| Abstract |
| Loneliness is an unpleasant experience due to the human need for social connection. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, and intentions to nonhuman entities. The inverse process of anthropomorphism is dehumanization in which individuals treat humans like animals or objects. Two studies were conducted to investigate whether relationships exist among loneliness, anthropomorphism, and dehumanization. In Study 1, loneliness was measured via self-reports, and an anthropomorphism task was introduced to examine the extent to which subjective experiences of loneliness related to the tendency to describe nonhuman agents with humanlike characteristics. According to the results, lonelier participants attributed more humanlike capacities to computers and cats. Study 2 examined whether significant differences emerged in anthropomorphism and dehumanization between the experimental condition of loneliness and the control condition. After having been induced to the emotion of loneliness using an experimental writing task, the participants tended to perceive nonhuman agents to be more humanlike in the condition of loneliness than in the control condition. Moreover, there was a stronger tendency of dehumanization toward other humans in the condition of loneliness than in the control condition. There was also higher levels of negatively biased perceptions of neighborhood characteristics. This scenario implies that anthropomorphism is related to sociality motivation, which is the need for social connection through establishing bonds with nonhumans, and may result in the dehumanization and emotional experiences of other humans. |
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| Key Words |
| Loneliness, Anthropomorphism, Dehumanization, The Need for Social Connection, 외로움, 의인화, 비인간화, 사회적 연결 욕구 |
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