The Association of Cognitive Ability with Right‐wing Ideological Attitudes and Prejudice: A Meta‐analytic Review

The cognitive functioning of individuals with stronger endorsement of right‐wing and prejudiced attitudes has elicited much scholarly interest. Whereas many studies investigated cognitive styles, less attention has been directed towards cognitive ability. Studies investigating the latter topic generally reveal lower cognitive ability to be associated with stronger endorsement of right‐wing ideological attitudes and greater prejudice. However, this relationship has remained widely unrecognized in literature. The present meta‐analyses revealed an average effect size of r = ?.20 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) [?0.23, ?0.17]; based on 67 studies, N = 84 017] for the relationship between cognitive ability and right‐wing ideological attitudes and an average effect size of r = ?.19 (95% CI [?0.23, ?0.16]; based on 23 studies, N = 27 011) for the relationship between cognitive ability and prejudice. Effect sizes did not vary significantly across different cognitive abilities and sample characteristics. The effect strongly depended on the measure used for ideological attitudes and prejudice, with the strongest effect sizes for authoritarianism and ethnocentrism. We conclude that cognitive ability is an important factor in the genesis of ideological attitudes and prejudice and thus should become more central in theorizing and model building. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Artificial intelligence and metaphor making: Some philosophic considerations

This article argues that the metaphors presently employed in describing artificial intelligence represent the use of personification and anthropomorphism. They attempt to develop an isomorphic relationship between the human mind and a computer’s logic. It is suggested that an analogic metaphor is more appropriate in describing this relationship and is more epistemologically correct. Reprinted from Knowledge and Policy: The International Journal of Knowledge Transfer and Utilization, Spring 1990, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 46–61. His current research interests include the behavioral and philosophic aspects of artificial intelligence and expert computer systems in work situations, and the behavioral perceptions of decision processes in the workplace.     

The effect of brand anthropomorphism,brand distinctiveness,and warmth on brand attitude: A mediated moderation model

Brand anthropomorphism is one of the most widely used marketing strategies, and numerous studies have confirmed the positive effect of anthropomorphism on consumers' brand attitude. However, anthropomorphism does not always produce positive effects in particular conditions. This study focuses on the interaction effect of brand anthropomorphism and brand distinctiveness on brand attitude and tests the mediating effect of warmth and competence using the Stereotype Content Model. The results of two experiments show that brand anthropomorphism positively predicts consumers' brand attitude, and brand position (distinctiveness vs. popularity) moderates this relationship. Anthropomorphism may improve consumers' attitudes when the brand is positioned to be popular but has no effect on consumers' attitudes when the brand is positioned to be distinctive. Additionally, warmth (not competence) mediates the interaction effect of anthropomorphism and brand position on brand attitude. This study expands the extant knowledge on anthropomorphism and stereotypes in the field of consumption psychology and provides marketers with more rational strategies when applying anthropomorphism in marketing campaigns.     

NATURALIZING TRANSCENDENCE IN THE NEW COSMOLOGIES OF EMERGENCE

Abstract. Recent discourse on emergence within the natural sciences offers a superior alternative to traditional notions of transcendence. Emergence is a term of common parlance in the natural sciences. It designates moments when various systems develop an internal dynamic that generates an entirely new level of complexity, a qualitatively different mode of existence that cannot simply be reduced to its constituent parts. To the natural scientist, emergence is an expression of transcendence without reference to final causality or central organizing principle. Autopoietic emergence is more congruent with contemporary understandings of the universe than the traditional anthropomorphizing concept of teleological design. In this article I offer both an interpretation of emergence as a new category for the interpretation of divinity and an explanation for traditional anthropomorphism rooted in contemporary cognitive sciences.     

情绪设计对多媒体学习的影响

通过两个实验探讨多媒体学习中情绪设计对学习者情绪、认知过程和学习结果的影响。实验1将内部情绪设计与外部情绪诱发两种方式结合起来,探讨多媒体学习环境中不同方式诱发的积极情绪对学习的影响。实验2进一步聚焦于内部情绪设计,考察颜色和拟人化这两个特定的情绪设计元素对学习者情绪和学习的影响。结果发现:(1)积极的外部情绪诱发和内部情绪设计可以诱发积极情绪,并促进学习迁移。(2)对学习材料进行内部积极情绪设计可以诱发学习者积极情绪,增强学习者的学习动机,降低学习者感知到的学习材料的难度,并促进学习迁移。其中,彩色设计可以诱发学习者积极情绪,但拟人化只有与彩色结合才能诱发学习者积极情绪;在拟人化条件下,彩色设计可以增强学习者学习动机;彩色设计可降低学习者对学习材料感知到的难度;彩色和拟人化都可以促进学习迁移。     

