Why do we make others feel less than?
Tero Vesalainen / iStock / Getty Images
Racism, sexism, homophobia, torture, even genocide.
It is possible anywhere where one person seeks to deny anothers humanity.
Tero Vesalainen / iStock / Getty Images
Dehumanization is vicious and can lead totrauma seen for many generations, whether in societies and cultures or individuals.
There are many instances of dehumanization throughout history.
They can then do immoral things without feeling distress.
One of those processes is dehumanization of a particular person or group of people.
Dehumanization starts with categorizing a group as different, not part of the human species, explains Bardin.
Imagery and metaphors are used to reinforce the dehumanized group," she says.
Threats of violence, separation, deportation, and death further dehumanize them.
A person employs dehumanization as a need to justify negative behavior, say Johnson.
The consequences for the people who are dehumanized, according to Johnson, are physical andpsychological harm.
This becomes possible when experiences challenge the ability to compartmentalize facts from self-justification.
Martin offers strategies for reducingstereotypes, which she calls the fuel for dehumanization.
“This helps break down mental associations that fuel dehumanization.
This can involve actively recalling people you know or public figures who challenge those stereotypes.
This direct contact can challenge harmful narratives andreduce prejudicethrough personal experience.
Ethical Considerations
Dehumanization is fundamentallyunethical.
Ethics and dehumanization cannot coexist.
Wrapping Up
Many people can fall prey to dehumanization without even realizing it.
Together, we can create a world that accepts every person as fully human.
Kteily NS, Landry AP.Dehumanization: Trends, insights, and challenges.Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
2022;26(3):222-240. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2021.12.003
Bandura A.Moral disengagement.
In: Christie DJ, ed.The Encyclopedia of Peace Psychology.
