Anthropomorphism Scale

What it measures

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.

Representative items

• This product has a personality.
• This product has its own identity.
• I think of this product as having human qualities.
• This product seems to have feelings.
• This product has human-like characteristics.

Citation

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.