Measures the degree to which consumers attribute human characteristics, intentions, and mental states to brands and products. Anthropomorphism is a fundamental human cognitive tendency and a powerful marketing lever — anthropomorphised brands elicit stronger emotional responses, greater brand attachment, more forgiveness following brand failures, and higher willingness to pay. In the AI era, anthropomorphism has become central to human-technology interaction research: consumers who anthropomorphise AI service agents more readily form emotional relationships with them and show higher AI service satisfaction and loyalty.
Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Score = mean. Higher = greater anthropomorphism. Anthropomorphism is stronger when products have face-like features, when consumers are lonely or seeking social connection, and when brands use first-person communication. Particularly relevant for AI chatbot design, smart product marketing, and virtual assistant branding. Epley, Waytz & Cacioppo (2007) Psychological Review provides the foundational theoretical treatment.
Aggarwal, P., & McGill, A.L. (2007). Is that car smiling at me? Schema congruity as a basis for evaluating anthropomorphized products. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(2), 168–179.
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