This scale measures how far a person believes a non-human entity, such as a robot or AI agent, is capable of experiencing sensations and emotions like hunger, pain, pleasure, and embarrassment. Garvey, Kim, and Duhachek (2023) used it in a supplemental study with 400 MTurk participants examining anthropomorphism-related perceptions of AI. The items were drawn from the experience dimension of mind perception identified by Gray, Gray, and Wegner (2007), who distinguished two broad mental capacities, agency and experience.
7-point scale (1=not at all, 4=somewhat, 7=very much)
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Alpha was .98 in the supplemental study (Garvey, Kim, and Duhachek 2023, Web Appendix G, p. 24). Strong correlations with other anthropomorphism-related measures offered some evidence of convergent validity, but the authors acknowledged that these same correlations raise questions about discriminant validity (Web Appendix, p. 25). Nine of the eleven experience-factor descriptors from Gray, Gray, and Wegner (2007) were used. The stem is 'To what extent is the ___ capable of the following?' with the blank filled by the focal entity (e.g., 'robot').
Garvey, Aaron M., TaeWoo Kim, and Adam Duhachek (2023), "Bad News? Send an AI. Good News? Send a Human," Journal of Marketing, 87 (1), 10-25.
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