Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Deindividuation

Deindividuation

Deindividuation is a form of social influence on an individual’s behavior such that the individual engages in unusual or non-normal behavior while in a group setting. Why? Because in these group settings, the individual no longer sees themselves as an individual anymore, disinhibiting their behavior and personal restraint.

Stereotype Content Model

Stereotype Content Model

The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence...

Horney's Sociocultural Approach

Horney's Sociocultural Approach

Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories emphasize the potential for self-realization and the importance of addressing social and cultural, rather than biological, factors in personality development. She challenged traditional Freudian views, particularly Freud's concept of "penis envy," which she argued stemmed from cultural influences rather than inherent biological differences. Horney believed that any sense of inferiority in women was a result of societal conditioning, such as...

Instinct Theory

Instinct Theory

Instinct theory proposes that innate biological instincts, like animal behavioral patterns, primarily drive human behavior. These instincts are inborn, not learned, and are fundamental to decision-making and action. Just as animals rely on instincts for critical survival functions such as migration, nest building, and defense, humans are also believed to exhibit behaviors rooted in evolutionary needs. For example, the instinct to reproduce motivates sexual behavior, while territorial instincts...

Social Traps

Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...

Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic psychology emerged in the mid-20th century as a response to the deterministic and pessimistic nature of behaviorism and psychoanalysis. While behaviorism focused on observable behaviors influenced by the environment and psychoanalysis delved into unconscious motivations, both theories suggested that human actions lacked free will. In contrast, humanistic psychology offers a perspective that emphasizes the innate potential for goodness and growth within every individual.
This approach...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Ageism is not just about age: Introducing the concept of generalized discrimination experiences.

Developmental psychology·2026

Same author

Distrusting minds, skeptical judgments? No evidence for a trust-truth link.

Frontiers in psychology·2025

Same author

Of first impressions, shattered trust, and apology: impact on interpersonal trust and team dynamics.

Frontiers in psychology·2025

Same author

Trapped in Online Comparisons: Within Reciprocal Dynamic of Self-Assessment Motivation and Depressive State on Social Media.

Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking·2025

Same author

When the bot walks the talk: Investigating the foundations of trust in an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2024

Same author

Green dreams are made of this: Futures consciousness and proenvironmental engagement.

The British journal of social psychology·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 12, 2025

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

Published on: July 4, 2013

Animalistic dehumanisation as a social influence strategy.

Alain Quiamzade^1,2, Fanny Lalot^3,4

¹Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.

Frontiers in Psychology

|January 30, 2023

Summary

Animalistic dehumanization messages create lasting negative perceptions and discriminatory intentions towards outgroups. This effect, unlike negative humanization, resists counter-messaging, suggesting dehumanization acts as an influence strategy.

Keywords:

animalisation dehumanisation essentialism influence justification resistance

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Mechanisms of Stress Resilience - Significant Findings, Advancements, and Future Research

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Mechanisms of Stress Resilience - Significant Findings, Advancements, and Future Research

Published on: December 15, 2023

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats

Published on: May 8, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 12, 2025

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress

Published on: July 4, 2013

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Mechanisms of Stress Resilience - Significant Findings, Advancements, and Future Research

Author Spotlight: Unveiling Mechanisms of Stress Resilience - Significant Findings, Advancements, and Future Research

Published on: December 15, 2023

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats

A Complex Diving-For-Food Task to Investigate Social Organization and Interactions in Rats

Published on: May 8, 2021

Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Intergroup Relations
Influence Strategies

Background:

Animalistic dehumanization is studied as an intergroup tool, but not as an influence strategy.
Previous research has not explored dehumanization's role in convincing ingroups to mistreat outgroups.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate animalistic dehumanization as an influence strategy.
To test if negative animalized messages immunize ingroup members against counterinfluence.

Main Methods:

An experimental study compared three messages: negative animalized, negative humanized, and positive humanized.
A despised outgroup (Roma beggars) was depicted in these terms.
Participants received a counterpropaganda message advocating for Roma beggars' rights.

Main Results:

Animalization led to lasting animalized perceptions, disgust, and repugnancy, resisting counterpropaganda.
Negative humanization caused brief negative perceptions that disappeared after counterpropaganda.
Animalization resulted in more negative attitudes and discriminatory intentions (workplace discrimination, hiring, social proximity) post-counterpropaganda.

Conclusions:

Animalistic dehumanization functions as an influence strategy, creating resistance to counterpropaganda.
This finding has implications for essentialization, dehumanization forms, group status, and non-discriminatory norms.