ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH

Labovitz School of Business & Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth, 11 E. Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, MN 55802

Anthropomorphism From Self-Extension and Self-Expansion Processes: an Assemblage Theory Approach to Interactions Between Consumers and Smart Devices Donna Hoffman, George Washington University, USA Thomas Novak, George Washington University, USA Hyunjin Kang, George Washington University, USA

We use an assemblage theory framework to evaluate anthropomorphism experiences from self-extension and self-expansion processes when consumers and smart devices interact. Results show that overall, anthropomorphism is greater when the consumer has less compared to more control. Additionally, device complexity moderates whether anthropomorphism occurs through a self-extension or self-expansion process.

[to cite]: Donna Hoffman, Thomas Novak, and Hyunjin Kang (2016) ,"Anthropomorphism From Self-Extension and Self-Expansion Processes: an Assemblage Theory Approach to Interactions Between Consumers and Smart Devices", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 44, eds. Page Moreau and Stefano Puntoni, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 42-47.

[url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/1022160/volumes/v44/NA-44

[copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. Human-like Robots and Robot-like Humans: Anthropomorphism and Dehumanization in Consumption Chairs: Noah Castelo, Columbia University, USA Johannes Boegershausen, University of British Columbia, Canada

Paper #1: Anthropomorphism and Anthropocentrism lowing consumers to become more like machines or robots. The next Russell Belk, York University, Canada paper, by Castelo et al., explores the consequences of enhancement technologies for perceived humanness in more depth, showing that Paper #2: Cyborg Consumers: When Human Enhancement currently available products can indeed lead the enhanced consumers Technologies are Dehumanizing Noah Castelo, Columbia University, USA to be dehumanized and that dehumanization has important market- Nick Fitz, University of British Columbia, Canada ing implications. The third paper, by Henkel et al., focuses on de- Bernd Schmitt, Columbia University, USA humanization in a more traditional marketing context, showing that Miklos Sarvary, Columbia University, USA brand positioning can lead to the dehumanization and mistreatment of the brand’s employees. Finally, Hoffman et al. return to a theme Paper #3: The Undesired Discounting Effect of Budget Brands: that Belk introduced – that computers and machines are increasingly How Brand Positioning Affects Perceptions of Customer Service anthropomorphized – by studying “smart devices” in the context of Representatives’ Human Qualities the Internet of Things. They show that both features of the devices Alexander Henkel, Maastricht University, the Netherlands and characteristics of the consumer determine how such anthropo- Johannes Boegershausen, University of British Columbia, morphism occurs. Canada Taken together, the four papers provide multifaceted insights Karl Aquino, University of British Columbia, Canada into perceptions of humanness (or lack thereof) of the self, prod- Jos Lemmink, Maastricht University, the Netherlands ucts, other consumers, and employees. Collectively, they address the Paper #4: Anthropomorphism From Self-Extension and Self- following questions: (i) which factors are important in shaping con- Expansion Processes: An Assemblage Theory Approach to sumers’ (de-) humanization of the self, others, or products and (ii) Interactions Between Consumers and Smart Devices what are the consequences of such processes for how consumers see Donna L. Hoffman, George Washington University, USA themselves, other people, and products. This session is of interest to Thomas P. Novak, George Washington University, USA a diverse audience as it appeals to those interested in what it means to Hyunjin Kang, George Washington University, USA be human, and how the answers to that fundamental question shape consumer behavior. SESSION OVERVIEW The attribution and denial of humanness is a fundamental pro- Anthropomorphism and Anthropocentrism cess of consumer behavior, one whose implications are becoming increasingly important in light of recent technological develop- EXTENDED ABSTRACT ments. Attributing humanness to non-human objects is known as Justin Leiber (1985) provides the transcript of a meeting of the anthropomorphism, and has been studied in the context of brands United Nations Space Administration Commission concerning a Hu- (e.g., Puzakova, Kwak and Rocereto 2013) and products (e.g., Kim manico Corporation plan to shut down its space station. Over the and McGill 2011). Denying humanness to human beings is known period when the station was in operation, human astronauts came as dehumanization, and has been studied in the context of ethnicity, and went, but a female chimpanzee named Washoe-Delta remained race, gender, and more (Haslam 2006; Haslam and Loughnan 2014). for years and adapted to weightlessness. The human crew members In general, anthropomorphizing a product or brand improves con- taught her a portion of American sign language. She came to think sumers’ evaluations of those things, whereas dehumanizing a person of the space station as her kingdom. Also accompanying the astro- leads consumers to discriminate against and act antisocially towards nauts on the space station was a Turing 346 computer that they called that person. These processes can therefore play important roles in “A.I.”