The role of object features and emotional attachment on preschool children’s anthropomorphism of owned objects

Abstract

Anthropomorphism is the tendency to treat non-human items as if they were human. Children 3–5 years (N = 139) were tested on their anthropomorphism of two favorite toys from home, with both explicit judgments (e.g., think, feel happy) and behavioral interactions (e.g., resource distributions). Parents reported on their child’s object attachments and anthropomorphizing behaviors at home. Children anthropomorphized objects with faces more than those without. Parents also reported that children attached to a toy with a face engaged in more anthropomorphism in their behaviors at home than those without. On the lab-based task battery, attachment status did not predict overall levels of anthropomorphism, although differences did emerge in the predicted direction on a small number of tasks, for both face and no-face attachment objects. The results of this exploratory study are discussed with regard to the diverse nature of anthropomorphism in childhood, and the role of context in eliciting this perspective.