Talking to your pets – it’s a sign of intelligence

The science behind why humans talk to animals shows that it’s not a sign of stupidity, says an expert in ‘anthropomorphism’.

It was Dr Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago told Quartz, ‘Historically, anthropomorphizing has been treated as a sign of childishness or stupidity, but it’s actually a natural byproduct of the tendency that makes humans uniquely smart on this planet’.

‘No other species has this tendency.’

Epley says that attributing human qualities to non-humans – for instance, thinking that a car is lazy, or stubborn – is actually a sign of our brain power.

Epley says, ‘For centuries, our willingness to recognize minds in nonhumans has been seen as a kind of stupidity, a childlike tendency toward anthropomorphism and superstition that educated and clear-thinking adults have outgrown.

‘I think this view is both mistaken and unfortunate. Recognizing the mind of another human being involves the same psychological processes as recognizing a mind in other animals, a god, or even a gadget. It is a reflection of our brain’s greatest ability rather than a sign of our stupidity.’