Cognitive biases explain religious belief,paranormal belief,and belief in life’s purpose

Cognitive theories of religion have postulated several cognitive biases that predispose human minds towards religious belief. However, to date, these hypotheses have not been tested simultaneously and in relation to each other, using an individual difference approach. We used a path model to assess the extent to which several interacting cognitive tendencies, namely mentalizing, mind body dualism, teleological thinking, and anthropomorphism, as well as cultural exposure to religion, predict belief in God, paranormal beliefs and belief in life’s purpose. Our model, based on two independent samples (N = 492 and N = 920) found that the previously known relationship between mentalizing and belief is mediated by individual differences in dualism, and to a lesser extent by teleological thinking. Anthropomorphism was unrelated to religious belief, but was related to paranormal belief. Cultural exposure to religion (mostly Christianity) was negatively related to anthropomorphism, and was unrelated to any of the other cognitive tendencies. These patterns were robust for both men and women, and across at least two ethnic identifications. The data were most consistent with a path model suggesting that mentalizing comes first, which leads to dualism and teleology, which in turn lead to religious, paranormal, and life’s-purpose beliefs. Alternative theoretical models were tested but did not find empirical support.     

How Children and Adults Represent God's Mind

For centuries, humans have contemplated the minds of gods. Research on religious cognition is spread across sub‐disciplines, making it difficult to gain a complete understanding of how people reason about gods' minds. We integrate approaches from cognitive, developmental, and social psychology and neuroscience to illuminate the origins of religious cognition. First, we show that although adults explicitly discriminate supernatural minds from human minds, their implicit responses reveal far less discrimination. Next, we demonstrate that children's religious cognition often matches adults' implicit responses, revealing anthropomorphic notions of God's mind. Together, data from children and adults suggest the intuitive nature of perceiving God's mind as human‐like. We then propose three complementary explanations for why anthropomorphism persists in adulthood, suggesting that anthropomorphism may be (a) an instance of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic; (b) a reflection of early testimony; and/or (c) an evolutionary byproduct.     

Effects of service robots' anthropomorphism on consumers' attribution toward and forgiveness of service failure

We investigated the effects of service robots' anthropomorphism on consumers' attribution and forgiveness of service failure. By manipulating the levels of anthropomorphism in service robots in three experiments, we evaluated the relationship norms and involvement levels of consumers. Three contributions of our study are as follows. First, most human–robot interaction studies have focused on consumers' dissatisfaction with service robots' service failures. Unfortunately, few studies have investigated the influence of service robots' anthropomorphism levels on consumers' internal attribution and forgiveness of service failure. In the present study, we found a positive correlation between the former and the latter. The findings of this study indicate marketing managers should design their service robots to be less anthropomorphic to reduce the likelihood of consumers making an internal attribution when a service failure occurs and increase their forgiveness of service failure. In addition, to reduce the likelihood of consumers' internal attribution upon service failure, managers may ensure that their service robots explain to the consumers the cause of service failure (e.g., inability to understand consumers' requirements and robots' design-related limitations). Second, consumers' relationship norms moderate the effect of anthropomorphism level on internal attribution. Third, robot anthropomorphism is reportedly effective only when anthropomorphization occurs subconsciously.     

On seeing human: a three-factor theory of anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism describes the tendency to imbue the real or imagined behavior of nonhuman agents with humanlike characteristics, motivations, intentions, or emotions. Although surprisingly common, anthropomorphism is not invariant. This article describes a theory to explain when people are likely to anthropomorphize and when they are not, focused on three psychological determinants--the accessibility and applicability of anthropocentric knowledge (elicited agent knowledge), the motivation to explain and understand the behavior of other agents (effectance motivation), and the desire for social contact and affiliation (sociality motivation). This theory predicts that people are more likely to anthropomorphize when anthropocentric knowledge is accessible and applicable, when motivated to be effective social agents, and when lacking a sense of social connection to other humans. These factors help to explain why anthropomorphism is so variable; organize diverse research; and offer testable predictions about dispositional, situational, developmental, and cultural influences on anthropomorphism. Discussion addresses extensions of this theory into the specific psychological processes underlying anthropomorphism, applications of this theory into robotics and human-computer interaction, and the insights offered by this theory into the inverse process of dehumanization.     

