Aleksandra Swiderska

• The primary purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how basic perceptual processes responsible for the evaluations of humanness are influenced by the top- down motivation of ethnic group belonging. Chapter 1 begins with positioning the current work in the broader context of social psychological research and provides an introductory overview of the planned studies. The attribution of human qualities as shaped by the in-group/ out-group divide is then examined with reference to humans in Chapters 2 and 3, and to objects in Chapters 4 and 5. Experiments described in Chapters 2 and 3 are based on rating tasks to respectively assess animacy and mental capacities, and personality features and emotions of natural and artificial faces. The results show animacy to be reserved for faces that can be unambiguously categorized as the in-group. Moreover, although the ascription of aliveness and mental states gradually decreases as the faces attain the more synthetic appearance, these perceptions do not vary as a function of group membership. The assignment of personality traits and emotions evidences in-group favoritism and subtle out-group derogation, and is similar for both types of faces. Subsequently, the artificial versions of the facial stimuli are used to embody anthropomorphic agents in the setting of human-computer interaction. Experiments reported in Chapters 4 and 5 adopt a bargaining game and on-line conversations to explore the reception of machines fulfilling roles once designated only for humans. The results reveal that on the behavioral level, the computer triggers social responses comparable in their nature to the responses typically elicited by human companions, but the emotional reactions to the violations of social norms enacted by the computer seem to be attenuated. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes with a synopsis of the findings and their interpretation in relation to a well-established mind perception framework as demonstrating the entities under scrutiny to be imputed experience and denied agency. In sum, the thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of the social impact the computers have on the user and to in turn inform the design of realistic computer-based characters for contemporary applications.