Abstract

MARTINEZ, Rocío; MOYA, Miguel  and  RODRIGUEZ-BAILON, Rosa. Humans, animals and machines: understanding the dehumanization process. Escritos de Psicología [online]. 2017, vol.10, n.3, pp.178-189. ISSN 1989-3809.  https://dx.doi.org/10.5231/psy.writ.2017.30112.

The study of dehumanization began just over a decade. Since then many studies have shown how people perceive outgroup members as less human than ingroup members. In the present work, we firstly analyze how people define humanity is and how we consequently understand what dehumanization is. Secondly, we will present the two main forms of dehumanization: Animalistic (perceiving others as if they were animals) and mechanistic (perceiving others as robots and machines). Thirdly, the main measures of dehumanization as well as the main approaches in the area are presented: the attribute- and the metaphor-based dehumanization. Finally, we examine the main consequences of dehumanization and its impact on intergroup and interpersonal relationships.

Keywords : dehumanization; animalistic dehumanization; mechanistic dehumanization; intergroup relations; prejudice.

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