Your humanity depends on mine: the role of organizational dehumanization in the context of university studies

Abstract

Infrahumanization means considering the other or the outgroup as less human than oneself or the ingroup. However, little attention has been given to the variables that determine the selection of which outgroups may be subjected to infrahumanization and the variables that might be moderating this process. This research aims to analyze the role that the relationship with the outgroup plays in the attribution of secondary emotions and the moderator role of organizational dehumanization. Participants (N = 338 students) completed a structured questionnaire that took 15 min. The results show that there is an attribution of humanity to the outgroup when the relationship between ingroup and outgroup is closer. Furthermore, organizational dehumanization had a moderator role between the relationship with the outgroup and the infrahumanization, which shows that when the ingroup perceives that it is being dehumanized by its organization, it attributes less humanity to the outgroup. Our research extends the theoretical understanding of infrahumanization and suggests that the relationship between the outgroup and the organizational dehumanization impacts the attribution of humanity.