Editing Dehumanization (section)

== Causes and facilitating factors ==
[[File:Slave Auction Ad.jpg|right|thumb|Reproduction of a handbill advertising a slave auction, in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1769]]

Several lines of psychological research relate to the concept of dehumanization. [[Infrahumanisation|Infrahumanization]] suggests that individuals think of and treat [[Outgroup (sociology)|out-group]] members as "less human" and more like animals;<ref name="Leyens, JPh, 2000" /> while Austrian ethnologist [[Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt]] uses the term ''[[Pseudospeciation|pseudo-speciation]]'', a term that he borrowed from the psychoanalyst [[Erik Erikson]], to imply that the dehumanized person or persons are regarded as not members of the human species.<ref name="eibl">{{cite book | title=The Biology of Peace and War: Men, Animals and Aggression | publisher=New York Viking Press | author=Eibl-Eibisfeldt, Irenäus | year=1979}}</ref> Specifically, individuals associate secondary emotions (which are seen as uniquely human) more with the in-group than with the out-group. Primary emotions (those experienced by all sentient beings, whether human or other animals) are found to be more associated with the out-group.<ref name="Leyens, JPh, 2000" /> Dehumanization is intrinsically connected with violence.<ref>{{cite web |title=The link between hatred, dehumanization, and violence is more complicated than assumed {{!}} DIIS |url=https://www.diis.dk/en/research/the-link-between-hatred-dehumanization-and-violence-is-more-complicated-than-assumed |website=www.diis.dk |date=2 March 2021 |access-date=14 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Resnick |first1=Brian |title=The dark psychology of dehumanization, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/3/7/14456154/dehumanization-psychology-explained |website=Vox |access-date=14 April 2023 |language=en |date=7 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rai |first1=Tage S. |last2=Valdesolo |first2=Piercarlo |last3=Graham |first3=Jesse |title=Dehumanization increases instrumental violence, but not moral violence |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=8 August 2017 |volume=114 |issue=32 |pages=8511–8516 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1705238114 <!--|access-date=14 April 2023-->|pmid=28739935 |s2cid=13654261 |pmc=5559031 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114.8511R }}</ref> Often, one cannot do serious injury to another without first dehumanizing him or her in one's mind (as a form of [[Rationalization (psychology)|rationalization]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murrow |first1=Gail B. |last2=Murrow |first2=Richard |title=A hypothetical neurological association between dehumanization and human rights abuses |journal=Journal of Law and the Biosciences |date=13 July 2015 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=336–364 |doi=10.1093/jlb/lsv015 <!--|access-date=17 April 2023-->|pmid=27774198 |pmc=5034371 }}</ref> [[Military training]] is, among other things, systematic [[Desensitization (psychology)|desensitization]] and dehumanization of the enemy, and military personnel may find it psychologically necessary to refer to the enemy as an animal or other non-human beings. Lt. Col. [[Dave Grossman (author)|Dave Grossman]] has shown that without such desensitization it would be difficult, if not impossible, for one human to kill another human, even in combat or under threat to their own lives.<ref name="grossman">{{cite book | title=On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society | publisher=[[Back Bay Books]] | author=Grossman, Dave Lt. Col. | year=1996 | isbn=978-0-316-33000-8}}</ref>

[[File:Ota Benga at Bronx Zoo.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ota Benga]], a human exhibit in [[Bronx Zoo]], 1906]]
According to [[Daniel Bar-Tal]], delegitimization is the "[[categorization]] of groups into extreme negative social categories which are excluded from human groups that are considered as acting within the limits of acceptable norms and values".<ref name="Bar-Tal, D, 1989" />

