Die, Foul Creature! How the Supernatural Genre Affects Attitudes Toward Outgroups Through Strength of Human Identity

Abstract

The presence of non-humans in media narratives - for example, in the supernatural genre - may make salient that we are all human. According to the common ingroup identity model, the human superordinate category should influence attitudes toward lower-level outgroups. The present study examines this in the context of ethnic outgroups, specifically African Americans. Similarity of supernatural villains to humans was manipulated to influence whether “human” was a relevant superordinate group. Additionally, character race was varied to understand the influence of group diversity cues. Consistent with the common ingroup identity model, exposure to a Black human character fighting non-humans reduces prejudice toward African Americans, and this reduced prejudice generalizes to other minority groups. Results suggest a complex relationship between exposure to supernatural villains and diversity cues on attitudinal outcomes, with identity as human as one possible mechanism for reducing prejudicial attitudes.