Waytz, A., Schroeder, J., & Epley, N. (2014). The lesser minds problem. In Bain, P., Vaes, J., & Leyens, J. P. (Eds.) Humanness and Dehumanization (pp. 49-67). New York, NY: Psychology Press. [APA PsycNet Link]

• Short Summary: A common psychological bias is assuming others have less active and sophisticated mind than we do. This paper identifies three forms of this “Lesser Minds Problem” and its consequences.

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Epley, N., Schroeder, J., & Waytz, A. (2013). Motivated mind perception: Treating pets as people and people as animals. In Gervais, S. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 60, pp 127–152). Springer: New York. [Springer Link]

• Short Summary: This paper proposes that anthropomorphism is guided by two primary motives, the need to explain behavior and the need to connect with others.