirical study of anthropomorphism was conducted in 1944 by Fritz Heider and Marianne Simmel.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
It is a deeply rooted cognitive tendency studied across psychology, anthropology and the cognitive science of religion, and researchers have linked it to the same mental processes that let people infer the mental states of other people, applied outside their normal target.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.