When progressing through your final project you may stop and wonder, how do I get my target audience to give me the data I wish to attain? Several standardized methods include questionnaires and focus groups, but being able to set one up may not be enough. No one can truly answer questions uncomfortable, they need to feel relaxed and that they are not wasting their time; thus I shall burrow deep into the depths of desensitization by anthropomorphic characteristics to observe what anthropomorphism is and why it helps to desensitize.
Just to refresh all of the young minds, anthropomorphism is a term that gives human-like characteristics (i.e. talking, human eyes carved into a rock, trying to sell back that mountain bike that was obviously defective, Brian from Family Guy) to non-human objects. This term has been used in biblical times, greek mythology: sometimes giving Zeus anthropomorphic traits to make him seem more human, robotics, literature, and so on. Anthropomorphism has invaded religion, comedy, almost anything you can think of. Making something seem more human makes us less aware, perhaps because it can seem unrealistic at times (talking foxes) or the anthropomorphic object makes us think we are talking to just an ordinary person so we intently listen and follow along. Without anthropomorphism creativity would not encompass the horizon it does today, making everything seem more factual and realistic. That escape from realism we can attain from anthropomorphism is exactly what some things need to keep the participants wanting to answer honestly and pay attention throughout your survey, focus group, or what have you.
It is always up to you to create a relaxing state for which your participants or patrons can enjoy the full extent of the time they are giving to you to test out your product or even buy it. A good anthropomorphic example is Sonic the Hedgehog. Sega created a blue hedgehog that has teenager like body (in terms of height and length of limbs) who wears some articles of clothing and runs at top speed to accomplish various tasks. Had Sega kept Sonic as a normal hedgehog that could run at top speeds and collect rings, they probably would not have attained the level of fame that they did. Adding those anthropomorphic features made the audience fall in love with the character design of Sonic and love his winning attitude. A bad example is a textbook one: Clippy. Clippy was formed by Microsoft studios to help patrons with their word editing needs. Few people enjoyed interacting with Clippy, leaving many to angrily click until the disastrous piece of formed, virtual metal disappears. What did Microsoft do differently? They used anthropomorphism in the wrong way. As mentioned before anthropomorphism has found home in many subjects and supposedly can in any. While I’m typing a term paper I do not want to be bothered by a paper clip because I don’t know how to properly use English grammar; which leads me back to my original point. Using anthropomorphism in surveys and such is possible, just use it in varying degrees. One way could be to have a company logo where a echidna is hand drying a brand new car he bought, placing your company logo at the top along with the picture of the cheerful echidna. Another would be to include various pictures of the company, anthropomorphic mascot along the sheet(s) of paper to keep the audience in a light-hearted state. Anthropomorphism is a delicate tool that can help ween people into the most boring of items or subjects, if used properly.
April 10, 2008 at 11:15 am
I’m not so sure about your comment on Clippy. Yes, he (or it) was annoying and didn’t seem to help very much. I can’t say that that is why he is a bad example of anthropomorphism. He can still get the job done for some people, and the reason of anthropomorphism (giving humanistic traits to a non-human object or subject) was achieved, and he had a face with emotions. Perhaps Microsoft just didn’t use their best judgement when they made him pop up constantly and say nothing more than just “Could I help you in office?” Maybe I’m just not quite sure about the definition of anthropomorphism, but it seems like the basic design of Clippy could have worked (even if it was just a paper clip).
I do agree with you that anthropomorphism can help a person feel more comfortable (to answer questions), and that’s very important when conducting surveys or interviews. What about that personal relationship that can be gained when an interviewer interviews someone? Maybe those answers are actually more genuine because an actual person is asking the questions.
April 17, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I agree with the first post…Clippy is a good example of anthropomorphism in my opinion, just not very helpful as a person/paper clip thing. I’m pretty sure I would still be annoyed if Clippy was a teenaged hedgehog that ran across my screen at super-”sonic” speeds, pardon the pun.
Good article though, two thumbs up (out of 5 thumbs)
April 17, 2008 at 6:43 pm
This was an interesting post. The subject of anthropomorphism is certainly an intriguing one, as you have made evident.
I agree that certain levels of anthropomorphism can make a subject feel more at ease when taking a survey or performing in an experiment; it may even have a positive effect on subject performance, all other variables held equal. (This could easily be a psychological test… thanks for the idea!) However, I also agree with you that Clippy was a bit much. Perhaps if Microsoft had made Clippy an entity that appeared only when the “help” option was utilized, fewer people would have been so irritated. Just a thought.
Good bit here, though. Excellent writing.
April 20, 2008 at 12:24 am
Anthropomorphism is definitely a good way to put the reader or viewers mind at ease, and to make them more receptive to the following information… Its like a form of sugar-coating delicate information so it will be easier to swallow. Nonetheless, it is very useful in a good deal of situations. As for word choice though, I would suggest that desensitization may be a bit to strong of a word for the situation at hand. I would perhaps suggest numb, or something of that nature, but really I’m not being helpful enough to put in too much thought on the matter. Anyway, I really enjoyed the end; “Anthropomorphism is a delicate tool that can help ween people into the most boring of items or subjects, if used properly.” Very nice. However in the case of Clippy… I think someone in Microsoft needs a lesson in people skills. =]
April 20, 2008 at 3:12 pm
After cutting through the unnecessarily flowery language, I have to say I agree and disagree with the article. Yes, the inherent reason behind anthropomorphism is to make people feel more comfortable with an abstract concept.
However, I don’t agree with the statement that Clippy is a gross misuse of anthropomorphism. I didn’t feel MS was trying to make an FAQ or suggestion tool too human or that one didn’t need to have a human feeling–rather I just feel the tool itself was too “in your face.”