[[Moral exclusion]] occurs when out-groups are subject to a different set of moral values, rules, and fairness than are used in social relations with in-group members.<ref name="Opotow, S., 1990" /> When individuals dehumanize others, they no longer experience distress when they treat them poorly. Moral exclusion is used to explain extreme behaviors like [[genocide]], harsh [[Immigration policy|immigration policies]], and [[eugenics]], but it can also happen on a more regular, everyday discriminatory level. In laboratory studies, people who are portrayed as lacking human qualities are treated in a particularly harsh and violent manner.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bandura|first1=Albert|title=Selective Moral Disengagement in the Exercise of Moral Agency|journal=Journal of Moral Education|volume=31|issue=2|year=2002|pages=101–119|url=http://historicalunderbelly.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/bandura_moraldisengagement1.pdf|doi=10.1080/0305724022014322|citeseerx=10.1.1.473.2026|s2cid=146449693|access-date=2014-11-07|archive-date=2014-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220205339/http://historicalunderbelly.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/bandura_moraldisengagement1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bandura|first1=Albert|last2=Barbaranelli|first2=Claudio|last3=Caprara|first3=Gian Vittorio|last4=Pastorelli|first4=Concetta|title=Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=71|issue=2|year=1996|pages=364–374|url=http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/Bandura1996JPSP.pdf|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.71.2.364|citeseerx=10.1.1.458.572|s2cid=10248049 |access-date=2014-11-07|archive-date=2014-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107083223/http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/Bandura1996JPSP.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bandura|first1=Albert|last2=Underwood|first2=Bill|last3=Fromson|first3=Michael E|title=Disinhibition of aggression through diffusion of responsibility and dehumanization of victims|journal=Journal of Research in Personality|volume=9|issue=4|year=1975|pages=253–269|url=http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/Bandura1975.pdf|doi=10.1016/0092-6566(75)90001-X|access-date=2014-11-07|archive-date=2014-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107083127/http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Bandura/Bandura1975.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>{{clarify|date=September 2020|problem=This seems like a sweeping statement. Is this the case for ALL laboratory studies, a majority of those published over a certain period, or just a few handpicked ones?}}

Dehumanized perception occurs when a subject experiences low frequencies of activation within their [[social cognition]] [[neural network]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Meeting of minds: the medial frontal cortex and social cognition|journal = Nature Reviews. Neuroscience|date = 2006-04-01|issn = 1471-003X|pmid = 16552413|pages = 268–277|volume = 7|issue = 4|doi = 10.1038/nrn1884|first1 = David M.|last1 = Amodio|first2 = Chris D.|last2 = Frith|author-link2=Chris Frith|s2cid = 7669363}}</ref> This includes areas of neural networking such as the [[superior temporal sulcus]] (STS) and the [[medial prefrontal cortex]] (mPFC).<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Dehumanizing the lowest of the low: neuroimaging responses to extreme out-groups|journal = Psychological Science|date = 2006-10-01|issn = 0956-7976|pmid = 17100784|pages = 847–853|volume = 17|issue = 10|doi = 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01793.x|first1 = Lasana T.|last1 = Harris|first2 = Susan T.|last2 = Fiske|s2cid = 8466947}}</ref> A 2001 study by psychologists [[Chris Frith|Chris]] and [[Uta Frith]] suggests that the criticality of social interaction within a neural network has tendencies for subjects to dehumanize those seen as disgust-inducing, leading to social disengagement.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Social cognition in humans|journal = Current Biology|date = 2007-08-21|issn = 0960-9822|pmid = 17714666|pages = R724–732|volume = 17|issue = 16|doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2007.05.068|first1 = Chris D.|last1 = Frith|first2 = Uta|last2 = Frith|author-link1=Chris Frith|author-link2=Uta Frith|s2cid = 1145094|doi-access = free| bibcode=2007CBio...17.R724F }}</ref> Tasks involving [[social cognition]] typically activate the neural network responsible for subjective projections of disgust-inducing perceptions and patterns of dehumanization. "Besides manipulations of target persons, manipulations of social goals validate this prediction: Inferring preference, a mental-state inference, significantly increases mPFC and STS activity to these otherwise dehumanized targets."{{whose quote|date=September 2020|Need to state inline whose quote.}}<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Social groups that elicit disgust are differentially processed in mPFC|journal = [[Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience]]|date = 2007-03-01|issn = 1749-5024|pmc = 2555430|pmid = 18985118|pages = 45–51|volume = 2|issue = 1|doi = 10.1093/scan/nsl037|first1 = Lasana T.|last1 = Harris|first2 = Susan T.|last2 = Fiske}}</ref> A 2007 study by Harris, McClure, van den Bos, [[Jonathan D. Cohen|Cohen]], and Fiske suggests that a person's choice to dehumanize another person is due to decreased neural activity towards the projected target. This decreased neural activity is identified as low medial prefrontal cortex activation, which is associated with perceiving social information.{{incomprehensible inline|date=September 2020}}<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Regions of the MPFC differentially tuned to social and nonsocial affective evaluation|journal = Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience|date = 2007-12-01|issn = 1530-7026|pmid = 18189004|pages = 309–316|volume = 7|issue = 4|first1 = Lasana T.|last1 = Harris|first2 = Samuel M.|last2 = McClure|first3 = Wouter|last3 = van den Bos|first4 = Jonathan D.|last4 = Cohen|author-link4=Jonathan D. Cohen|first5 = Susan T.|last5 = Fiske|doi=10.3758/cabn.7.4.309|doi-access = free}}</ref>

