Dehumanization
Dehumanization is the denial of people’s humanity, individuality, or moral worth. It can make prejudice, exploitation, and violence seem acceptable.
Infrahumanization: The tendency to attribute complex emotions less readily to an outgroup than to one’s own group. It shows how denying humanity can operate through subtle differences in emotional attribution.
Rwandan genocide: The 1994 mass killing of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda, carried out by extremist leaders and their followers. Anti-Tutsi propaganda used degrading labels and imagery amid preparations for mass violence.
Nick Haslam: An Australian psychologist known for distinguishing animalistic and mechanistic forms of dehumanization. His framework clarifies two different ways people can be denied human qualities.
Stereotype: A generalized belief about the traits or behavior of members of a social group. Stereotypes can be harmful without explicitly denying their targets’ humanity.
Genocide: Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Dehumanization can weaken moral restraints, though it is neither necessary nor sufficient for genocide.
Animalistic dehumanization: A form of dehumanization that portrays people as animal-like, uncivilized, or lacking self-control. This route denies traits associated with human refinement and self-restraint.
The Holocaust: The Nazi-led genocide of six million Jews, alongside the persecution and murder of millions of other people. Nazi racial ideology represented Jews and other targeted groups as less than fully human.
Susan Fiske: An American social psychologist whose research examines stereotypes, social cognition, and intergroup relations. Her work connects perceived warmth and competence to the treatment of social groups.
Prejudice: An attitude or evaluation of a person based on their perceived group membership. Prejudice is broader: dehumanization is one way group-based hostility can take shape.
Torture: The intentional infliction of severe physical or mental pain for purposes such as punishment, coercion, or information gathering. Treating victims as outside ordinary moral concern can facilitate their abuse.