Intergroup Contact Reduces Dehumanization and Meta-Dehumanization: Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Quasi-Experimental Evidence From 16 Samples in Five Countries

Bruneau, Emile; Hameiri, Boaz; Moore‐Berg, Samantha L.; Kteily, Nour

doi:10.1177/0146167220949004

Cited by 63 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Indeed, in contrast to stigma research there has been little work examining reduction of dehumanisation of out-groups labelled on the basis of health or social behaviours ( cf refugees or ethnicity) (Haslam and Loughnan, 2014; Lancaster et al , 2017). However, in keeping with the findings of stigma research, there is a small body of evidence to suggest interventions designed to improve the quality of contact between groups, including those receiving welfare payments, have been shown to be effective in reducing dehumanisation (Vezzali et al , 2012; Corrigan, 2016; Kteily and Bruneau, 2017; Bruneau et al , 2021). Whilst these are approaches that can be relatively easily embedded within professional education or through small structured inter-group contact activities (Couture and Penn, 2003; Corrigan et al , 2014; Bruneau et al , 2021), as with all public health interventions, they may be difficult to implement at scale (World Health Organization, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Less than human: dehumanisation of people who use heroin

Sumnall

Atkinson

Gage

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeStigma reduction is an important public health challenge because of the large morbidity and mortality associated with some forms of substance use. Extreme stigma can lead to dehumanisation of target groups, who are ascribed with lesser humanity. The authors examined whether there was blatant and subtle dehumanisation of people who use heroin, and if these were associated with levels of support for non-discriminatory drug policy.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional online study using a UK convenience sample (n = 307 [75.2% female, mean age 28.6 ± 12.2 years]) was conducted. Participants completed assessments of blatant (Ascent of Humans [AoH] scale) and subtle (an emotion attribution task) dehumanisation and a bespoke measure assessing support for non-discriminatory drug policies. Other measures controlled for stigma towards people who use drugs (PWUD) and moral disgust.FindingsThere was greater blatant dehumanisation of people who used heroin compared to the general population and other potentially stigmatised reference groups, including people who use cannabis. The authors also found evidence of subtle dehumanisation, and people who used heroin were rated as being less likely to feel uniquely human emotions, less likely to feel positive emotions and more likely to feel negative emotions. Blatant dehumanisation was associated with significantly lower probability of support for non-discriminatory drug policy.Social implicationsDehumanisation may present significant challenges for stigma reduction initiatives and in fostering public support for drug policy and treatment. Denial of the humanity of this group could be used to justify discriminatory policies or relative deprioritisation of support services in funding decisions. Activities that seek to “rehumanise” PWUD, including social inclusion, and encouraging compassionate media representations that portray the lived experiences of substance use may be useful areas of future work.Originality/valueThis is the first study to investigate blatant and subtle dehumanisation of people who use heroin, and how this relates to public support for drug policy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Less than human: dehumanisation of people who use heroin

Sumnall

Atkinson

Gage

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since prior work finds that contact with outgroup members can reduce metadehumanization, dehumanization, and negative affect (13,14), the reduction in partisans' desire for distance from the other side could also feed back to further dampen partisan enmity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Explicit Blatant Dehumanization by Correcting Exaggerated Meta-Perceptions

Landry¹,

Schooler²,

Willer³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dehumanization, the belief that other people are less than fully human, dampens empathy, increases animosity, and catalyzes conflict between groups. Research has revealed that a troubling number of American partisans blatantly dehumanize members of the other party. Nonetheless, this research has also found that partisans substantially overestimate the extent to which members of the rival party dehumanize them. Here, we predict that partisans’ perceptions of being dehumanized by rival partisans (or meta-dehumanization) leads them to respond with reciprocal dehumanization. By implication, partisans’ own dehumanization of rival partisans could be reduced by correcting their exaggerated meta-dehumanization. We test this hypothesis in a pre-registered, nationally-representative survey experiment of Democrats and Republicans (N = 2,127). We find that a brief, informational intervention correcting partisans’ exaggerated perceptions of how much rival partisans dehumanize them reduced levels of partisan dehumanization by 45%, and this effect persisted in a follow-up survey conducted approximately one week later. We also investigated the effects of our intervention on additional outcomes, finding that it reduced desire for social distance from, and negative affect toward, rival partisans, and that these effects also persisted a week later. Together, these results suggest that correcting inaccurate perceptions of the extent of partisan dehumanization can be a tool for durably mitigating partisan enmity.

show abstract

“…intergroup contact can improve perceptions of humanness (Bruneau et al, 2021;Capozza et al, 2014), enhance individuating knowledge, and diminish stereotypical and threatening appraisals (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2008).…”

Section: Intergroup Contactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proximity with limited humanity: How hosting a tent city impacted college students' perceptions of individuals experiencing homelessness

Charleson

Fingerhut

2021

Journal Community Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The current manuscript assessed the impact of a community intervention—hosting a government‐sanctioned homeless encampment—on perceptions of individuals experiencing homelessness. College students' perceptions of individuals experiencing homelessness were collected before and after a tent city resided on campus. Perceptions were assessed utilizing a measure of dehumanization that probed the presumed importance of physiological and psychological needs. Data about contact with individuals experiencing homelessness were also collected. Hosting a tent city did not improve community‐wide perceptions of individuals experiencing homelessness. For a subset of participants who explicitly mentioned interactions with tent city members, awareness of the importance of physiological needs increased. Assessments of intergroup contact during hosting did not moderate changes in perceptions, though contact prior to hosting did have a modest impact. Specifically, students who had the fewest prior interactions were more likely to show improved perceptions of middle‐level need (e.g., love and belonging) importance. There was no evidence to suggest any enhancements in perceptions of high‐level needs (e.g., feeling independent and respected). Contact that organically occurs when a community hosts a tent city has limited potential to enhance markers of humanness. Implications for the contact hypothesis and recommendations for future hosting sites are discussed.

show abstract

Intergroup Contact Reduces Dehumanization and Meta-Dehumanization: Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Quasi-Experimental Evidence From 16 Samples in Five Countries

Cited by 63 publications

References 43 publications

Less than human: dehumanisation of people who use heroin

Less than human: dehumanisation of people who use heroin

Reducing Explicit Blatant Dehumanization by Correcting Exaggerated Meta-Perceptions

Proximity with limited humanity: How hosting a tent city impacted college students' perceptions of individuals experiencing homelessness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About