While [[social distance]] from the out-group target is a necessary condition for dehumanization, some research suggests that this alone is insufficient. Psychological research has identified high status, power, and social connection as additional factors. Members of high-status groups more often associate humanity with the in-group than the out-group, while members of low-status groups exhibit no differences in associations with humanity. Thus, having a high status makes one more likely to dehumanize others.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Capozza|first1=D.|last2=Andrighetto|first2=L.|last3=Di Bernardo|first3=G. A.|last4=Falvo|first4=R.|title=Does status affect intergroup perceptions of humanity?|journal=Group Processes & Intergroup Relations|volume=15|issue=3|year=2011|pages=363–377|doi=10.1177/1368430211426733|s2cid=145639435}}</ref> Low-status groups are more associated with human nature traits (e.g., warmth, emotionalism) than uniquely human characteristics, implying that they are closer to animals than humans because these traits are typical of humans but can be seen in other species.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Loughnan|first1=S.|last2=Haslam|first2=N.|last3=Kashima|first3=Y.|title=Understanding the Relationship between Attribute-Based and Metaphor-Based Dehumanization|journal=Group Processes & Intergroup Relations|volume=12|issue=6|year=2009|pages=747–762|doi=10.1177/1368430209347726|s2cid=144232224}}</ref> In addition, another line of work found that individuals in a position of power were more likely to objectify their subordinates, treating them as a means to one's end rather than focusing on their essentially human qualities.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gruenfeld|first1=Deborah H.|last2=Inesi|first2=M. Ena|last3=Magee|first3=Joe C.|last4=Galinsky|first4=Adam D.|title=Power and the objectification of social targets.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=95|issue=1|year=2008|pages=111–127|pmid=18605855|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.111}}</ref> Finally, [[social connection]]—thinking about a close other or being in the actual presence of a close other—enables dehumanization by reducing the attribution of human mental states, increasing support for treating targets like animals, and increasing willingness to endorse harsh [[interrogation tactics]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Waytz|first1=Adam|last2=Epley|first2=Nicholas|title=Social connection enables dehumanization|journal=Journal of Experimental Social Psychology|volume=48|issue=1|year=2012|pages=70–76|doi=10.1016/j.jesp.2011.07.012}}</ref> This is counterintuitive because social connection has documented personal health and well-being benefits but appears to impair [[intergroup relations]].

