Ours is human: on the pervasiveness of infra-humanization in intergroup relations

Br J Soc Psychol. 2009 Jun;48(Pt 2):237-51. doi: 10.1348/014466608X322882. Epub 2008 Jun 26.

Abstract

Both at a conceptual and an empirical level, infra-humanization has been put on par with the relative greater attribution of uniquely human emotions to the in-group, assuming that a group's humanity is exclusively a matter of having uniquely human characteristics. In the present research we suggest that people also adopt another strategy to infra-humanize the out-group by considering those aspects that characterize and differentiate the in-group from the out-group as more uniquely human. In three studies, characteristics presented as typical of the in-group and the out-group were judged on a not uniquely human-uniquely human dimension. In addition to humanity, in Study 3 participants judged in-group and out-group characteristics also on an evaluative dimension. Consistent with the hypothesis, participants judged in-group characteristics as more human than those of the out-group, independent of their valence. The implications of these results for infra-humanization theory are discussed.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Cultural Characteristics
  • Female
  • Group Processes
  • Human Characteristics*
  • Humans
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Judgment
  • Male
  • Prejudice
  • Self Concept
  • Social Identification
  • Social Perception*
  • Social Responsibility
  • Social Values
  • Stereotyping
  • Surveys and Questionnaires