If you yell at your gadget, refer to it by a pet name or otherwise anthropomorphize what your rational mind knows is a lump of plastic and circuitry, you should probably work on developing a few more human friends. So says a new University of Chicago psychology study that posits humanizing of gadgets as a means of combating loneliness.
“When you’re bereft of human companions, you’ll create them,” says researcher Adam Waytz, adding that gadget designer promote such connections. “When a gadget takes the physical appearance of a human, with a humanlike voice, it feels easier to control and it feels easier to understand.”
Too attached to that iPod? New study explains why [Great Reporter]