[[Neuroimaging]] studies have discovered that the medial [[prefrontal cortex]]—a brain region distinctively involved in attributing mental states to others—shows diminished activation to extremely dehumanized targets (i.e., those rated, according to the [[stereotype content model]], as low-warmth and low-competence, such as drug addicts or homeless people).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=L. T. |last2=Fiske |first2=S. T. |title=Dehumanizing the Lowest of the Low: Neuroimaging Responses to Extreme Out-Groups |journal=Psychological Science |volume=17 |issue=10 |year=2006 |pages=847–853 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01793.x |pmid=17100784 |s2cid=8466947 |url=http://www.cdnresearch.net/pubs/others/Harris_Fiske_Neurodisgust.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513232135/http://www.cdnresearch.net/pubs/others/Harris_Fiske_Neurodisgust.pdf |archive-date=2014-05-13 }}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal|author1=Harris, L. T.  |author2=Fiske, S. T. |year=2007|title=Social groups that elicit disgust are differentially processed in mPFC|journal=[[Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (journal)|Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience]]|volume=2|issue=1|pages= 45–51|pmc=2555430|doi=10.1093/scan/nsl037|pmid=18985118}}</ref>

=== Race and ethnicity ===
[[File:Alaska Death Trap.jpg|thumb|upright|American propaganda poster from World War II featuring a Japanese soldier depicted as a rat]]
Racist dehumanization entails that groups and individuals are understood as less than fully human by virtue of their race.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jardina |first1=Ashley |last2=Piston |first2=Spencer |date=2023 |title=The Politics of Racist Dehumanization in the United States |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |language=en |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=369–388 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-062321-041446 |issn=1094-2939|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Dehumanization often occurs as a result of intergroup conflict. Ethnic and racial others are often represented as animals in popular culture and scholarship. There is evidence that this representation persists in the American context with African Americans implicitly associated with apes. To the extent that an individual has this dehumanizing implicit association, they are more likely to support violence against African Americans (e.g., jury decisions to execute defendants).<ref name="Goff, 2008">{{cite journal|last1=Goff|first1=Phillip Atiba|last2=Eberhardt|first2=Jennifer L.|last3=Williams|first3=Melissa J.|last4=Jackson|first4=Matthew Christian|title=Not yet human: Implicit knowledge, historical dehumanization, and contemporary consequences.|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume=94|issue=2|year=2008|pages=292–306|pmid=18211178|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.292}}</ref> Historically, dehumanization is frequently connected to genocidal conflicts in that ideologies before and during the conflict depict victims as subhuman (e.g., rodents).<ref name="Haslam, N, 2006">{{cite journal |last1=Haslam |first1=Nick |year=2006 |title=Dehumanization: An Integrative Review |url=http://general.utpb.edu/FAC/hughes_j/Haslam%20on%20dehumanization.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=[[Personality and Social Psychology Review]] |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=252–264 |doi=10.1207/s15327957pspr1003_4 |pmid=16859440 |s2cid=18142674 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626110654/http://general.utpb.edu/fac/hughes_j/Haslam%20on%20dehumanization.pdf |archive-date=2013-06-26}}</ref> Immigrants may also be dehumanized in this manner.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=O'Brien|first1=Gerald|title=Indigestible Food, Conquering Hordes, and Waste Materials: Metaphors of Immigrants and the Early Immigration Restriction Debate in the United States|journal=Metaphor and Symbol|volume=18|issue=1|year=2003|pages=33–47|url=http://www.uky.edu/~addesa01/documents/IndigestibleFood.pdf|doi=10.1207/S15327868MS1801_3|s2cid=143579187|access-date=2014-11-07|archive-date=2014-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107081941/http://www.uky.edu/~addesa01/documents/IndigestibleFood.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Serbien muss sterbien.jpg|thumb|left|Austrian propaganda poster made during World War I depicting a [[Serb]] as an ape-like terrorist]]
In 1901, the [[Federation of Australia|six Australian colonies assented to federation]], creating the modern nation state of [[Australia]] and [[Government of Australia|its government]]. Section&nbsp;51 (xxvi) excluded [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginals]] from the groups protected by special laws, and section&nbsp;127 excluded Aboriginals from population counts. The ''[[Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902]]'' categorically denied Aboriginals the right to vote. [[Indigenous Australians]] were not allowed the social security benefits (e.g., aged pensions and maternity allowances) which were provided to others. Aboriginals in rural areas were discriminated against and controlled as to where and how they could marry, work, live, and their movements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/auscurric/sampleunit/1967referendum/aboutreferendum.pdf|title=About the 1967 Referendum|date=2012|website=Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority|access-date=7 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418143228/http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/auscurric/sampleunit/1967referendum/aboutreferendum.pdf|archive-date=18 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the U.S., African Americans were dehumanized by being classified as non-human primates. A California police officer who was also involved in the [[Rodney King]] beating described a dispute between an American Black couple as "something right out of ''Gorillas in the Mist''".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ap |date=1991-06-12 |title=Judge Says Remarks on 'Gorillas' May Be Cited in Trial on Beating |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/12/us/judge-says-remarks-on-gorillas-may-be-cited-in-trial-on-beating.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009155016/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/12/us/judge-says-remarks-on-gorillas-may-be-cited-in-trial-on-beating.html |archive-date=2017-10-09 |access-date=2020-08-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Franz Boas]] and [[Charles Darwin]] hypothesized that there might be an evolutionary process among primates. Monkeys and apes were least evolved, then savage and deformed anthropoids, which referred to people of African ancestry, to Caucasians as most developed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goof |first1=Phillip |last2=Eberhardt |first2=Jennifer |last3=Williams |first3=Melissa |last4=Jackson |first4=Matthew |date=2008 |title=Not yet human: Implicit knowledge, historical dehumanization, and contemporary consequences |url=https://web.stanford.edu/~eberhard/downloads/2008-NotYetHuman.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=94 |issue=2 |pages=292–306 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.94.2.292 |pmid=18211178 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017170652/https://web.stanford.edu/~eberhard/downloads/2008-NotYetHuman.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2016 |access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref>

