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"We are people": ingroup humanization as an existential defense
Jeroen Vaes1, Nathan A Heflick, Jamie L Goldenberg
1Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy. jeroen.vaes@unipd.it
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|May 5, 2010
Summary
Humanizing one's own group helps manage existential anxiety when mortality is salient. This research supports terror management theory by showing ingroup humanization reduces death thoughts.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Existential Psychology
Background:
- Prior research highlights the significance of humanness in social identity formation.
- The underlying psychological mechanisms for ingroup humanization remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the psychological functions of humanizing the ingroup.
- To examine the role of terror management in ingroup humanization.
Main Methods:
- Three studies were conducted with Italian and American participants.
- Mortality salience was manipulated to assess its effect on ingroup humanization.
- Accessibility of death thoughts was measured in one study.
Main Results:
- Participants demonstrated increased ingroup humanization when mortality was salient.
- Humanizing the ingroup was found to reduce the accessibility of death thoughts.
Conclusions:
- Ingroup humanization serves a terror management function.
- Terror management theory provides a robust framework for understanding ingroup humanization.
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