. It helped solve problems at the station and assist with official many domains of consumer behavior. projects. It came to recognize astronauts individually and respond The papers in this interdisciplinary session enrich our under- to them. The crews came to think of both A.I. and Washoe-Delta standing of the antecedents, interplay, and consequences of consum- as persons and friends. When Humanico announced it would shut ers’ anthropomorphism and dehumanization. The papers approach down the station and A.I., and let Washoe-Delta die in space (for she these issues in the context of consumers’ encounters and interactions could no longer function in earth’s gravity), Amnesty International with both novel consumption stimuli (e.g., smart devices, human and the International Civil Liberties Union objected before a dubious enhancement technologies) as well as more common stimuli (e.g., UNSA Commission. The organizations maintained that both A.I. and brands and customer service representatives). In addition to shed- Washoe-Delta had the right not to be abandoned in space. Leiber’s ding new light on the processes of anthropomorphism and dehuman- book is a record of the debates that ensued regarding the question of ization, each of the three empirical papers also demonstrates novel whether or not the computer and the chimpanzee could be considered consequences of those processes for consumer behavior, while the to be persons with legal rights according to the UN charter. conceptual paper raises several important questions about the future Were the members of the space station crew and human rights of these phenomena in light of rapid technological progress. organizations merely anthropomorphizing A.I. and Washoe-Delta? The conceptual paper, by Belk, begins our session by provid- Or were the skeptical UN Commission members who objected to ing a sweeping view of how advances in artificial intelligence and granting these entities personhood merely being anthropocentric in robotics are creating anthropomorphic computers and robots, while insisting on an uneven ontology in which only human beings can be simultaneous advances in human enhancement technologies are al- persons and possess rights? After all, corporations, nations, and cer- tain organizations are treated as legal persons. And it is clear from the Advances in Consumer Research 42 Volume 44, ©2016 Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 44) / 43 relatively recent historically momentous granting of full personhood machine-like humans is critical now if we hope to shape our future. I and legal rights to women and slaves that societal views on who can offer no solutions, but will layout these issues and attempt to engage be a person can change and evolve. consumer researchers in addressing them. Traditionally humans have compared themselves to non-human animals as a way of understanding what it means to be human. Dur- Cyborg Consumers: When Human Enhancement ing the Industrial Revolution people began comparing themselves Technologies are Dehumanizing to the dumb machines that were replacing them. And in the emerg- ing age of computers and robotics we may be shifting to comparing EXTENDED ABSTRACT ourselves to smart machines that are now replacing us. In each case We show that users of human enhancement technologies are we are coming to appreciate that abilities that we once thought were dehumanized, even when the enhanced traits are central to human- uniquely human -- strength, cunning, language, memory, emotions, ness. The perceived naturalness of the means and outcome of the intellect, sentience, forward thinking, and morality -- may not be enhancement drives this effect. Dehumanization in turn decreases exclusive to humans (e.g., Brooks 2002; Daston and Mitman 2005; consumers’ interest in using the technology themselves, and affects Haraway 1991; 2003; Kurzweil 1999; Mazis 2008; Philo and Wil- how the enhanced consumer is treated. bert 2000). For example when IBM’s Deep Blue beat world chess In our first study we focused on a technology called transcranial champion Garry Kasparov in Chess and IBM’s Watson beat Jeop- direct current stimulation (tDCS), because it is already available to ardy champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter in Jeopardy, these consumers, and because it is capable of enhancing a range of abilities examples of unique human intellectual superiority fell by the way- that are widely considered central to humanness (Cohen Kadosh et side. Given such losses to machines, it is perhaps understandable al. 2015; Haslam, Bastian and Bissett 2004). It works by passing a that humans are beginning to adapt through aids and devices such mild electrical current through a specific area of the brain to improve as exoskeletons, distributed online memory through our devices, that area’s functioning. 