Talking to your pet has received a bad rep over the years. It’s usually associated with cat ladies, mad dog people, the lonely and the weird.
But despite the backlash you might get from your partner, friends or children over your daily conversations with your furry companion, scientists have come to the rescue of pet talkers everywhere.
As it turns out, the ability to ‘anthropomorphise,’ as in, place human attributes onto animals or objects, is what separates humans from other life on earth.
“Historically, anthropomorphising has been treated as a sign of childishness or stupidity, but it’s actually a natural by-product of the tendency that makes humans uniquely smart on this planet,” Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago tells Quartz.
“No other species has this tendency.”
And whichever side of the fence you fall on having chats with the cat, Nicholas says we actually all anthropomorphise without thinking.
How many people do you know who name their cars, shoes, plants or pets? This too is a sign of the same trait.
Nicholas adds that talking to your rat at the end of a long day doesn’t mean your on the road to becoming the eccentric lady who lives upstairs, rather than your brain cognition is highly active.
