Animism – what is it?
Prof. Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak says:
Imagine that you are leaving your house in a hurry. You put on your shoes, put a jacket over your shoulders, grab your backpack with a wallet and a phone. You stand in the door and want to lock it, but where are the keys? You look for them in your pockets, in your backpack. You go back home and run nervously around the rooms looking under the couch, under the pillows. After a few minutes of searching nervously, you think to yourself: "What nasty, mean beasts! They have hidden on purpose!”. You do not notice that you have just animated those poor keys, which in fact do not have free will, cannot be malicious and cannot hide.
Animism is a way of perceiving inanimate objects as living and having their own will. Animism has evolved as a perceptual strategy that makes it easier for us to make quick decisions and interact with the unpredictable world around us. Animism was and is used by people from different countries and cultures. It can be observed most easily among children who are playing, but adults use it just as often to explain to themselves what is happening around (e.g., when we are nervous that our car has broken down to spite us, or when we think that some movement in nearby bushes is some kind of an animal or a terrible monster).
For years, marketers have been using a process similar to animism called anthropomorphism (giving objects human characteristics) to persuade us to buy more. Perceiving objects in categories of a human being facilitates establishing relationships and increases attachment, so we are often bombarded with messages about products that look or behave like people (M&Ms candies, Michelin tires, Kasia margarine). However, anthropomorphic thinking has some limitations.
Firstly, it does not always lead to positive emotional reactions (vide the so-called ‘uncanny valley’ and the feeling of discomfort when we see anthropomorphic robots), and secondly – they cannot always be activated. For example, it turns out that anthropomorphism is easy to activate mainly among people with feelings of powerlessness, loneliness, social exclusion or with conservative (versus liberal) political views. As the research of scientists shows, there are no such limitations in the case of animism.
How to cope with it?
Prof. Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak explains:
Our research has shown than animistic thinking can be activated more easily than anthropomorphism and it is particularly easy to do it among people who are at least a bit superstitious. It is enough to carry a good luck charm with us, to pick four-leaf clovers or to avoid a black cat once in a while –this already proves us being more or less superstitious. It is also enough to be more inclined to animate and, consequently, to be more susceptible to persuasive messages about brands and products (even as banal as cookies or yoghurt)
And she summarizes -
How to cope with it? There is no single recipe. It is important for us to be aware of this effect and try to avoid it. It is worth recalling logical arguments and rational thinking – especially in the context of purchasing decisions. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to refrain oneself from being superstitious. Gamblers, athletes and all those who face various challenges, uncertainties and risks (such as newlyweds, students or passengers on the plane on Friday the 13th) know about it.
You can read the text here.
Malgorzata Karpinska-Krakowiak, Martin Eisend (2021), The Effects of Animistic Thinking, Animistic Cues, and Superstitions on Brand Responses on Social Media, “Journal of Interactive Marketing”, 55, 104– 117 (IF = 5.09; 200 pkt.).
Source: dr hab. Małgorzata Karpińska-Krakowiak, prof. of UL, Faculty of International and Political Studies, UL
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