Dehumanization

Dehumanization is the act of denying humanness to other human beings. Throughout history, dehumanization has been an essential ingredient in the perpetration of intergroup violence and atrocities. The first section of this article defines the phenomenon and describes its different manifestations. Theoretical and empirical works on blatant dehumanization are then reviewed. In the third section, the functions fulfilled by dehumanization for groups and individuals are summarized. The fourth section presents more subtle and unconscious forms of dehumanization. In particular, the concept of infrahumanization is introduced with a summary of empirical evidence. The fifth section focuses on phenomena of objectification and self-objectification, and reviews work from the formulation of objectification theory until the most recent studies. Finally, new directions for investigating unexplored aspects of this phenomenon are proposed.