Differential relationships between autistic traits and anthropomorphic tendencies in adults and early adolescents

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1281207

PSYCH OpenIR

	Differential relationships between autistic traits and anthropomorphic tendencies in adults and early adolescents
	Gao, Rui-Rui 1,2; Si, Shang-Wen 3; Lin, Xiao-Xiao 1,2; Wang, Yu-Zheng 1,2; Wang, Ning 1,2; Wang, Jin-Yan 1,2; Luo, Fei 1,2
通讯作者	Lin, Xiao-Xiao(linxx@psych.ac.cn)
摘要	Anthropomorphism, the attribution of human-like qualities (e.g., mental states) to nonhuman entities, is a universal but variable psychological experience. Adults with professionally diagnosed autism or high levels of subclinical autistic traits consistently show greater tendencies to anthropomorphize, which has been hypothesized to reflect 1) a compensatory mechanism for lack of social connectedness and 2) a persistence of childhood anthropomorphism into adulthood. Here, we directly tested these hypotheses in a general population sample consisting of both adults (N=685, 17-58 years old) and early adolescents (N=145, 12-14 years old) using the refined 9-item Anthropomorphism Questionnaire (AnthQ9), which measures both present and childhood anthropomorphic tendencies. We found that adults with heightened autistic traits reported increased present anthropomorphism (e.g., tend more to perceive computers as having minds), which held even after controlling for social connectedness. In contrast, adolescents with heightened autistic traits did not show increased present anthropomorphism, but rather reported reduced childhood anthropomorphism (e.g., less likely to perceive toys as having feelings) after controlling for social connectedness. We also found evidence that the present and childhood subscales of the AnthQ9 may tap into fundamentally different aspects of anthropomorphism. The results suggest that increased anthropomorphic tendencies in adults with heightened autistic traits cannot be explained solely by increased sociality motivation, but may be due to delayed development of anthropomorphism, although alternative possibilities of measurement problems cannot be ruled out. Implications for the measurement of anthropomorphism and its relation with theory of mind were also discussed.
关键词	anthropomorphism autistic traits theory of mind loneliness sociality motivation
	2024-06-05
语种	英语
DOI	10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1281207
发表期刊	FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
ISSN	1664-1078
卷号	15 页码:12
收录类别	SCI
资助项目	NNSF (National Natural Science Foundation of China)[31970926] ; NNSF (National Natural Science Foundation of China)[31271092] ; NNSF (National Natural Science Foundation of China)[31671140] ; Scientific Foundation of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences[Y9CX441005] ; Scientific Foundation of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences[E1CX181005] ; CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology[KLMH 2014G01] ; CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology[KLMH2016K02] ; Initiation fund of the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams[Y2CX131003]
出版者	FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
WOS关键词	ASPERGER-SYNDROME ; FUNCTIONING AUTISM ; SPECTRUM QUOTIENT ; SOCIAL CONNECTION ; MENTAL STATES ; PRETEND PLAY ; ATTRIBUTION ; LONELINESS ; SCALE ; MIND
WOS研究方向	Psychology
WOS类目	Psychology, Multidisciplinary
WOS记录号	WOS:001249803700001
资助机构	NNSF (National Natural Science Foundation of China) ; Scientific Foundation of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences ; CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology ; Initiation fund of the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams
引用统计
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	https://ir.psych.ac.cn/handle/311026/49314
通讯作者	Lin, Xiao-Xiao
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Psychol, Key Lab Mental Hlth, Beijing, Peoples R China 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Dept Psychol, Beijing, Peoples R China 3.Beijing 101 Middle Sch, Beijing, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Gao, Rui-Rui,Si, Shang-Wen,Lin, Xiao-Xiao,et al. Differential relationships between autistic traits and anthropomorphic tendencies in adults and early adolescents[J]. FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY,2024,15:12.
APA	Gao, Rui-Rui.,Si, Shang-Wen.,Lin, Xiao-Xiao.,Wang, Yu-Zheng.,Wang, Ning.,...&Luo, Fei.(2024).Differential relationships between autistic traits and anthropomorphic tendencies in adults and early adolescents.FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY,15,12.
MLA	Gao, Rui-Rui,et al."Differential relationships between autistic traits and anthropomorphic tendencies in adults and early adolescents".FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY 15(2024):12.