Posted on 01/19/2008 4:01:17 PM PST by blam
Does Your Pet Seem Almost Human? It May Be A Clever Response To Loneliness
High five! If people feel lonely, they are more likely to describe a pet as having humanlike mental states. (Credit: iStockphoto/Annette Wiechmann)
ScienceDaily (Jan. 20, 2008) — New research at the University of Chicago finds evidence for a clever way that people manage to alleviate the pain of loneliness: They create people in their surroundings to keep them company.
"Biological reproduction is not a very efficient way to alleviate one's loneliness, but you can make up people when you're motivated to do so," said Nicholas Epley, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business. "When people lack a sense of connection with other people, they are more likely to see their pets, gadgets or gods as human-like."
Social scientists call this tendency "anthropomorphism." As a research topic, the phenomenon carries important therapeutic and societal implications, Epley said.
The behaviors they describe in the paper* are not limited to the lonely. Nevertheless, they are well-known to casual observers, from the stereotype of the woman who lives alone surrounded by her menagerie of cats, to the movie portrayal of a tropical island castaway.
"In the movie Castaway, Tom Hanks was isolated on an island and found the social desolation to be one of the most daunting challenges with which he had to deal," said Cacioppo, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology at the University of Chicago.
"He did so, in part, by anthropomorphizing a volleyball, Wilson, who became his friend and confidant while he was on the island." Although fictional, "Castaway depicts a deep truth about the irrepressibly social nature of Homo sapiens," Cacioppo said.
The researchers designed three experiments to test their expectations that lonely people are more likely to make up for their lack of social connection by creating humanlike connections with gadgets or pets, or to increase their belief in the supernatural.
In one experiment, the team found a correlation between how lonely people felt and their tendency to describe a gadget in terms of humanlike mental states.
In another experiment, the team made people feel lonely in the laboratory by asking them to write about a time when they felt lonely or isolated. Under those circumstances, they were more likely to believe in the supernatural, whether it be God, angels or miracles, than when they were not feeling lonely.
"If we made them feel lonely, they were also more likely to describe a pet, even if it wasn't their own pet, as having humanlike mental states that were related to social connection, like being more thoughtful, considerate and compassionate," Epley said.
The research further revealed that not just any negative emotional state produces this effect. "It's something special about loneliness," Epley said. Fear, for example, doesn't increase reported belief in God, or how people describe their pets.
Loneliness is both painful to experience and potentially deadly. "It's actually a greater risk for morbidity or mortality than cigarette smoking is. Being lonely is a bad thing for you," he said.
But anthropomorphizing pets or God may actually confer many of the same psychological and physical benefits that come from connections with other people. The same benefits may not apply to gadgets, which were a component of Epley's studies.
"Non-human connections can be very powerful," Epley said. "A brain's not so sensitive to whether it's a person or not. If it's something that has a lot of traits associated with what it means to be a human, then all the better for us, it seems."
The study also provides insight into the flip side of anthropomorphism: dehumanization. People who enjoy a strong sense of social connection are less likely to perceive humanlike mental states in people who seem different from them. Classic examples occur during times of war, during which a strong sense of nationalism or group identity tend to emerge.
"It may be that strong in-group identity is one of the things that facilitates dehumanizing the opposing side," Epley said.
*Researchers will publish their findings on anthropomorphism in the February issue of the journal Psychological Science. Also contributing to the research were Scott Akalis of Harvard University and the University of Chicago's Adam Waytz and John Cacioppo.
Adapted from materials provided by University of Chicago.
Didn’t Tom Hanks already address this question when he was stranded on a tiny island with a volleyball?
Great point!
LOL. Guess I should've read the whole thing, or at least applied for a grant. Why are these people being paid again?
WHAAAAAAAAAAAT? Dogs aren’t human???? Well, I’ll be a son of gun! My dog won’t buy this for a minute!
They are beautiful, blam.
I have my little Basset Hound. I do not think she is human, but I am very fond of her.
Great pack!
The secular Left accepts everything in God’s world, except God. That said, animals, especially dogs, are indeed a great gift.
I'll make it a point not to be on your property after dark. lol
What does this say about the envirofreaks who anthropomorphize the planet?
Looks like an alpha male and four loyal subjects. Happy dogs who love you for who you are a gift from God. You can always tell a dog person (just don’t try to tell them too much.)
Nice piece of land. Reminds me of my youth.
They are canine beings!
Castaway--one of the most idiotic movie scripts of all time. A man spends years in total isolation and never once turns his thoughts to a higher power--Now that's a fantastic, completely unbelievable premise. Hollywood, in its obstinate refusal to recognize the importance, or even the existence, of God, has managed to take an excellent movie premise and turn it into a totally forgettable film.
As long as we have Mother Earth to hold us to her bosom we need not be afraid.
Gee you’re cute. Oh wait, you’re not the blonde one, wagging his....
oops. Nevermind.
Wow, I got one more than you, my wife, son daughter and my two dogs.
Click on my name to see the kids.
Freegards.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.