===Language===
Language has been used as an essential tool in the process of dehumanizing others.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=March 26, 2021 |title=Dehumanizing Language |url=https://www.family-institute.org/behavioral-health-resources/dehumanizing-language |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Family Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Galer |first=Sophia |date=October 30, 2023 |title=The harm caused by dehumanising language |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20231030-the-real-life-harm-caused-by-dehumanising-language |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=www.bbc.com}}</ref> Examples of dehumanizing language when referring to a person or group of people may include ''animal'', ''cockroach'', ''rat'', ''vermin'', ''monster'', dog, ape, snake, infestation, parasite, alien, ''savage'', and ''subhuman''. Other examples can include racist, sexist, and other derogatory forms of language.<ref name=":6" /> The use of dehumanizing language can influence others to view a targeted group as less human or less deserving of humane treatment.<ref name=":5" />

In [[Unit 731]], an imperial Japanese biological and chemical warfare research facility, brutal experiments were conducted on humans who the researchers referred to as 'maruta' (丸太) meaning logs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sihra |first=Avani |date=May 4, 2018 |title=Unit 731 - Nuclear Museum |url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/unit-731/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Atomic Heritage Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Dybbro |first=Danielle |date=September 28, 2017 |title=Marutas in Manchuria: Imperial Japanese Biological Warfare, 1931-1945 |url=http://www.pacificatrocities.org/1/post/2017/09/marutas-in-manchuria-imperial-japanese-biological-warfare-1931-1945.html |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Pacific Atrocities Education |language=en}}</ref> [[Yoshio Shinozuka]], Japanese army medic who performed several [[vivisection]]s in the facility said, "We called the victims 'logs.' We didn't want to think of them as people. We didn't want to admit that we were taking lives. So we convinced ourselves that what we were doing was like cutting down a tree."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Horrors of Bio-war Haunt WWII Japanese Soldier |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/135387.htm |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=www.china.org.cn}}</ref><ref name=":7" />

