Pseudopupils and Anthropomorphism

Took a nice photo of Carl, our sub-adult H. Majuscula. He appeared to have a curious look, almost like he was begging. I had the thought that much of this anthropomorphism (applying human traits or emotions to non-humans) we sometimes apply might be from the pseudopupil (the dark spot on mantids eyes that appears to be a pupil, but is not truly a pupil) making them look more natural to us. So I photoshopped out the pseudopupil. They look far more alien without the pseudopupil. Coupled with the clear mouthparts, this might be the cutest and creepiest shot I have taken. I notice that some dark mantids do not have the typical looking pseudopupil, but we still attribute the same type of emotion, so maybe the pseudopupil is of little psychological effect. What are your thoughts on how pseudopupils impact anthropomorphism?





If you want to try it yourself it is easy using the blemish tool in most photo editing suites.

I did the same: I photoshopped out the pupil out of an old pic of Cochise. She looks indeed more alien whitout them.

    

I like her more with the fake pupils. I think we add indeed human traits to our pets whitout thinking.

Nice! She looks like she is about to invade my planet and abduct my cows.

With the psuedopupils, the mouthparts almost look like they form a smile, but without, they look more menacing.

Yeah, I see what you mean! Very interesting! I think that with larger mantids when we can see the pseudopupil then they look more personable, but with young nymphs, where you can't see the pseudopupil, I feel like I still apply human traits to the mantis because of how it acts. This is a very interesting topic! 

Btw, @ohaple that first pic of your rainforest mantis is ADORABLE!!! 

- MantisGirl13

MantisGirl13 said:

Yeah, I see what you mean! Very interesting! I think that with larger mantids when we can see the pseudopupil then they look more personable, but with young nymphs, where you can't see the pseudopupil, I feel like I still apply human traits to the mantis because of how it acts. This is a very interesting topic! 

Btw, @ohaple that first pic of your rainforest mantis is ADORABLE!!! 

- MantisGirl13

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I agree. I don't seem to notice the same effect with my little ghost nymphs even though I cannot see their pseudopupils. Maybe it is because their eyes look more proportional to their body?

Thanks! It is probably my favorite photo so far of my mantids.

The ghosts eyes are to dark colored to see the pseudopupils, I think. But they are cute with how they move.

The psuedopupils definitely add to the effect! Pretty creepy without them, too

I think the shape and stance of mantids help us to add more human qualities to them. With my Ghosts, the way they stand upright, the shape of their head, their inquisitive head tilts and dancing all help contribute to anthropomorphism in my mind. It doesn't matter that I 'can't see the whites of their eyes' so to speak, they have enough other qualities to still cause the same reaction in me

Love the photoshopped pics! 

Graceface said:

The psuedopupils definitely add to the effect! Pretty creepy without them, too

I think the shape and stance of mantids help us to add more human qualities to them. With my Ghosts, the way they stand upright, the shape of their head, their inquisitive head tilts and dancing all help contribute to anthropomorphism in my mind. It doesn't matter that I 'can't see the whites of their eyes' so to speak, they have enough other qualities to still cause the same reaction in me 

Love the photoshopped pics! 

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Good points, their general physiology is much more humanoid than other insects. I love their laser focus when they spot prey.

ohaple said:

their general physiology is much more humanoid than other insects.

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I agree on that if you look at them with their heads and their arms. Maybe we like mantids because they are a bit "human" like

Little Mantis said:

I agree on that if you look at them with their heads and their arms. Maybe we like mantids because they are a bit "human" like

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We are both predators as animals and share behavioral traits in addition to the physical resemblance, so I think it makes sense we place human traits on mantids. It certainly aids in the fascination, at least in my case

Maybe humans just have a way of seeing themselves in everything they encounter

I believe behavior is another reason we anthropomorphize mantids. My first Chinese mantis would tap on her container as soon as I sat down at the desk, but for no one else. When I would take her out and place her on my desk branch, she would always come down after a few minutes and stand near the vent of my laptop... almost as if she wanted to sit closer so she could watch me work. I didn't think heat was a factor since the room stays around 78° and the air from the vent gets pretty warm. 

There's an article from National Geographic in which the same mantis would reportedly return daily to the same pond, same place to catch guppies. How a mantis catches a guppy I have no idea.

In my mind, it gives me the impression, real or imagined, that they have memory and occasionally seem to form a bond with their owners. In turn, we bond as well. Pseudopupils add to the effect.