145 MTurk users read a vignette asking them biological enhancements such as surgical implants and performance to imagine that they had an acquaintance who had started using ei- boosting drugs, and soon perhaps nanotechnology and genetic engi- ther tDCS or an herbal supplement to enhance their creativity and neering of humans. self-control. Participants then reported how natural and how artificial In this presentation I address the contention that our machines the enhancement seemed, how human the acquaintance seemed and are becoming more human-like and we are becoming more machine- whether they seemed more or less human than before they started like. In the former case of machines becoming like us, this is aided by using the enhancement, and finally how much they thought creativity our anthropomorphism of human-appearing androids (or the female and self-control reflect human nature. equivalent, gynoids) and animal-emulating robots. There is a grow- We confirmed that participants considered creativity and self- ing literature suggesting that we respond better to such seemingly control to be part of human nature (Mcreativity = 6.05, Mself-control = 5.11, living creatures. Even sexbots are a part of the emerging robotics both significantly higher than the scale midpoint of 4, t(143)’s > 9, market (e.g., Levy 2007). But there is also a hypothesized “uncanny p’s < .0001). We then showed that the acquaintance in the vignette valley,” where too great a similarity to humans creates discomfort. was perceived as significantly less human when using tDCS (M = Moreover there are fears of “the singularity,” or the point where our 71.9) compared to an herbal supplement (M = 87.57, t(143) = 3.93, devices become smarter than us and potentially find us humans un- p = .0001). Furthermore, compared to pre-enhancement, the ac- necessary (e.g., Kurzweil 1999; Moravec 1999). In these cases we quaintance seemed less human when using tDCS (M = 47.09) but are moving from mere anthropomorphism to the point where our more human when using an herbal supplement (M = 52.95, t(143) smart machines are not only persons but super-beings with whom we = 1.96, p = .052), suggesting that enhancement technologies can be can no longer compete. There are several different scenarios through dehumanizing. We also showed that perceived naturalness of the en- which this could happen (e.g., Kurzweil 2013) as well as many sci- hancement mediated this effect: the bootstrapped indirect effect was ence fiction portrayals of various outcomes. And the field variously -13.5, 95% CI = -23.8 to -7.3. Finally, perceived naturalness and labeled robot-, machine-, and computer-ethics is working both to at- humanness together mediated consumers’ interest in using the en- tempt to instill morality in future machines and to consider the rights hancement themselves (β = -8.12, 95% CI = -16.7 to -3.4). that such machines might be granted (e.g., Lin, Abney, and Bekey In our subsequent study, we sought to explore the concept of 2012). naturalness and its relationship to dehumanization in more detail. Either in an effort to keep up with robots or out of a striving for 237 MTurk users read one of four vignettes asking them to imagine perfection and even immortality, the human enhancement or human a specific acquaintance, John, an ambitious, type-A personality who augmentation movement is proceeding apace with the developments keeps up with the latest technology trends, and who had recently in robotics and artificial intelligence (e.g., Chu 2014; More and Vita- decided to enhance his mind using a supplement. The vignettes were More 2013). Whereas the attempt to make humans more like ma- organized in a 2x2 between-subjects design, in which the naturalness chines can be seen as dehumanizing (Belk 2014b), proponents of of the means of enhancement and the naturalness of the outcome of transhumanism envision making humans more god-like, with super enhancement were manipulated independently. Means naturalness strength, super intellect, and super longevity. The comparison to re- was manipulated by describing the natural supplement as made from ligion is often explicit (e.g., Cole-Turner 2011; Mercer and Trothen ingredients extracted from plants and minimally processed, whereas 2015). the unnatural supplement was made from ingredients synthesized in Contemporary consumption may seem distant from these future a lab and highly processed. Outcome naturalness was manipulated scenarios, but it may be closer than we think; there is a postulated ex- by describing the outcome of enhancement as enabling vs. embel- ponential growth in computer intelligence once our devices possess lishing the user’s true abilities (Williams and Steffel 2014). In the the equivalence of human intelligence and begin reprogramming natural outcome condition, the supplement was described as allow- themselves. Robots are in our factories and are entering our homes ing John to perform up to his true intellectual abilities, whereas in and offices. They can work for us or they can replace us. Envision- the unnatural outcome condition it allowed him to perform beyond ing the ethical and moral considerations of human-like machines and his true abilities. 44 / Human-like Robots and Robot-like Humans: Anthropomorphism and Dehumanization in Consumption