拟人化:从“它”到“他”

拟人化是将人类特征、动机、意向或心理状态赋予非人对象的心理过程或者个体差异。拟人化的产生受到激发主体知识、效能动机和社会动机的影响,现有研究包括对自然、超自然、动物、机器、品牌和产品等的拟人化。对自然的拟人化能够促进环境保护行为,对动物、机器、品牌和产品的拟人化则形式多样、后果复杂。未来研究的焦点可能在人-机器人交互以及拟人化与可爱的关系问题上。     

My possessions need me: Anthropomorphism and hoarding

Hoarding disorder (HD ), a new DSM ‐5 classification, is characterized by difficulty discarding and the excessive acquisition of possessions to the extent that living spaces are compromised by clutter. Individuals with hoarding difficulties have a variety of motivations for object ownership, including emotional attachment towards their possessions which sometimes manifests through imbuing possessions with human‐like terms. Limited extant evidence suggests that anthropomorphism, attributing human qualities to non‐human objects, is related to hoarding, possibly because of difficulties with interpersonal attachment and social isolation. The current study investigated the relationship between hoarding behaviors (i.e., difficulty discarding, excessive acquisition, and clutter), hoarding beliefs (i.e., motivations for ownership including responsibility, emotional attachment, memory, control), anthropomorphism (i.e., generally in childhood, generally in adulthood, and towards three different personally‐owned objects), and loneliness. Moderation analyses examined whether hoarding beliefs or loneliness impacted how anthropomorphism related to hoarding symptoms. Results suggested that all dimensions of anthropomorphism were related to hoarding behaviors. Regression analyses indicated that anthropomorphism in adulthood and of personally owned‐objects were the best predictors of hoarding behavior. Mixed evidence was found for hoarding beliefs and loneliness moderating these associations. Findings successfully replicated and extended previous literature and provide a novel measure of anthropomorphism specifically incorporating personal ownership.     

The Effect of Image Features on Judgments of Homophily,Credibility, and Intention to Use as Avatars in Future Interactions

Avatar characteristics influence the perception of the people they represent in a process that is remarkably similar to the way physical bodies influence person perception offline. This is consistent with the Social Responses to Computer Technologies model, which argues that people respond similarly to computers and people as long as sources are perceived to be intelligent. Similarly, Information Processing Theory suggests that the viewers apply the same evaluation sequences to nearly all sources and that more processing resources are allocated to perceiving an entity with social potential. To address the extent to which static avatars are perceived to be intelligent and human like, or have social potential, participants (N = 261) each evaluated a random set of 10 images as potential avatars. The avatars varied with respect to level of computer manipulation, visible indicators of masculinity, and anthropomorphism (having human characteristics). Results confirm that even static avatars are anthropomorphized and that visual characteristics influence perceptions of the avatars. Level of computer manipulation, masculinity, and anthropomorphism all influence perceived levels of realism, competence, and the sense of homophily with the avatar. The implications of these results for theory, future research, and for users and designers of communication systems are discussed.     

Artificial intelligence and metaphor making: Some philosophic considerations

This article argues that the metaphors presently employed in describing artificial intelligence represent the use of personification and anthropomorphism. They attempt to develop an isomorphic relationship between the human mind and a computer’s logic. It is suggested that an analogic metaphor is more appropriate in describing this relationship and is more epistemologically correct. Dr. Carrier is an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180. His current research interests include the behavioral and philosophic aspects of artificial intelligence and expert computer systems in work situations, and the behavioral perceptions of decision processes in the workplace.     

Mangy mutt or furry friend? Anthropomorphism promotes animal welfare

Recent research has demonstrated that people have an affinity for non-human entities that appear to have human qualities. The current studies build on this research, examining whether anthropomorphism can be used to promote animal welfare. In Study 1 (n = 42), participants read scenarios about dogs and reported more willingness to help the ones described with anthropomorphic language relative to those described with non-anthropomorphic language. In Study 2 (n = 57), participants rated dogs on either human or canine characteristics (e.g., good listener vs. good at listing to commands). Relative to the non-anthropomorphism condition, participants in the anthropomorphism condition reported more willingness to adopt dogs from a shelter, and more support for animal rights, animal welfare, and vegetarian and vegan attitudes. Moreover, these pro-animal attitudes fully mediated the effect of the anthropomorphism manipulation on willingness to adopt the dogs.     

