New York, Jan 20: It seems there's some truth in the cliche which describes a dog as 'man's best friend'. Well, you can at least ward off the pain of loneliness if you take your pet as almost human. Researchers in the United States have found that if people feel lonely, they can create a surrounding to keep them company by describing or seeing a pet as having human-like mental traits.
According to lead researcher Prof Nicholas Epley of University of Chicago, "Biological reproduction is not a very efficient way to alleviate one's loneliness, but you can make up people when you're motivated to do so. "When people lack a sense of connection with other people, they are more likely to see their pets, gadgets or gods as human-like."
In fact, the researchers came to the conclusion after conducting three experiments to test their expectations that lonely people are more likely to make up for their lack of social connection by creating human-like connections with pets or gadgets, or to increase their belief in the supernatural.
In one experiment, the team found a correlation between how lonely people felt and their tendency to describe a gadget in terms of human-like mental states. In another experiment, the team made people feel lonely in the laboratory by asking them to write about a time when they felt lonely or isolated. Under those circumstances, they were more likely to believe in the supernatural, whether it be God, angels or miracles.
Bureau Report