We confirmed that the natural supplement seemed more natu- of employees and social interactions between consumers and em- ral (M = 70.4) than the unnatural supplement (M = 25.6, t(235) = ployees. 14.9, p < .0001), and the “enabling” outcome seemed more natural While brands may differ on many dimensions, one of the most (M = 57.9) than the “embellishing” outcome (M = 45.0, t(237) = fundamental positioning distinctions is budget (i.e., low-cost) versus 3.7, p = .0002). These two dimensions of naturalness also impacted non-budget (i.e., differentiated) (Porter 1980). The positioning of a dehumanization. An ANOVA using perceived humanness of the ac- brand exerts pervasive effects on consumer behavior. Neuroscientific quaintance as the dependent variable revealed main effects for both research suggests that budget brands activate different brain regions means (F(1, 233) = 10.8, p = .001) and outcome (F(1, 233) = 7.6, than up-market brands (Schaefer and Rotte 2007). As budget brands p = .006), but no interaction (F < 1). Specifically, the acquaintance inherently focus on economic aspects related to brand consumption, seemed less human when the means were unnatural (M = 70.1) vs. exposure to a budget (vs. up-market) brand induces consumers to natural (M = 81.0), and when the outcome was embellishing (M = spend less (more) in a subsequent task (Laran, Dalton and Andrade 71.5) vs. enabling (M = 80.6). In both cases, perceived naturalness 2011). In line with other work showing that brand primes can lead to fully mediated the effect between means/outcome of enhancement unintended outcomes (e.g., Berger and Fitzsimons 2008; Brasel and and perceived humanness (indirect effect for means: 15.64, 95% CI Gips 2011), we propose that a budget positioning exerts unintended = 8.37 to 23.96; for outcome: 6.32, 95% CI = 2.73–10.43). effects on consumer-employee interactions. For study 3, 58 undergraduate students came to the lab one at a Specifically, budget brands lead to a focus on market-pricing time and were asked to evaluate an ad that was ostensibly developed principles, which emphasize maximizing personal monetary gains, for a new product, a tDCS brain-enhancement device. After evaluat- often at the expense of interpersonal sensitivity. Mere reminders of ing the ad, participants met a confederate who was either wearing money may increase social distance and unethical behavior (Vohs the enhancement device they just learned about or was not wearing 2015). A market-pricing approach to social relations thus may coun- the device. After briefly interacting with the confederate, participants teract recognizing others as humans and interacting compassionately completed a measure of dehumanization of the confederate. Partici- (e.g., Molinsky, Grant and Margolis 2012). Consequently, we pre- pants also completed a measure of social distance that we thought dict that budget brands may attenuate consumers’ perception and might mediate any effect of dehumanization on prosocial behavior. recognition of employees as fully human relative to employees of Finally, as participants were signing a debriefing form the confeder- non-budget brands and individuals without any brand affiliation. ate “accidentally” knocked a jar of 20 pens off of the desk in front This process is called dehumanization and entails attributing less of the participant, and then discretely counted how many pens the mind (e.g., Gray, Gray and Wegner 2007; Kozak, Marsh and Wegner participant helped him to pick up from the floor. This measure has 2006) or denying individuals traits that make them human (Haslam been used in past research as a measure of prosocial helping behavior 2006). We also examine the consequences of dehumanization for (Twenge et al. 2007). employees. Discounting others’ humanness leads to reduced proso- When the confederate was not wearing the enhancement device, ciality toward them (Cuddy, Rock and Norton 2007). As interper- participants helped him picked up an average of 7.5 pens, compared sonal sensitivity decreases, we predict that consumers are less likely to only 4.7 pens when he was wearing the device, t(57) = 2.63, p = to offer support to employees in need when these work for budget .01. We identified a two-stage mediation process in which condition (versus non-budget) brands. In sum, we predict that consumers are (presence vs. absence of device) predicted dehumanization, which more likely to dehumanize employees of budget brands and are less in turn predicted how distant participants felt from the confederate. likely to help budget employees in need. This felt distance measure in turn predicted how many pens they Three studies tested these hypotheses. In study 1, 129 partici- helped to pick up. The indirect effect was .17, 95% CI = .006 to .83. pants completed nine dehumanization items (Bastian et al. 2013). This study therefore provides evidence for the notion that using en- Following Laran, Dalton and Andrade (2011) Walmart and Nord- hancement technologies can result in negative social consequences strom served as budget and non-budget brands, respectively, and par- for the enhanced consumer. ticipants indicated to which of the two brands the dehumanization Ongoing studies generalize these results to include additional items applied more (e.g., “I feel like employees are mechanical and forms of enhancement, showing that technologies including Google cold, like a robot”, “I feel like employees lack self-restraint, like an Glass, Oculus Rift, genetic engineering, prosthetic limbs, and ste- animal”). As we used a nine-point scale with the brand logos as an- roids are also dehumanizing, thus