[Terrorists and victims. Infrahumanization of Moroccans after 11-M]

Psicothema. 2012 May;24(2):243-8.
[Article in Spanish]

Abstract

Infrahumanization studies have verified that most people attribute more secondary emotions to the ingroup than to the outgroup. However, these results may vary with changing contexts. The main objective of this study was to investigate the infrahumanization of Moroccans, depending on the context, after the 11-M attacks and seven years later. For this purpose, variations that occur in the allocation of essential human qualities--secondary emotions--were analyzed by activating images of outgroup members in two opposite contexts: Guilty of the terrorist attack or its victim. The results show that the infrahumanization of the Moroccans in the perpetrator context does not change significantly with regard to the control group. However, infrahumanization does not take place when Moroccans are associated with a victim context, though only immediately after the terrorist attack, because seven years later, this effect disappears.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attitude
  • Crime Victims / psychology*
  • Defense Mechanisms
  • Emotions*
  • Ethnicity / psychology*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • History, 21st Century
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mass Casualty Incidents / history
  • Mass Casualty Incidents / psychology
  • Mass Media
  • Morocco
  • Prejudice
  • Propaganda
  • Random Allocation
  • Social Identification
  • Spain / epidemiology
  • Stereotyping*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Terrorism / psychology*
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult