Measuring Individual Differences in Anthropomorphism toward Machines and Animals

Two scales were constructed to assess anthropomorphism during human-machine and human-animal interactions. Participants were asked about their tendencies to self-engage in anthropomorphic behaviors and their attributions about others' anthropomorphic behaviors. Results indicated that the tendency to anthropomorphize pets is distinct from the tendency to anthropomorphize artifacts such as cars and computers. Parallel results were obtained for the attributions. Subsequent analyses showed a gender difference for the general tendency to self-engage in anthropomorphic behaviors and the nature of the attributions made for others' anthropomorphic behaviors. Females reported that they anthropomorphized animals more than males. They also made more positive attributions for others' anthropomorphic behaviors toward animals. No gender differences were observed for anthropomorphism toward artifacts. Overall, the results support a necessary distinction between anthropomorphism directed toward animals versus artifacts. They also suggest that gender differences in anthropomorphism need to be considered when designing “intelligent agents” that can interact effectively with humans.