Jeffry Simpson on the Perpetration of Dehumanization

Jeffry Simpson, faculty, recently co-conducted a meta-analysis focused on the perpetration of dehumanization, which is defined as any act that denies humanness to another human being. The paper, “The Perpetration of Dehumanization: A Systematic Review,” examined ninety-six different studies published from 2021 to 2025, all of which explored dehumanization from a social-cognitive perspective.

Simpson and his collaborator found that ingroup members commonly dehumanize outgroup members regardless of context. In particular, though, the presence of a high social dominance orientation (SDO), a personality trait that measures one’s desire for distinct inequality and social hierarchy among social groups, increases the tendency to dehumanize others. Those who exhibit a lack of subjective preference or of distinctiveness are more likely to experience dehumanization. However, the researchers found that via the cultivation of interpersonal relationships and empathy between groups, the potential for dehumanization to occur can be reduced. These results, while not entirely unexpected, are useful in summarizing past research on dehumanization and in outlining a direction for future studies, informing ways in which it can be further mitigated.

This study was published in the Current Opinion in Psychology journal.