Hortensius, R. , Kent, M., Darda, K. M., Jastrzab, L., Koldweyn, K., Ramsey, R. and Cross, E. S. (2021) Exploring the relationship between anthropomorphism and theory-of-mind in brain and behaviour. Human Brain Mapping, 42(13), pp. 4224-4241. (doi: 10.1002/hbm.25542) (PMID:34196439)
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Abstract
The process of understanding the minds of other people, such as their emotions and intentions, is mimicked when individuals try to understand an artificial mind. The assumption is that anthropomorphism, attributing human-like characteristics to non-human agents and objects, is an analogue to theory-of-mind, the ability to infer mental states of other people. Here, we test to what extent these two constructs formally overlap. Specifically, using a multi-method approach, we test if and how anthropomorphism is related to theory-of-mind using brain (Experiment 1) and behavioural (Experiment 2) measures. In a first exploratory experiment, we examine the relationship between dispositional anthropomorphism and activity within the theory-of-mind brain network (n = 108). Results from a Bayesian regression analysis showed no consistent relationship between dispositional anthropomorphism and activity in regions of the theory-of-mind network. In a follow-up, pre-registered experiment, we explored the relationship between theory-of-mind and situational and dispositional anthropomorphism in more depth. Participants (n = 311) watched a short movie while simultaneously completing situational anthropomorphism and theory-of-mind ratings, as well as measures of dispositional anthropomorphism and general theory-of-mind. Only situational anthropomorphism predicted the ability to understand and predict the behaviour of the film's characters. No relationship between situational or dispositional anthropomorphism and general theory-of-mind was observed. Together, these results suggest that while the constructs of anthropomorphism and theory-of-mind might overlap in certain situations, they remain separate and possibly unrelated at the personality level. These findings point to a possible dissociation between brain and behavioural measures when considering the relationship between theory-of-mind and anthropomorphism.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Darda, Miss Kohinoor and Cross, Professor Emily and Hortensius, Dr Ruud and Kent, Miss Michaela and Jastrzab, Mrs Laura |
| Creator Roles: | Hortensius, R.Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing Kent, M.Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing Cross, E. S.Funding acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Writing – review and editing Jastrzab, L.Investigation, Resources, Writing – review and editing Darda, K.Investigation, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – review and editing |
| Authors: | Hortensius, R., Kent, M., Darda, K. M., Jastrzab, L., Koldweyn, K., Ramsey, R., and Cross, E. S. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience |
| Journal Name: | Human Brain Mapping |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| ISSN: | 1065-9471 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1097-0193 |
| Published Online: | 01 July 2021 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2021 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Human Brain Mapping 42(13): 4224-4241 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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