Stuff

Here is the comprehensive breakdown of key researchers, their studies, central themes, and mechanisms as they relate to the psychological study of humanness, dehumanisation, and anthropomorphism.

I. Foundational Theories of Humanness

  • Nick Haslam (2006)

    • The Theory: Dual-Component Model.

    • Central Theme: Humanness is not a single construct; it consists of two distinct senses: Human Uniqueness (HU) and Human Nature (HN).

    • Mechanism: Dimensional Categorisation. Denying HU leads to animalistic dehumanisation (seeing others as unrefined or impulsive), while denying HN leads to mechanistic dehumanisation (seeing others as cold, robotic, or interchangeable).

  • Erich Fromm (1961)

    • The Theory: Alienation in Industrial Society.

    • Central Theme: Modern industrial systems turn humans into "anxious atoms" or commodities who sell their personalities for professional success.

    • Mechanism: Societal Dehumanisation. This creates a preference for the inorganic and technological over life (necrophilia) and a loss of authentic reason and love.

  • David Livingstone Smith (2021)

    • The Theory: Psychological Essentialism.

    • Central Theme: Dehumanisation is the literal belief that certain groups have a subhuman essence, making them "counterfeit humans".

    • Mechanism: Subhuman Essence Attribution. It distinguishes between using animal metaphors to demean and the actual cognitive categorisation of an entity as non-human.

II. Cognitive Processes and Dehumanisation

  • Waytz, Schroeder, & Epley (2014)

    • The Theory: The Lesser Minds Problem (LMP).

    • Central Theme: Perceiving another’s mind as equal to our own is not a cognitive default; it requires an active trigger.

    • Mechanism: Inferential Asymmetry. Because we lack direct access to others' internal states, we assume their minds are less complex, causal, or objective than our own.

  • Harris & Fiske (2006)

    • The Theory: Stereotype Content Model (SCM).

    • Central Theme: Social groups are judged on Warmth and Competence.

    • Mechanism: Neural Deactivation. fMRI showed the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)—essential for social cognition—shuts down when viewing "low warmth/low competence" groups (e.g., the homeless), meaning they are processed like objects.

  • Utyc (2018)

    • The Theory: Affective Mediation of Policy.

    • Central Theme: Dehumanising metaphors directly influence political attitudes toward immigrants.

    • Mechanism: Disgust Mediation. Animalistic language triggers the emotion of disgust, which then lowers support for pro-immigrant policies.

  • Čehajić, Brown, & González (2009/2016)

    • The Theory: Collective Responsibility and Moral Disengagement.

    • Central Theme: Reminders of an ingroup's past atrocities can trigger defensive dehumanisation.

    • Mechanism: Subtle Infrahumanisation. To deflect guilt, people deny victims secondary emotions (uniquely human feelings like shame or nostalgia), which reduces empathy for the victim group.

  • Rai, Valdesolo, & Graham (2017)

    • The Theory: Instrumental vs. Moral Violence.

    • Central Theme: Dehumanisation predicts violence used as a means to an end (instrumental) but not violence used to "punish" a perceived wrongdoer (moral).

    • Mechanism: Mind Attribution Reduction. Stripping humanness eases the cognitive "cost" of causing collateral damage.

III. Objectification and Existential Defense (TMT)

  • Jamie Goldenberg (2011/2013)

    • The Theory: Terror Management Theory (TMT).

    • Central Theme: Objectification—seeing humans as things—serves as a psychological buffer against death anxiety.

    • Mechanism: Existential Buffering. Because objects do not die or decay, transforming a biological human into an object removes the threat of "creatureliness" and mortality.

  • Morris, Goldenberg, & Heflick (2014)

    • The Theory: The Trio of Terror.

    • Central Theme: Biological functions (pregnancy, menstruation, breastfeeding) remind us of our mortal, animal nature.

    • Mechanism: Self-Objectification. Women respond to these reminders by distancing themselves from their own "Human Nature," focusing on their appearance to feel more like "immortal objects" and reduce death-thought accessibility.

  • Bernard et al. (2012/2018)

    • The Theory: The Sexualized Body-Inversion Hypothesis.

    • Central Theme: Sexualisation causes a shift in how the brain visually processes human bodies.

    • Mechanism: Analytic vs. Configural Processing. While humans are usually seen as a whole (configural), sexualised women are processed part-by-part (analytic), which is the default way the brain processes inanimate objects.

  • Civile & Obhi (2016)

    • The Theory: Social Power and Objectification.

    • Central Theme: Having social power over others changes how you perceive their bodies.

    • Mechanism: Cognitive Power-Shift. High power leads individuals to visually objectify members of the opposite gender, processing them analytically rather than as whole persons.

IV. Human-Nature and Human-Technology Relationships

  • Atran & Medin (1999/2002)

    • The Theory: Folk Biology and Schema Fullness.

    • Central Theme: Ecological knowledge (or the lack thereof) dictates environmental sustainability.

    • Mechanism: Bidirectional Schema. Native Itza' Mayans have rich mental maps of nature's interdependencies, leading to sustainable use, whereas urban groups have "impoverished" schemas that see nature only as a cash resource.

  • Costello & Hodson (2010)

    • The Theory: Interspecies Model of Prejudice (IMP).

    • Central Theme: The way we categorise animals directly influences how we treat human outgroups.

    • Mechanism: Human-Animal Divide. Perceiving a greater divide between humans and animals fosters outgroup dehumanisation; conversely, animal-to-human similarity increases humanisation of immigrants.

  • Epley, Waytz, & Cacioppo (2007)

    • The Theory: SEEK Theory of Anthropomorphism.

    • Central Theme: We attribute human minds to non-humans to satisfy basic needs.

    • Mechanism: Three drivers: Sociality (loneliness), Effectance (need for control/predictability), and Elicited Agent Knowledge (using the human self as a template).

  • Masahiro Mori (1970)

    • The Theory: The Uncanny Valley.

    • Central Theme: As robots become increasingly human-like, they reach a point where they trigger intense unease.

    • Mechanism: Expectation Violation. Entities that elicit our model of a "human other" but fail to measure up to it create an eerie sensation, potentially acting as a reminder of mortality.

  • Santoro & Monin (2023)

    • The Theory: The AI Effect.

    • Central Theme: AI mastering logic and language threatens our sense of human uniqueness.

    • Mechanism: Goalpost Shifting. Humans maintain a sense of superiority by redefining humanness around traits AI cannot master, such as spirituality, humor, and relationships.

V. Recent Critiques and Refinements

  • Paul Bloom (2022)

    • Critique: Functional Overuse.

    • Theme: The term "dehumanisation" is applied too broadly, making it scientifically meaningless.

    • Mechanism: Moral Humanity. Judging someone as "immoral" requires recognizing their humanity first; cruelty often depends on the victim being human enough to feel shame.

  • Harriet Over (2021)

    • Critique: The Seven Challenges.

    • Theme: Animal metaphors are often tools for humiliation or disgust rather than literal beliefs.

    • Mechanism: Humanity-Based Harm. We often attribute uniquely human antisocial traits (like cunning or spite) to outgroups to justify hating them.

  • Roger Giner-Sorolla (2021)

    • Response: The Prototype Model.

    • Theme: Dehumanisation is a matter of degree, not an "all-or-nothing" categorisation.

    • Mechanism: Family of Resemblance. Humanness is judged across five dimensions (Agency, Patiency, Prosociality, etc.); a target can be seen as human in one but dehumanised in another.