The perpetration of dehumanization: A systematic review

This paper provides a systematic review of research conducted between 2021 and 2025 into the perpetration of dehumanization. The findings of ninety-six studies are synthesized across intergroup and interpersonal contexts. Most studies were experimental in design and all studies focused on social-cognitive assessments of dehumanization. A variety of individual difference and contextual variables emerge as predictors of dehumanization. Ingroup members dehumanize all types of outgroup members (e.g., migrant/racial groups, political partisans, stigmatized and low social status groups), whereas enhancing relationships between people mitigates dehumanization. Empathy (trait/state) and social dominance orientation (SDO), respectively, reduce or increase dehumanization in both intergroup and interpersonal contexts. People who signal indifference or are perceived to lack distinctiveness are more likely to be dehumanized. These findings reflect the primary areas of research on dehumanization in recent years and outline future directions for the expansion of basic and applied work into understanding and mitigating dehumanization perpetration.