Anthropomorphism

The research project Interactions with Artificial Humans comprises several studies in which assumptions of anthropomorphism play a significant role. Anthropomorphism is a human tendency to react to (humanlike) non-humans in ways that are similar to how we react to real humans. Such reactions have been well-documented, and they can be of several types. For example, sometimes we react to non-humans at the neuron level by being subject to activity in the brain in the same region as when we react to real humans. A particularly common form is when we ascribe human characteristics to non-humans, for example, when we perceive non-humans in terms of human characteristics such as warmth, competence, trustworthiness, and intelligence. Another form is when we ascribe mind to non-humans; we react to them as if they have agency and the ability to experience emotions. Sometimes we ascribe even more sophisticated characteristics to non-humans; we can perceive them as if they have theory of mind (i.e., we think that they have the ability to ascribe mind to others). Typically, anthropomorphism is triggered by similarity between a non-human and real humans. Several of the studies in Interactions with Artificial Humans show that even realatively superficial similarities can produce anthropomorphism.