Today's rapidly changing technological landscape can represent a challenge for consumers who might lack trust in technology and be skeptical of its purported benefits.

Anthropomorphic thought can help remedy this skepticism and distrust and is especially consequential in consumer-product interactions where being mindful and conscious are important criteria for evaluation and accountability. For example, in a vehicle simulation study, Waytz and colleagues found that participants reported higher levels of trust in autonomous vehicles (e.g., self-driving cars) that featured anthropomorphic cues (e.g., a name, gender, or voice) than in those vehicles that lacked anthropomorphic cues. Moreover, participants in the simulated anthropomorphized vehicle felt less stressed from an observer's point of view, and in the event of an accident, were less likely to blame their vehicles.