This study examined whether people can feel empathy toward inanimate objects, focusing on anthropomorphic products in the form of animal-shaped foods. We conducted two experiments with Japanese university students (Exp.1:n=50, Exp.2:n=55). In Experiment1, participants viewed images of anthropomorphic foods (e.g., panda buns, koala cookies) and non-anthropomorphic foods (e.g., doughnuts, cream puffs) under intact and damaged conditions. Negative emotional responses (e.g., "I feel sorry for them" "I feel their pain") were rated on a 6-point scale. Results showed that damaged anthropomorphic foods elicited stronger negative emotions than damaged non-anthropomorphic foods, and emotional responses increased with the severity of damage. In Experiment2, participants again evaluated damaged anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic foods, and then completed scales measuring empathy for others (Interpersonal Reactivity Index) and animistic thinking (Animism Scale). Mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between empathy for people and empathy for anthropomorphic products was fully mediated by the animistic tendency of "the anthropomorphication of possessions." These findings indicate that empathy, typically regarded as an interpersonal capacity, arises not only in human-to-human contexts but also toward inanimate objects when they are anthropomorphized.
Moreover, this extension depends on individual differences in animistic thinking. By linking empathy to animistic cognition, our study enriches psychological theories of empathy by demonstrating that empathy toward anthropomorphic products is not simply a spillover from interpersonal empathy, but emerges through specific cognitive mechanisms. The results also provide practical implications for marketing and design, suggesting that anthropomorphic features can enhance consumer attachment but may also provoke aversive reactions when such products appear to "suffer." Future research should test whether these effects are universal or culturally specific, and whether they extend beyond food to other categories of products.