Dehumanization
Dehumanization denies full humanity, enabling cruelty and moral exclusion.
Dehumanization is the act or process of denying someone their full humanity, which brings with it cruelty and suffering. It means seeing individuals or groups as missing core human qualities—like complex emotions or the ability to think—and therefore placing them outside the circle of moral concern. Under this definition, any thought or action that treats a person as "other than" or "less than" human counts as dehumanization.
It can be obvious or subtle, and usually takes two main forms. Animalistic dehumanization strips away traits considered uniquely human, such as civility, culture, or reason, and compares people to animals. Mechanistic dehumanization removes qualities of human nature like warmth, emotion, and individuality, portraying people as objects or machines. Historically, dehumanization has enabled a wide range of harms—from discrimination and social exclusion to slavery, colonization, and other crimes against humanity—and is seen as a major form of incitement to genocide.
In behavioral terms, dehumanization is a disposition that debases someone’s individuality by treating them as if they belong to a separate "species" or as an inanimate object. As a process, it is the opposite of personification: where personification gives human traits to things, dehumanization takes those traits away or reduces a person to an abstraction.
Dehumanization can be absolute or relative. Absolute dehumanization sees a group as completely lacking human qualities, while relative dehumanization attributes fewer human characteristics to one group compared to another. Historically, this has included outright claims that certain people—like enslaved individuals—were not fully human, as well as more subtle forms like objectifying women or demonizing migrants. Both are expressions of dehumanization, differing only in how many human attributes are denied.
This connects to the difference between blatant and subtle forms. Blatant dehumanization involves open, explicit comparisons to animals or non-human things, often using direct language. Subtle dehumanization, sometimes called infrahumanization, is the implicit belief that out-group members have fewer uniquely human emotions or traits, and it can happen unconsciously. Early research focused on blatant forms, especially in intergroup conflict, but later studies found that dehumanization can also be subtle, even without ope
- field
- Psychology, Sociology, Political Science
- known_for
- Conceptualizing dehumanization as denial of humanity, including animalistic and mechanistic forms
- forms
- Animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization
- related_concepts
- Infrahumanization, delegitimization, moral exclusion, objectification
- manifestations
- Discursive, symbolic, physical
Lore & Background
Dehumanization is understood as a psychological mechanism that facilitates violence and inhumane treatment. It plays a central role in justifying harm by removing the moral consideration typically granted to human beings, thereby weakening psychological restraints such as compassion and empathy. One component of this process is the denial of others' mental states, known as 'dementalization,' which contributes to their moral exclusion and increases the likelihood of mistreatment. Scholars distinguish dehumanization from related psychological phenomena such as dislike, as it entails the denial of a person's moral and mental worth, adding a particularly harmful layer by diminishing the relevance of their suffering. Unlike people who are stigmatized or marginalized but still recognized as normatively human, individuals who are dehumanized are perceived as fundamentally lacking in essential human qualities and moral worth. This distinction is significant because moral inclusion often imposes limits on how individuals may be treated, whereas dehumanization removes such constraints, enabling more extreme forms of violence and exclusion.
Reader's Guide
Dehumanization has been examined across various disciplines as a mechanism that reinforces social hierarchies and exclusion. It may be carried out by a social institution (such as a state, school, or family), interpersonally, or even within oneself. Dehumanization can be unintentional, especially upon individuals, as with some types of de facto racism. State-organized dehumanization has historically been directed against certain political, racial, ethnic, national, or religious minority groups. Other minoritized and marginalized individuals and groups (based on sexual orientation, gender, disability, class, or some other organizing principle) are also susceptible to various forms of dehumanization. Although dehumanization is a significant factor in enabling violent behaviour, scholars emphasize that it is not sufficient on its own to explain all instances of violence. Research indicates a strong association between dehumanization and increased levels of aggression, and it can be used to justify or sustain acts of violence and long-term animosity. It may also intensify intergroup conflict by sharpening distinctions between in-groups and out-groups. Beyond its role in facilitating violence, dehumanization can serve several social and psychological functions, including legitimizing harm, managing existential anxieties, and reinforcing social stratification or defending the status quo.
Did You Know?
- Dehumanization can occur in both absolute and relative forms, with absolute dehumanization perceiving a group as entirely devoid of human qualities.
- Subtle dehumanization, often called infrahumanization, manifests in the implicit belief that out-group members possess fewer uniquely human emotions or traits.
- Animalistic dehumanization is primarily observed in intergroup dynamics, while mechanistic dehumanization tends to occur in interpersonal settings.
- According to Herbert Kelman, humanness has two features: identity (perception of the person as an individual capable of making choices) and community (perception of the person as part of an interconnected network).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dehumanization in the Social Identity & Prejudice series?
Dehumanization is the psychological process of stripping a person or group of their full human status, effectively pushing them outside the boundary of moral concern. It covers any thought or behavior that frames another as 'less than' or 'other than' human, and it is the conceptual engine behind much of the cruelty and suffering depicted across the series.
What are Dehumanization's two main forms?
Animalistic dehumanization removes traits we associate with being human—civility, culture, reasoned thought—while mechanistic dehumanization reduces people to objects or tools lacking rich inner emotional lives. Together these two forms capture the full range of how a target can be made to feel 'not quite human.'
How does Dehumanization show up in practice?
It manifests at three levels: discursive (language and rhetoric), symbolic (images, stereotypes, and cultural narratives), and physical (actual violence or exclusion). A single act of prejudice can touch all three layers simultaneously.
Which concepts are closely related to Dehumanization?
Fans often group it alongside infrahumanization (attributing fewer advanced emotions to an outgroup), delegitimization (denying a group's right to exist or claim resources), moral exclusion (removing them from the moral community), and objectification (treating bodies as things). Each overlaps with dehumanization but emphasizes a slightly different facet.
Why does Dehumanization matter in the field of social identity research?
It sits at the intersection of Psychology, Sociology, and Political Science because it explains the cognitive and emotional shortcut that makes ordinary cruelty feel permissible. Without understanding how and why people dehumanize, researchers cannot fully account for the mechanisms behind prejudice, discrimination, or large-scale violence.
More in Social Identity & Prejudice 1-20
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