Words such as migrant, immigrant, and [[expatriate]] are assigned to foreigners based on their social status and wealth, rather than ability, achievements, or political alignment. Expatriate is a word to describe the privileged, often [[Light skin|light-skinned]] people newly residing in an area and has connotations that suggest ability, wealth, and trust. Meanwhile, the word immigrant is used to describe people coming to a new location to reside and infers a much less-desirable meaning.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Why are white people expats when the rest of us are immigrants?|url = https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/13/white-people-expats-immigrants-migration|newspaper = The Guardian|access-date = 2015-12-08|first = Mawuna Remarque|last = Koutonin|date = 2015-03-13|archive-date = 2019-09-09|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190909012230/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/13/white-people-expats-immigrants-migration|url-status = live}}</ref>

The word "immigrant" is sometimes paired with "illegal", which harbors a profoundly derogatory connotation. Misuse of these terms—they are often used inaccurately—to describe the other, can alter the perception of a group as a whole in a negative way. Ryan Eller, the executive director of the immigrant advocacy group [[Define American]], expressed the problem this way:<ref name="Lee2015">{{cite news |author1=Esther Yu Hsi Lee |title=The Dehumanizing History Of The Words We've Used To Describe Immigrants |url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/the-dehumanizing-history-of-the-words-weve-used-to-describe-immigrants-18dd39c90459/ |access-date=3 July 2021 |work=ThinkProgress |date=13 August 2015}}</ref> {{blockquote|It's not just because it's derogatory, but because it's factually incorrect. Most of the time when we hear [illegal immigrant] used, most of the time, the shorter version 'illegals' is being used as a noun, which implies that a human being is perpetually illegal. There is no other classification that I'm aware of where the individual is being rendered as unlawful as opposed to those individuals' actions.}}
A series of language examinations found a direct relation between homophobic [[epithet]]s and social cognitive distancing towards a group of homosexuals, a form of dehumanization. These epithets (e.g., ''[[Faggot (slang)|faggot]]'') were thought to function as dehumanizing labels because they tended to act as markers of deviance. One pair of studies found that subjects were more likely to associate [[Malignancy|malignant]] language with homosexuals, and that such language associations increased the physical distancing between the subject and the homosexual. This indicated that the malignant language could encourage dehumanization, cognitive and physical distancing in ways that other forms of malignant language do not.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Not "just words": Exposure to homophobic epithets leads to dehumanizing and physical distancing from gay men|journal = European Journal of Social Psychology|volume = 46|issue = 2|date = 2015-01-01|issn = 1099-0992|pages = 237–248|doi = 10.1002/ejsp.2148|first1 = Fabio|last1 = Fasoli|first2 = Maria Paola|last2 = Paladino|first3 = Andrea|last3 = Carnaghi|first4 = Jolanda|last4 = Jetten|first5 = Brock|last5 = Bastian|first6 = Paul G.|last6 = Bain|hdl = 10071/12705|url = https://eprints.qut.edu.au/90602/11/EJSP_dehumanization_uncorrected.pdf|access-date = 2019-12-09|archive-date = 2020-05-09|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200509131738/https://eprints.qut.edu.au/90602/11/EJSP_dehumanization_uncorrected.pdf|url-status = live|hdl-access = free}}</ref> Another study involved a computational linguistic analysis of dehumanizing language regarding [[LGBT|LGBTQ]] individuals and groups in the New York Times from 1986 to 2015.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Mendelsohn |first1=Julia |last2=Tsvetkov |first2=Yulia |last3=Jurafsky |first3=Dan |date=2020 |title=A Framework for the Computational Linguistic Analysis of Dehumanization |journal=Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence |volume=3 |page=55 |doi=10.3389/frai.2020.00055 |doi-access=free|issn=2624-8212 |pmc=7861242 |pmid=33733172}}</ref> The study used previous psychological research on dehumanization to identify four language categories: (1) negative evaluations of a target group, (2) denial of agency, (3) moral disgust, and (4) likening members of the target group to non-human entities (e.g., machines, animals, vermin). The study revealed that LGBTQ people overall have been increasingly more humanized over time; however, they were found to be humanized less frequently than the New York Time's in-group identifier ''American''.<ref name=":8" />