COMPARISONS OF SOCIO-POLITICAL ATTITUDES BETWEEN TWO DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES

Three-hundred and twenty-seven Australian and 192 Swedish psychology students were compared with respect to four aspects of socio-politico attitudes: (a) differences in average levels for items and dimensions, (b) differences in degrees of consensus for specific issues (items), (c) differences in the structures of socio-politico attitudes and (d) differences in the profiles of attitudes across relevant items and dimensions. Analyses of variance showed that, in general, Swedes were significantly less conservative than Australians. The largest difference between the two samples were found for the dimension of punitiveness where Swedes were found to be much less punitive than Australians. The results also disclosed that there was greater ideological consensus and consistency among Swedes than among Australians. In line with earlier cross-cultural research, the results also disclosed a relatively high level of ideological profile and structural similarity among the two western nations.     

Conferring humanness: The role of anthropomorphism in hoarding

Hoarding is characterized by a persistent and extreme difficulty with discarding one’s possessions, often resulting in cluttered living spaces and marked distress or impairment. Despite being increasingly recognized as a substantial public health burden, much remains unknown about the etiology. One facet within the cognitive-behavioral model of hoarding that remains poorly understood is the strong emotional attachment to possessions. The tendency to anthropomorphize (i.e., see human-like qualities in non-human entities) may be one possible mechanism contributing to this emotional attachment. The current report is the first empirical study to examine the association between anthropomorphism and hoarding. Non-clinical participants (n = 72) completed a battery of self-report measures focused on hoarding symptoms, saving cognitions, anthropomorphism, and emotional attachments to personal and novel items. Anthropomorphic tendencies were significantly associated with greater saving behaviors and the acquisition of free things. Levels of anthropomorphism moderated the relationship between specific hoarding beliefs and acquiring tendencies, as well as the emotional attachment towards a novel item. Results are discussed with regard to future research directions, and implications for the cognitive-behavioral model of hoarding.     

Thoughts, Feelings and Intentions to Learn: Attitudes by Beginning Teachers Towards Aboriginal Peoples

Given that education plays a key role in the development of social attitudes, intentions to learn about other social groups is a strategic addition to cognitive and affective models of attitudes towards others. This project examined related yet discrete aspects of attitudes towards Australian Aboriginal peoples that are expressed by beginning teachers (N = 266). Cognitive aspects indicate positive and negative stereotyping of the social group. Affective aspects across situations relate positive feelings and negative feelings of guilt, worry and anger. Results suggest differential links from cognitive and affective aspects to intentions for positive and negative actions, and intentions to gain experience with others. The findings implicate broadly defined components of attitudes in situations where individuals have limited experience with people in other social groups.     

Part IV: Prophecy,Knowledge and Study of Religion

The historical connection between the study of the Bible and the study of religion is examined through Spinoza's application of his anthropomorphic theory of religion to his analysis of biblicalprophecy. Drawing on current epistemological discussion, Spinoza shows in the Ethics how the pervasive anthropomorphism of popular explanations of the world, rooted in imagination, develops into religious systems. This theory informs Spinoza's analysis of biblical prophecy in his Treatise, in which he displaces the philosophical hermeneutic of Maimonides in favor of an historical-critical analysis. The result is a consistency of method—historical, critical, comparative — between his study of the Bible and the study of religion generally.     

Personality and politics: introduction to the special issue

This special issue of Journal of Personality brings together 10 original articles addressing the intersection of personality and politics. Articles build on classic traditions in political psychology by presenting both idiographic and nomothetic work on the motivational, cognitive, ideological, attitudinal, and identity correlates of many different aspects of political behavior. This work is used to understand political activism and leadership as well as everyday political behavior. We hope this collection of articles will inspire our readers to explore new investigations in personality and political psychology.     

The Anxiety Response: Concordance Among Components

Under social-evaluative stress, self-reported distress (cognitive and somatic symptoms), behavioral anxiety (motor, facial, verbal, and social), physiological arousal (heart rate and skin resistance), and task performance (cognitive and motor) were recorded. Concordance was selective and consistent across response systems. There were significant relationships among measures of cognitive aspects, and among those concerned with somatic aspects, but not between these two areas. Furthermore, concordance was much higher in high-than in low-trait/test-anxiety participants, who even exhibited reversed concordance. These differences are explained in terms of stronger physiological signals in high trait/test anxiety. Alternative interpretations involving perceiving and/or reporting internal threat-related information in low trait/test anxiety are discussed.