Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at: autism.org/anthropomorphism-and-autism
Handouts are online (.pdf) at autism.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/autism-and-anthropomorphism.pdf
Learn about recent findings suggesting that autistic individuals may be more likely to anthropomorphize, the tendency to ascribe human-like attributes, such as mental states, to non-human agents, than non-autistic individuals, and how researchers are developing virtual and augmented reality techniques that allow for anthropomorphic experiences.
Gray Atherton, PhD, has a BSc in Child Development from Vanderbilt University, a Master’s in Counselling from University of Houston, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Individual Differences from University of Houston. She has previously lectured at University of Houston and the University of Wolverhampton. Prior to entering academia, Gray was a counselor for adolescents with neurodevelopmental conditions. “I am interested in understanding how people with autism spectrum condition see the social world. Specifically, I explore individual differences in social processing and how these differences often found in people with autism also exist in the general population. I also investigate anthropomorphism, or seeing the human in the non-human, and how this relates to social processing in autism. To investigate this I am developing virtual reality techniques that allow for anthropomorphic experiences. My other research interest lies more broadly in embodied social processing. I am particularly interested in how movement can affect the way we see ourselves and our social partners, and how this can be used to understand special populations.”
In this webinar:
1:58 – What is anthropomorphism?
5:00 – Importance of anthropomorphism
8:05 – Autism and anthropomorphism
10:00 – Social Motivation Theory of Autism
14:00 – Study 1: Theory of mind processes in autistic adolescents
18:50 – Study 2: Review of studies with anthropomorphic stimuli
23:45 – Study 3: Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test – anthropomorphized
29:00 – Study 4: Intellectual disability and emotion recognition
32:25 – Study 5: Verbal anthropomorphism and theory of mind
35:30 – Study 6: Pets and anthropomorphism in everyday life
39:50 – Recap
41:30 – Flip the narrative
46:00 – Applications and interventions
48:20 – Q & A session
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz at: autism.org/anthropomorphism-and-autism
Handouts are online (.pdf) at autism.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/autism-and-anthropomorphism.pdf
Learn about recent findings suggesting that autistic individuals may be more likely to anthropomorphize, the tendency to ascribe human-like attributes, such as mental states, to non-human agents, than non-autistic individuals, and how researchers are developing virtual and augmented reality techniques that allow for anthropomorphic experiences.
Gray Atherton, PhD, has a BSc in Child Development from Vanderbilt University, a Master’s in Counselling from University of Houston, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Individual Differences from University of Houston. She has previously lectured at University of Houston and the University of Wolverhampton. Prior to entering academia, Gray was a counselor for adolescents with neurodevelopmental conditions. “I am interested in understanding how people with autism spectrum condition see the social world. Specifically, I explore individual differences in social processing and how these differences often found in people with autism also exist in the general population. I also investigate anthropomorphism, or seeing the human in the non-human, and how this relates to social processing in autism. To investigate this I am developing virtual reality techniques that allow for anthropomorphic experiences. My other research interest lies more broadly in embodied social processing. I am particularly interested in how movement can affect the way we see ourselves and our social partners, and how this can be used to understand special populations.”
In this webinar:
1:58 – What is anthropomorphism?
5:00 – Importance of anthropomorphism
8:05 – Autism and anthropomorphism
10:00 – Social Motivation Theory of Autism
14:00 – Study 1: Theory of mind processes in autistic adolescents
18:50 – Study 2: Review of studies with anthropomorphic stimuli
23:45 – Study 3: Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test – anthropomorphized
29:00 – Study 4: Intellectual disability and emotion recognition
32:25 – Study 5: Verbal anthropomorphism and theory of mind
35:30 – Study 6: Pets and anthropomorphism in everyday life
39:50 – Recap
41:30 – Flip the narrative
46:00 – Applications and interventions
48:20 – Q & A session
