Perceived threat and dehumanization of ethnic minorities

1
Perceived threat and dehumanization of ethnic
minorities

• An experimental investigation
• Afrodita Marcu
• Supervisors Dr Evanthia Lyons Dr Peter Hegarty
• University of Surrey
• Social Psychology European Research Institute

2
Theoretical background

• Prejudice against out-groups is not just
  evaluative but also semantic-anthropological
  (Moscovici and Pérez, 1997, Pérez, Chulvi and
  Alonso, 2001)
• Semantic-anthropological discrimination judging
  others in terms of animal (natural) but not
  human (cultural) characteristics

3
Measures of Dehumanization

• Primary and secondary emotions (Leyens et al) ?
  infrahumanization
• primary emotions are common to animals and humans
  (e.g.fear) while secondary emotions are
  exclusively human (e.g. nostalgia)
• primary emotions to both in-group and out-group
• secondary emotions to in-group only

• Natural and cultural traits (Pérez et al) ?
  ontologization
• natural traits are common to animals and humans
  (e.g. dirty) while cultural traits are uniquely
  human (e.g. hypocrite)
• natural traits to out-group
• cultural traits to in-group only

4
Potential functions of Dehumanization

• denying similarities between in-group and
  out-group
• maintaining a positive self-image
• maintaining a high status and a privileged
  position
• justifying oppression
• justifying aggression

5
Multiculturalism and dehumanization

• In a multicultural society, ethnic minorities may
  be dehumanized because they are perceived as not
  being socially integrated
• studies have found that Gypsies (Roma minority)
  are dehumanized across Europe Spain (Pérez,
  Chulvi Alonso, 2001), Britain and Romania
  (Marcu Chryssochoou, 2005)

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Research Aims

• Examine whether cultural differences between
  majority and ethnic minorities will lead to their
  dehumanization
• Examine whether the ethnic minorities economic
  success or failure will lead to
• their dehumanization
• Assess the two measures of dehumanization,
  infrahumanization, in terms of emotions, and
  ontologization, in terms of traits

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Hypotheses

• ethnic minorities perceived to be culturally
  different from the majority will be more
  dehumanized than ethnic minorities perceived to
  be culturally similar to the majority
• ethnic minorities perceived to be poor will be
  more dehumanized than ethnic minorities perceived
  to be rich

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Method and participants

• pilot study 68 participants with a mean age of
  22 rated the humanity and the positivity of a
  selected list of emotions and traits
• on the basis of the percentage of participants
  who rated the emotions and traits as human and as
  positive, respectively, each emotion and trait
  was attributed a humanity and positivity score

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The experiment

• 121 participants, 42 males and 79 females. Mean
  age of 20.80, range of 16 to 56 years
• 4 experimental conditions in a 2 (culturally
  similar or different ethnic minority) x 2 (rich
  or poor ethnic minority) design
• Participants read a vignette and completed
  measures of infrahumanization and ontologization

10
The experiment

• Target out-group a fictitious ethnic minority in
  Britain, the Moravians, described in a short
  vignette in a questionnaire
• in 2 conditions the Moravians are culturally
  similar to the British, either rich or poor
• in 2 conditions the Moravians are culturally
  different from the British, either rich or poor

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Emotions attributed to out-group and in-group
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Traits attributed to out-group and in-group
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Human traits to out-groups

• no main effect of the targets culture
• main effect of the targets economic status the
  poor ethnic minorities were more dehumanized, M
  44.54, than the rich ones, M 55.12

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Positive traits to out-groups

• more positive traits to culturally similar
  out-groups, M 88.05, than to culturally
  different out-groups, M 79.91
• more positive traits to the rich out-groups,
• M 86.49, than to the poor out-groups,
• M 81.78

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Conclusions -1-

• Infrahumanization, as a measure of
  dehumanization, may not be as reliable as
  ontologization
• Dehumanization seems to be a particular type of
  prejudice which occurs independently of other
  forms of prejudice, such as blatant prejudice or
  in-group bias in resource allocation to in-group
  and out-group

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Conclusion -2-

• The economic status of ethnic minorities seems to
  have a stronger influence on dehumanization than
  their cultural status
• British people may be more sensitive to the
  economic than to the cultural status of ethnic
  minorities identical study in Romania found
  significant main effects of both cultural and
  economic status on dehumanization
• A multicultural state may predispose individuals
  to more cultural tolerance, but still leave them
  vulnerable to economic prejudice