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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 10, 2025

Design and Use of an Apparatus for Presenting Graspable Objects in 3D Workspace

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Published on: August 8, 2019

Anthropomorphism and object attachment.

Echo Wen Wan¹, Rocky Peng Chen²

¹University of Hong Kong, China.

Current Opinion in Psychology

|August 31, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Anthropomorphism, attributing human traits to objects, strengthens emotional bonds. This study analyzes how it fulfills needs for comfort, identity, and self-efficacy, enhancing object attachment.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Human-Object Interaction
Social Cognition

Background:

Anthropomorphism involves perceiving non-human entities as human-like.
This perception can significantly influence psychological and emotional connections with objects.
Existing research highlights shifts in cognitive and emotional responses due to anthropomorphism.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a resource-based analysis of anthropomorphism's role in fulfilling human psychological needs.
To explore how anthropomorphism addresses needs related to comfort, self-identity, and self-efficacy.
To examine the relationship between anthropomorphism and object attachment.

Main Methods:

A resource-based theoretical analysis framework was employed.
The study draws parallels with caregiver-child attachment dynamics.
Conceptual analysis of anthropomorphism's functions in psychological resource provision.

Main Results:

Anthropomorphism provides psychological resources for comfort and pleasantness.
It supports the development of individual, relational, and collective self-identity.
It enhances feelings of self-efficacy through object interaction.

Conclusions:

Anthropomorphism serves as a mechanism for fulfilling fundamental human psychological needs.
The tendency to anthropomorphize objects is linked to deeper object attachment.
Future research should further explore the nuances of anthropomorphism and its impact on human well-being.