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Anthropomorphism, social understanding, and imaginary companions
Deniz Tahiroglu1,2, Marjorie Taylor2
1Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey.
The British Journal of Developmental Psychology
|November 22, 2018
Summary
Attributing human traits to non-human entities (anthropomorphism) is linked to having imaginary companions in children and adults. This tendency doesn't strongly correlate with social understanding or theory of mind development.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Individual differences in anthropomorphism exist in both children and adults.
- Existing methods for assessing anthropomorphism, such as self-reports and narration of movies, yield different developmental patterns.
- The relationship between anthropomorphism and cognitive abilities like social understanding and theory of mind is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlates of anthropomorphism in adults and children.
- To examine the relationship between anthropomorphism, social understanding, empathy, and imaginary companions in adults.
- To explore the link between anthropomorphism, theory of mind, imaginary companions, and social preferences in children.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted, involving college students (N=264) and children (N=73).
- Methods included assessing anthropomorphism, social understanding, empathy, theory of mind, imaginary companions, prosocial attitudes, and social preferences.
- Two distinct measures of anthropomorphism were used in the child study.
Main Results:
- Anthropomorphism showed weak correlations with social understanding in adults and theory of mind in children.
- A link was found between anthropomorphism and the presence of imaginary companions in both age groups.
- The two measures of anthropomorphism were not correlated in children and produced different results, suggesting different forms of anthropomorphism.
Conclusions:
- Individual differences in social understanding or theory of mind are not associated with individual differences in anthropomorphism.
- Having an imaginary companion in childhood is linked to a tendency to anthropomorphize in both children and adults.
- The lack of correlation between different anthropomorphism measures in children supports the idea of multiple forms of anthropomorphism.
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