demonstrating the broad relevance chors, participants could attribute equal humanness to the employees of technological dehumanization for marketers. of the two brands by choosing the midpoint of the scale. However, participants significantly dehumanized the employees of the budget The Undesired Discounting Effect of Budget Brands: brand (p < .001). How Brand Positioning Affects Perceptions of Customer Study 2 (n = 208) tested the underlying mechanism of this ef- Service Representatives’ Human Qualities fect. Participants were randomly assigned to a budget (Ryanair), non-budget (Lufthansa), or neutral control condition. After reporting EXTENDED ABSTRACT their brand associations, participants received printed, photoshopped We live in a branded world; virtually not a single company op- advertisements displaying the same flight attendant. The neutral con- erates without a brand name. Employees are crucial in making these dition rated the same person unrelated to a commercial context. Rat- brands come alive. In general, interactions with employees can pro- ings on the stimulus’s capacity to think, feel, and plan served as our vide rich information about brands to consumers (e.g., Matta and dependent measure of dehumanization (Kozak, Marsh and Wegner Folkes 2005), and employee–brand alignment might improve brand 2006). Consistent with our predictions, participants in the budget evaluations (Sirianni et al. 2013). Hitherto, research into brands and condition ascribed less humanness to the employee than those in the employees has focused exclusively on how perceptions of employ- non-budget (p = 0.006) and the control condition (p < 0.001). More- ees and their behavior influence consumers’ brand perceptions and over, participants in the non-budget condition attributed less human- evaluations. We argue that the effects also work in the opposite di- ness to the person than subjects in the control condition (p = 0.011). rection: brands shape consumers’ perceptions of the human qualities Two independent raters coded whether the associations contained Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 44) / 45 market-pricing connotations. A mediation analysis with market-pric- can also operate in the other direction. The self-expansion process ing focus as a dichotomous mediator (Imai, Keele and Tingley 2010) captures the paired capacity of the device to affect the consumer and revealed that the increased market-pricing focus mediates 91.7% of the capacity of the consumer to be affected by the device. With self- the effect of the low-cost brand (vs. non-budget and neutral control) expansion, the device is in control of the identity that the consumer on dehumanization. A follow-up study (n=180) employing the same absorbs into the self. Thus: paradigm replicated the effect in a supermarket context. In our final study, 75 participants were randomly assigned to the Hypothesis 1: When the consumer has more control in the same two brands as in study 2. Subsequently, they were presented interaction, self-extension will be greater than with a manipulated image depicting a budget or non-budget airline self-expansion; with less control, self-expansion cabin. The image featured a stewardess, who had toilet paper stuck will be greater than self-extension. to her shoe, walking along the aisle. Our dependent measure of pro- social behavior was participants’ intentions to help the stewardess We propose that anthropomorphism is a key mediating emer- by informing her about the toilet paper. In line with predictions, par- gent experience from the interaction among the paired capacities ticipants were significantly less likely to help the budget than the of the consumer with smart devices. Anthropomorphism is the ten- non-budget stewardess (p = .025). dency for people to ascribe human-like characteristics, emotions and Taken together, three studies suggest that a budget brand po- behaviors to objects (Epley, Waytz and Cacioppo 2007). Waytz et sitioning has pervasive, unintended consequences for consumers’ al. (2010) found that more unpredictable devices were seen as more perceptions of the humanness of employees associated with such anthropomorphic. Greater unpredictability corresponds to less con- brands. Across different industries and measures, we consistently trol, thus: demonstrate that consumers fail to fully recognize the human quali- Hypothesis 2: When the consumer has less control in the inter- ties of budget employees and are also less likely to offer interper- action, anthropomorphism will be greater com- sonal support to these employees when in need. Additional studies pared to when the consumer has more control. are currently in progress, examining further control conditions (e.g., low-status brands), additional outcomes, and potential intervention Some research has suggested that anthropomorphism lies on a strategies for budget brand managers. continuum from a minimal kind of anthropomorphism where you attribute human traits to an object, all the way to seeing the object Anthropomorphism From Self-Extension and Self- as human with a “mind of its own” (Aggarwal and McGill 2007). Expansion Processes: An Assemblage Theory Approach We theorize that such device complexity could moderate whether to Interactions Between Consumers and Smart Devices anthropomorphism occurs through a self-extension or self-expansion