Sometimes your beloved dog becomes your interlocutor, and sometimes even an inanimate object? Are you talking to your own car while driving? Scientists say that such a habit characterizes a person on the positive side and indicates an extraordinary personality. Why do we communicate with plants and inanimate objects?
Stupidity or wisdom?
Man is the most social creature on the planet. Agree, we constantly communicate, because for us it is a necessity. Moreover, only humans are characterized by anthropomorphization, in which personal (human) characteristics are attributed to animals or even inanimate objects. How often do you talk to a computer, door lock, or pet, even though you know they won't be able to understand or answer?
It is believed that this behavior is more typical for children. But as they grow older, the habit of talking to animals or objects gradually disappears.
In the sixth century BC, anthropomorphization in adulthood was considered a sign of human stupidity. And to this day, conversations with objects cause a smile in others and thoughts about the immaturity of the person, her unwillingness to grow up. But one should not be ashamed of such a habit - scientists argue that in fact such behavior indicates development and originality.
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Research results
Nicholas Epley, professor of behavioral sciences at the University of Chicago, argues that humans have developed a unique, highly complex social cognition system that allows them to explain and predict other people's behavior. That is why a person is inclined to attribute his own personal qualities to inanimate objects.
By talking to machines, plants, animals, we endow them with individuality. Of course, people realize that objects are inanimate and do not possess humanity. But in this way a person develops empathy, the ability to understand others without words, to sympathize with them. And this already testifies to the developed emotional intelligence.
By the way, similar tricks are used in marketing. For example, by advertising a car that is, in fact, a heap of inanimate metal, the manufacturer is trying to instill in a potential buyer feelings for the car. If we believe that our vehicle has some kind of spiritual qualities, we will surely become attached to it and in the future we will refuse to change it to a new one.
Is it true that anthropomorphization is a sign of the mind?
Can we assume that people who talk to objects are smarter? This is not entirely true. It is possible that such a person is not strong in the exact sciences and is unlikely to ever be able to create a brilliant invention. But his level of emotional intelligence is much higher. Most likely, he is more talkative and sociable, easily finds a common language with others. Is it worth recalling how important such qualities are in the modern world? After all, it is on the ability to communicate that a person's career and success largely depend.
Author: Irina Khalus
