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A car called Keith: Why we give objects human characteristics

#1
C C Offline
https://theconversation.com/a-car-called...ics-177799

EXCERPTS: Why do we yell at our computer when it struggles to work? Why do some cars look like they’re smiling? Why does your guitar seem free-spirited? This is because of our innate human tendency for anthropomorphism: the ascription of humanlike characteristics, intentions or emotions in nonhuman things.

However, why do we anthropomorphize objects at all? To explore this question, we conducted a study with the Human Futures Studio. We asked 125 adults about a possession that they had named to better understand the types of things people anthropomorphize and their reasons for doing so.

Anthropomorphism extends far beyond simply naming — it includes, for example, assigning characteristics like “temperamental” to your car instead when it has mechanical issues. For the purposes of our study, we considered naming as a common behaviour that would provide a simple way for us to explore how, when explicitly asked, would people rationalize their anthropomorphic tendencies?

In analyzing the responses to our survey, we identified two themes of why people gave their objects names: relational, pertaining to the connection developed between people and possessions; and objective, derived from features of the object itself.

We are such social creatures that we subconsciously perceive relationships between ourselves and our possessions, which are sometimes so strong that we refer to them as family members or dear friends.

People care for a car, much like tending to a child [...] We also interact with stuffed toys, developing close relationships with them. These objects elicit social interactions because to us, there are human-like qualities in the objects [...] Such behaviour may seem childish and, indeed, children often develop attachments to transitional objects with which they can socialize, seek companionship and develop language. These valued objects help children transition to independence, a crucial stage in child development.

There also seems to be an expectation that naming an object brings a certain level of kinship, trust and solidarity. We rely on our cars — giant contraptions made out of metal — to transport us, while trusting that they won’t suddenly break. [...] Naming an object might generate some sort of a trusted bond, giving us peace of mind despite it having no interest in our needs and desires... (MORE - missing details)
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#2
Magical Realist Offline
The only time I personify some possession of mine is when I buy a new car and have to say goodbye to my old one. There is a sadness in remembering all the times we had together. It's silly but it still happens.
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#3
Yazata Offline
I think that human beings come from the factory pre-programmed to live in social groups.

We start to speak almost automatically as small children. That's an amazing thing considering that linguists still don't understand all the complexities of natural language. Yet your preschooler picks it up naturally.

And we have the ability to read emotions and other psychological states into other people, based on the faintest of clues. We read intentions into people's actions and somehow intuit purpose in them.

We pick up ideas (or whatever they are) of right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable.

Compare just hanging out and talking with your friends, with learning calculus. The first is a vastly more complex data-processing task, but it's thought of as easy and effortless (unless we are autistic). Calculus is laughably simple compared to social interaction, but it's perceived as difficult.

So, if interacting with other people is experienced as easy, effortless and enjoyable (usually), but grappling with abstractions is perceived as hard, then it seems obvious that people will feel more comfortable interacting with inanimate objects in a personal way, as if they were people. It's just easier and more natural.

I'm inclined to think that this tendency to conceive of abstractions and inanimate objects as if they were people lies at the basis of theistic religion.
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