Language as a window into mind perception: How mental state language differentiates body and mind, human and nonhuman, and the self from others.

Mind perception-the attribution of mental states to humans and nonhuman entities-is an essential element of social cognition (distinct from related constructs such as perspective-taking and attribution). Despite its importance, research often captures this construct in hypothetical and atypical situations. We therefore used a novel text analysis tool-the Mind Perception Dictionary (MPD)-to measure linguistic use of mind perception (words related...