Dehumanization During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Frontiers in Psychology

Pär Bjälkebring¹  Michael C. Silverstein²  Raleigh Goodwin²  Ellen Peters³  David M. Markowitz³  Brittany Shoots-Reinhard⁴ 

[1] Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden;Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;Center for Science Communication Research, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States;Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States;

关键词: dehumanization;    COVID-19;    pandemic;    risk perceptions;    conspiracy beliefs;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.634543

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Communities often unite during a crisis, though some cope by ascribing blame or stigmas to those who might be linked to distressing life events. In a preregistered two-wave survey, we evaluated the dehumanization of Asians and Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our first wave (March 26–April 2, 2020; N = 917) revealed dehumanization was prevalent, between 6.1% and 39% of our sample depending on measurement. Compared to non-dehumanizers, people who dehumanized also perceived the virus as less risky to human health and caused less severe consequences for infected people. They were more likely to be ideologically Conservative and believe in conspiracy theories about the virus. We largely replicated the results 1 month later in our second wave (May 6–May 13, 2020; N = 723). Together, many Americans dehumanize Asians and Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic with related perceptions that the virus is less problematic. Implications and applications for dehumanization theory are discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY