Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Apr;42(4):526-39.
doi: 10.1177/0146167216636624.

Humanizing Outgroups Through Multiple Categorization: The Roles of Individuation and Threat

Francesca Prati  1 , Richard J Crisp  2 , Rose Meleady  3 , Monica Rubini  4
Affiliations

Humanizing Outgroups Through Multiple Categorization: The Roles of Individuation and Threat

Francesca Prati et al. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

In three studies, we examined the impact of multiple categorization on intergroup dehumanization. Study 1 showed that perceiving members of a rival university along multiple versus simple categorical dimensions enhanced the tendency to attribute human traits to this group. Study 2 showed that multiple versus simple categorization of immigrants increased the attribution of uniquely human emotions to them. This effect was explained by the sequential mediation of increased individuation of the outgroup and reduced outgroup threat. Study 3 replicated this sequential mediation model and introduced a novel way of measuring humanization in which participants generated attributes corresponding to the outgroup in a free response format. Participants generated more uniquely human traits in the multiple versus simple categorization conditions. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and consider their role in informing and improving efforts to ameliorate contemporary forms of intergroup discrimination.

Keywords: dehumanization; individuation; multiple categorization; perceived threat.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Simple mediation test of the relationship between simple versus multiple categorizations and humanization through individuation (Study 1). *p < .01. **p < .05.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Multiple mediation test of the relationship between simple versus multiple categorizations and humanization through individuation and perceived threat (Study 2). *p < .01. **p < .05.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Multiple mediation test of the relationship between simple versus multiple categorization and humanization through individuation and threat (Study 3). *p < .01. **p < .05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Albarello F., Rubini M. (2012). Reducing dehumanization outcomes towards Blacks: The role of multiple categorization and of human identity. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 875-882.
    1. Bastian B., Denson T., Haslam N. (2013). The role of dehumanization and moral outrage in retributive justice. PLoS ONE, 8(4), e61842. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brown R., Eller A., Leeds S., Stace K. (2007). Intergroup contact and intergroup attitudes: A longitudinal study. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37, 692-703.
    1. Capozza D., Trifiletti E., Vezzali L., Favara I. (2013). Can intergroup contact improve humanity attributions? International Journal of Psychology, 48, 527-541. - PubMed
    1. Costello K., Hodson G. (2010). Exploring the roots of dehumanization: The role of animal-human similarity in promoting immigrant humanization. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 13, 2-22.

LinkOut - more resources