[penis111]

At the extreme end of the spectrum people try to marry sex dolls and stuffed animals. There is a continuum of how attached people will get to inanimate or artificially animate objects. So it would also not be surprising if studying engineers and psych academics that you will get skewed data - groups not known for being on the right side of the bell curve for human social interaction skills.

I think even in the cases of those prone to become attached to non-living items, the attachment is not necessarily a long-term bond.

Further, suspending disbelief, and anthropomorphizing everyday mechanical things is not very compelling... I have felt bad for my car.. I think an emotional bond with a car is a pretty typical thing in the US.. However, regardless of how strong and consuming it is, most people don't treat it as a substitute or even similar to a social relationship.