What’s in a Name?
The students evaluating the supposedly German-built robot Armin, rated it as warmer, of superior design, as having more of a mind, said they felt psychologically closer to it, and expressed more of a willingness to live with it, as compared with the students who evaluated the supposedly Turkish-built Arman. So not only did the German students show a basic preferential bias toward the robot that had a German name and provenance, they also saw it as more human. This fits with previous research showing how readily we are able to perceive out-group members, such as the homeless, as less than human.
More from Christian Jarrett’s blog in The British Psychological Society worth reading. HT: Tyler.
I don’t know if “less than human” is the right phrase to use here. It’s a rather subjective term.
How close we feel to others might have more to do with how well we understand them. Germans understand fellow Germans better than they understand Turks, and vice versa.
I realize this is just about a robot. But going back in time, evolutionary biology would suggest our fear of outsiders — or at least our attraction to insiders — is rooted in our genes. Kinsmen or people inside our community were our protection. On the other hand, outsiders were often likely to be marauders who might kill or abduct members of our group. Outsiders could steal our resources, subjugate us or dispossess us of our territory.
People are prejudiced. What else is new?