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A Mind like Mine: The Exceptionally Ordinary Underpinnings of Anthropomorphism

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  • Nicholas Epley

Abstract

From computers to cars to cell phones, consumers interact with inanimate objects on a daily basis. Despite being mindless machines, consumers nevertheless routinely attribute humanlike mental capacities of intentions, beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge to them. This process of anthropomorphism has historically been treated as an exceptional belief, explained away as simply an inevitable outcome of human nature or as an occasional product of human stupidity. Recent scientific advances, however, have revealed the very ordinary processes of social cognition underlying anthropomorphism. These processes enable psychologists to predict variability in the magnitude of anthropomorphism across contexts and also connect it to the inverse phenomena of dehumanization whereby people treat other human beings as if they lack a humanlike mind. Consumer behavior researchers are uniquely equipped to study these processes, to identify the precise situational features that give rise to anthropomorphism, to understand implications for consumer welfare, and to predict important consequences for how people treat everything from machines to animals to other human beings.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas Epley, 2018. "A Mind like Mine: The Exceptionally Ordinary Underpinnings of Anthropomorphism," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(4), pages 591-598.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jacres:doi:10.1086/699516
    DOI: 10.1086/699516
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    Cited by:

    1. Aubel Martin & Pikturniene Indre & Joye Yannick, 2022. "Risk Perception and Risk Behavior in Response to Service Robot Anthropomorphism in Banking," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(2), pages 26-42, June.
    2. Bernd Schmitt, 2020. "Speciesism: an obstacle to AI and robot adoption," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 3-6, March.
    3. Zhao, Taiyang & Ran, Yaxuan & Wu, Banggang & Lynette Wang, Valerie & Zhou, Liying & Lu Wang, Cheng, 2024. "Virtual versus human: Unraveling consumer reactions to service failures through influencer types," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    4. Yiping Yang & Le Sun & Buxin Han & Pingping Liu, 2023. "The Trajectory of Anthropomorphism and Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Serial Mediation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Kayeser Fatima, Johra & Khan, Md Irfanuzzaman & Bahmannia, Somayeh & Chatrath, Sarvjeet Kaur & Dale, Naomi F. & Johns, Raechel, 2024. "Rapport with a chatbot? The underlying role of anthropomorphism in socio-cognitive perceptions of rapport and e-word of mouth," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Söderlund, Magnus, 2022. "Service robots with (perceived) theory of mind: An examination of humans’ reactions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    7. Li, Sixian & Peluso, Alessandro M. & Duan, Jinyun, 2023. "Why do we prefer humans to artificial intelligence in telemarketing? A mind perception explanation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    8. Söderlund, Magnus, 2022. "When service robots look at themselves in the mirror: An examination of the effects of perceptions of robotic self-recognition," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    9. Lee, Seonjeong (Ally) & Oh, Haemoon, 2021. "Anthropomorphism and its implications for advertising hotel brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 455-464.
    10. Marie A. Yeh & Meike Eilert & Aphrodite Vlahos & Stacey Menzel Baker & Tony Stovall, 2021. "Toward a “human being to commodity model” as an explanation for men's violent, sexual consumption of women," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 911-938, September.
    11. Lane Peterson Fronczek & Martin Mende & Maura L. Scott & Gergana Y. Nenkov & Anders Gustafsson, 2023. "Friend or foe? Can anthropomorphizing self-tracking devices backfire on marketers and consumers?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(5), pages 1075-1097, September.
    12. Kim, Hayeon & Lee, Sang Woo & Seo, Sungwoo, 2024. "Strategies for Addressing Hallucinations in Generative AI: Exploring the Roles of Politeness, Attribution, and Anthropomorphism," 24th ITS Biennial Conference, Seoul 2024. New bottles for new wine: digital transformation demands new policies and strategies 302511, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    13. Söderlund, Magnus, 2023. "Service robot verbalization in service processes with moral implications and its impact on satisfaction," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    14. Soderlund, Magnus & Oikarinen, Eeva-Liisa & Tan, Teck Ming, 2021. "The happy virtual agent and its impact on the human customer in the service encounter," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    15. Alabed, Amani & Javornik, Ana & Gregory-Smith, Diana, 2022. "AI anthropomorphism and its effect on users' self-congruence and self–AI integration: A theoretical framework and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    16. Seo Young Kim & Bernd H. Schmitt & Nadia M. Thalmann, 2019. "Eliza in the uncanny valley: anthropomorphizing consumer robots increases their perceived warmth but decreases liking," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 1-12, March.
    17. van Esch, Patrick & Arli, Denni & Gheshlaghi, Mahnaz Haji & Andonopoulos, Vicki & von der Heidt, Tania & Northey, Gavin, 2019. "Anthropomorphism and augmented reality in the retail environment," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 35-42.
    18. Bernd Schmitt, 2019. "From Atoms to Bits and Back: A Research Curation on Digital Technology and Agenda for Future Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(4), pages 825-832.
    19. Söderlund, Magnus, 2020. "Employee norm-violations in the service encounter during the corona pandemic and their impact on customer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    20. Aubel Martin & Pikturniene Indre & Joye Yannick, 2022. "Risk Perception and Risk Behavior in Response to Service Robot Anthropomorphism in Banking," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 30(1), pages 26-42, June.
    21. Söderlund, Magnus, 2020. "Employee encouragement of self-disclosure in the service encounter and its impact on customer satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).

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