Graduation Year

2024

Graduation Month

May

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

School or Department

Psychology

Major

Psychology

Faculty Mentor Department

Psychology

Faculty Mentor

Sarah Sweezy

Keywords

Anthropomorphism, Theory of Mind

Subject Categories

Developmental Psychology

Abstract

Two ways people think about the mental state of others is through anthropomorphism and theory of mind. Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human-like capacities to non-human entities, such as ascribing mental and internal states (Waytz et al., 2013). Theory of mind is the ability to infer and understand other people’s mental states, such as beliefs, desires, intentions, and knowledge (Doherty, 2011). We predicted these two concepts are associated, and this prediction was assessed through the research outlined here. The current study examined potential associations between children’s (N=82; 5-8 years old) anthropomorphism, parent-reported theory of mind, and parent-reported social preferences. Findings indicated the concepts are related, specifically belief understanding was negatively correlated to anthropomorphism of technology and nature. These findings point to a connection between the concepts, hopefully sparking future inquiries into why these connections exist as they do.

Honors College Research Project

1

GLI Capstone Project

no

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© Copyright 2024 Noah Paulson