Advertising human(nes)s : empirical integration of anthropomorphism and dehumanization

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to empirically examine whether the attribution of humanness to products and brands (i.e. anthropomorphism) is intrinsically interwoven with the lack of humanness ascription to people (i.e. dehumanization). In order to understand their complementarity, a series of experimental studies was designed to unveil the subtle context in which they can co-occur and to explore different cognitive mechanisms that can potentially underly these phenomena. Findings suggest that a simple advertising photo that pairs a product and a brand with a person can lead to anthropomorphism and dehumanization respectively.(ECGE - Sciences économiques et de gestion) -- UCL, 201