Children attribute mental lives to toys when they are emotionally attached to them

Abstract

Anthropomorphism of toys has been portrayed in popular culture with notable examples such as children's fairy stories, and, more recently, in movies like Toy Story. However, studies of children's attitudes toward inanimate objects suggest that they do not attribute mental states to toys. In two studies using a mental state induction technique, we demonstrate that children do exhibit this tendency with toys that are also their attachment objects. Attribution of mental states to objects was not simply due to familiarity, category membership, or perceptual similarity to sentient beings, but rather to emotional attachment combined with personifying features such as a face.