anthropomorphism (1858).
A term first used in biology by the encyclopaedist George Henry Lewes (1817-1878) in Seaside Studies, this is the interpretation of animal behaviors in terms of human motivation; for example, the notion that a mother dog cares for her puppies because she loves them.
Difficult or impossible to prove or disprove, anthropomorphism is viewed dubiously by most modern biologists.
Source:
W Beck, Life: An Introduction to Biology (New York, 1991)