processes. In the self-extension process, anthropomorphic experi- EXTENDED ABSTRACT ence more likely arises from the consumer’s capacity to directly af- Hoffman and Novak (2015) have proposed using assemblage fect simple devices (so-called “long finger” interactions). Consumers theory (DeLanda 2006) to conceptualize consumer experience in might have an easier time extending their essence into the device the Internet of Things (IoT). Their framework formally identifies when it is simple. However, in the self-expansion process, anthro- consumer experience as emerging from consumer interactions with pomorphic experience more likely arises from a complex device’s smart devices in IoT assemblages. Paired capacities exercised in capacity to affect the consumer through autonomous, ambient inter- these interactions specify how consumers and smart devices can af- actions. fect and be affected by each other. This conceptualization links self- extension (Belk 1988) and self-expansion theories (Aron and Aron Hypothesis 3: For devices that the consumer has the capac- 1986) in a larger theoretical framework, where anthropomorphism is ity to effect (self-extension), anthropomorphism an outcome of self-extension and self-expansion. will be greater for simple compared to complex Recently, Connell and Schau (2013) noted there is some confu- devices. For devices that have the capacity to sion in the marketing literature over the distinction between self- affect the consumer (self-expansion), anthropo- expansion and self-extension. Belk’s (1988) self-extension theory morphism will be greater for complex compared largely deals with how brands can bring more meaning to consum- to simple devices. ers’ lives through a process where the self is extended into those brands. Through the self-extension process, consumers invest the Study 1 was a manipulation check for the control manipulation object with emotions or feelings, so that the object takes on signifi- based on 101 participants. Across 32 devices (2 new scenarios and cance beyond a mere possession. In self-expansion theory (Aron 30 of the devices based on Waytz et al. 2010), participants reported et al. 1991), people are motivated to form close relationships with significantly less perceptions of control (M=3.26) when devices be- others because it expands their ability to accomplish goals. Self- haved unpredictably compared to when the participant could pro- expansion through close relationships contributes to the formation gram the device (M=5.34; F (1, 99) = 82.176, p <.001). of our own identities and is achieved by incorporating the resources, Studies 2 and 3 tested H1-H3. In study 2, 201 participants perspectives and identities of a close other into one’s self (Aron et evaluated the same 32 devices in a 2 (low vs. high control) x 2 (self- al. 2004). Connell and Schau (2013) and Belk (2014a) conclude that extension vs. self-expansion) design to test H1. For each device, both self-extension and self-expansion are useful for understanding participants indicated either their perceptions of self-extension (“to the relationships that people have with objects. what degree do you have the capacity to affect [device]?”) or self- In our assemblage theory framework, the self-extension process expansion (“to what degree do you have the capacity to be affected captures the paired capacity of the consumer to affect smart devices by [device]?”). Results supported H1. Self-expansion (M=4.23) was and the capacity of smart devices to be affected by the consumer. greater than self-extension (M=3.16) for low control, and self-ex- Self-extension implies that the consumer is in control of the identity tension (M=4.61) was greater than self-expansion for high control they project from themselves into the device. But paired capacities (M=3.97; F(1,197)=51.243, p <.001). 46 / Human-like Robots and Robot-like Humans: Anthropomorphism and Dehumanization in Consumption

In study 3, 352 participants evaluated device anthropomor- Brasel, S. Adam and James Gips (2011), “Red Bull “Gives You phism in a 2 (self-extension vs. self-expansion) x 2 (low vs. high Wings” for better or worse: A double-edged impact of brand control) x 2 (simple vs. complex device) design. Results supported exposure on consumer performance,” Journal of Consumer H2 and H3. There was less anthropomorphism when control was Psychology, 21 (1), 57-64. high (M=1.80) compared to when it was low (M=2.25, (F (1, 344) Brooks, Rodney (2002), Flesh and Machines: How Robots will = 10.13, p =.002). In the self-expansion conditions, the complex de- Change Us, New York: Pantheon. vice (M= 2.29) was more anthropomorphic than that simple device Chu, Ted (2013), Human Purpose and Transhuman Potential, San (M=1.89 and in the self-extension conditions, the simple device was Rafael, CA: Origin Press. more anthropomorphic (M= 2.10) than the complex device (M= Cohen Kadosh, Kathrin, Beatrix Krause, Andrew J. King, Jamie 1.87) with the corresponding two-way interaction significant (F (1, Near, and Roi Cohen Kadosh (2015), “Linking GABA 344) = 4.13, p = .043). and glutamate levels to cognitive skill acquisition during Our studies support the idea that the self-extension and self-ex- development,” Human Brain Mapping, 36 (11), 4334-45. pansion processes can both lead to anthropomorphism. 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