Aliza Luft notes that the role of dehumanizing language and propaganda plays in violence and genocide is far less significant than other factors such as obedience to authority and peer pressure.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luft |first=Aliza |date=May 21, 2019 |title=Dehumanization and the Normalization of Violence: It's Not What You Think |url=https://items.ssrc.org/insights/dehumanization-and-the-normalization-of-violence-its-not-what-you-think/ |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=Items |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Jean-Léon Gérôme 004.jpg|thumb|Depiction of a slave auction in Ancient Rome. Anyone not a Roman citizen was subject to enslavement and was considered private property.]]

=== Property takeover ===
[[File:Mateo Zapata.jpg|thumb|The [[Spanish Inquisition]] would seize the property of those accused of [[heresy]] and use the profits to fund the accused's imprisonment, even before trial.]]
Property scholars define dehumanization as "the failure to recognize an individual's or group's humanity."<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Atuahene|first=Bernadette|date=2016|title=Dignity Takings and Dignity Restoration: Creating a New Theoretical Framework for Understanding Involuntary Property Loss and the Remedies Required|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/lsi.12249|journal=Law & Social Inquiry|language=en|volume=41|issue=4|pages=801|doi=10.1111/lsi.12249|s2cid=151377162|issn=1747-4469}}</ref> Dehumanization often occurs alongside property confiscation. When a property takeover is coupled with dehumanization, the result is a [[dignity taking]].<ref name=":0" /> There are several examples of dignity takings involving dehumanization.

From its founding, the United States repeatedly engaged in dignity takings from [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] populations, taking indigenous land in an "undeniably horrific, violent, and tragic record" of genocide and [[ethnocide]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Richland|first=Justin B.|date=2016|title=Dignity as (Self-)Determination: Hopi Sovereignty in the Face of US Dispossessions|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/lsi.12191|journal=Law & Social Inquiry|language=en|volume=41|issue=4|pages=921|doi=10.1111/lsi.12191|s2cid=148319987|issn=1747-4469}}</ref> As recently as 2013, the degradation of a mountain sacred to the [[Hopi]] people—by spraying its peak pot with artificial snow made from [[wastewater]]—constituted another dignity taking by the [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]].<ref name=":1" />

The 1921 [[Tulsa race massacre]] also constituted a dignity taking involving dehumanization.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Brophy|first=Alfred L.|date=2016|title=When More than Property Is Lost: The Dignity Losses and Restoration of the Tulsa Riot of 1921|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-social-inquiry/article/when-more-than-property-is-lost-the-dignity-losses-and-restoration-of-the-tulsa-riot-of-1921/AD16D6C5F782963AB4E68D1116431156|journal=Law & Social Inquiry|language=en|volume=41|issue=4|pages=824–832|doi=10.1111/lsi.12205|s2cid=147798196|issn=0897-6546}}</ref> White rioters dehumanized African Americans by attacking, looting, and destroying homes and businesses in Greenwood, a predominantly Black neighborhood known as "Black Wall Street".<ref name=":2" />

During the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], mass genocide—a severe form of dehumanization—accompanied the destruction and taking of Jewish property.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Veraart|first=Wouter|date=2016-06-29|title=Two Rounds of Postwar Restitution and Dignity Restoration in the Netherlands and in France|url=https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/two-rounds-of-postwar-restitution-and-dignity-restoration-in-the-|journal=Law & Social Inquiry|language=English|volume=41|issue=4|pages=956–972|doi=10.1111/lsi.12212|s2cid=147735669|issn=1747-4469|doi-access=free}}</ref> This constituted a dignity taking.<ref name=":3" />

