Psychology in Everyday Life: The Psych Files

Why Are We So Polite to AI?

Jun 25, 2025
Why do we say 'please' and 'thank you' to AI? The podcast explores the fascinating psychology behind our polite interactions with machines. It delves into social scripts and automatic processing, revealing how our ancient social instincts shape these exchanges. This behavior isn’t just quirky; it’s a reflection of our deeply ingrained social nature. Maintaining politeness with AI might even help preserve our humanity as technology evolves, showcasing our enduring cooperative spirit in a digital world.
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ANECDOTE

Early Social Scripts

  • We learn social interaction scripts from an early age, like saying 'good morning' or 'thank you' automatically.
  • These conversational habits become mental templates that guide our social exchanges throughout life.
INSIGHT

Automatic Politeness to AI

  • Our brains automatically apply polite social scripts even when talking to AI that can't feel emotions.
  • Conversational cues trigger these social behavior patterns deeply ingrained by evolution.
INSIGHT

Anthropomorphizing AI

  • Attribution theory explains why we treat helpful AI responses as intentional acts of kindness.
  • Our tendency to anthropomorphize non-human agents is ancient and easily triggered by AI behavior.
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