What term refers to attributing human characteristics and emotions to animals?

The correct term that refers to attributing human characteristics and emotions to animals is anthropomorphism. This concept arises from a human tendency to see animals through the lens of human comprehension and experience, leading to the projection of our thoughts, feelings, and intentions onto them. For example, when someone describes their dog as feeling guilty for chewing a shoe, they are anthropomorphizing the dog by attributing a human-like sense of guilt to its behavior.

In contrast, while personification also involves giving human traits to non-human entities, it is more commonly used in literature to give human qualities to inanimate objects, rather than animals specifically. Behaviorism, on the other hand, is a psychological theory focused on observable behaviors rather than internal emotions, and biomorphism typically refers to designs that mimic nature or biological forms, which is unrelated to attributing human emotions to animals. Therefore, anthropomorphism is the most appropriate term for this context.