Jewish settlers in the [[West Bank]] have been criticized for dehumanizing Palestinians and land grabbing on illegal settlements.<ref name="h1">{{cite web |title=This Is the Disturbing Reality of Israeli Land Theft and Right-wing Rule |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-03-22/ty-article/.premium/this-is-the-disturbing-reality-of-israeli-land-theft-and-right-wing-rule/00000187-0432-dde5-ab8f-263ea83d0000 |publisher=Haaretz |access-date=25 June 2024}}</ref> These illegal settlement activities involve systemic settler violence against Palestinians, military orders, and state-sanctioned support.<ref name="btselem1">{{cite web |title=State Business: Israel's misappropriation of land in the West Bank through settler violence |url=https://www.btselem.org/publications/202111_state_business |publisher=Btselem |access-date=25 June 2024}}</ref> These actions force Palestinians to gradually give up their land and farming activities and gradually choke their sources of dignified income.<ref name="btselem1" /> Israeli soldiers sometimes actively participate in violence against civilians or look on from the sidelines.<ref name="btselem1" />

Undocumented workers in the United States have also been subject to dehumanizing dignity takings when employers treat them as machines instead of people to justify dangerous working conditions.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Rathod|first1=Jayesh|last2=Nadas|first2=Rachel|date=2017-01-01|title=Damaged Bodies, Damaged Lives: Immigrant Worker Injuries as Dignity Takings|url=https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/1067|journal=Chicago-Kent Law Review|volume=92|issue=3}}</ref> When harsh conditions lead to bodily injury or death, the property destroyed is the physical body.<ref name=":4" />

=== Media-driven dehumanization ===
The [[propaganda model]] of [[Edward S. Herman]] and [[Noam Chomsky]] argues that corporate media are able to carry out large-scale, successful dehumanization campaigns when they promote the goals (profit-making) that the corporations are contractually obliged to maximize.<ref name="Herman, S (1988)">Herman, Edward S., and Noam Chomsky. (1988). ''[[Manufacturing Consent]]: the Political Economy of the Mass Media''. New York: Pantheon. Page xli</ref><ref>Thomas Ferguson. (1987). ''Golden Rule: The Investment Theory of Party Competition and the Logic of Money-Driven Politics''</ref> [[State media]] are also capable of carrying out dehumanization campaigns, whether in democracies or dictatorships, which are pervasive enough that the population cannot avoid the dehumanizing [[meme]]s.<ref name="Herman, S (1988)" />

=== War propaganda ===
National leaders use dehumanizing propaganda to sway public opinion in favor of the military elite's agenda or cause and to repel criticism and proper oversight. The Bush Jr administration used dehumanizing rhetoric to describe Arabs and Muslims collectively as backwards, violent fanatics who "hate us for our freedom" to justify his invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and covert CIA operations in the Middle East and Africa.<ref name="rg1">{{cite web |last1=Merskin |first1=Debra |title=The Construction of Arabs as Enemies: Post-September 11 Discourse of George W. Bush |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261572913 |access-date=25 June 2024}}</ref> The media propaganda portrayed Arabs as a "monolithic evil" in the perception of the unwitting American public.<ref name="rg1" /> They employed news, media, language, magazine stories, television, and popular culture to portray all Muslims as Arab and all Arabs as violent terrorists which must be feared, fought, and destroyed. Racism was also used by portraying all Arabs as dark-skinned and thus racially inferior and untrustworthy.<ref name="rg1" />

=== Non-state actors ===
Non-state actors—terrorists in particular—have also resorted to dehumanization to further their cause. The 1960s terrorist group [[Weather Underground]] had advocated violence against any authority figure and used the "police are pigs" meme to convince members that they were not harming human beings but merely killing wild animals. Likewise, rhetoric statements such as "terrorists are just scum", is an act of dehumanization.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Graham|first1=Stephen|title=Cities and the 'War on Terror'|journal=International Journal of Urban and Regional Research|volume=30|issue=2|year=2006|pages=255–276|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2427.2006.00665.x}}</ref>