Abstract

Dehumanization research has seen rapid development as well as increased debates regarding its conception and construct validity. Empirical work primarily focuses on two forms: subtle dehumanization that strips targets of human-associated attributions and blatant dehumanization that directly denies their humanity. Both forms are prevalent and predictive of aggression. However, it remains unknown if they reflect a singular psychological process or manifest distinct aspects of a multifaceted phenomenon, and whether they contribute differently to antisocial outcomes. This talk presents findings from school-age children that dissociate subtle and blatant dehumanization, and clarify their links to harmful acts.

Bio

Speaker: Dr. Wen Zhou is an assistant professor of evolutionary anthropology at DKU. She holds a secondary appointment with the department of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University and was awarded prestigious PhD by the Shuangchuang Program of Jiangsu Province. Her research aims to understand what it means to be a human and the moral status ascribed to our species. Her current projects focus on dehumanization and its developmental origins. Her work also involves research on social hierarchy, human-animal relations and conservation, deploying an approach drawn from social and developmental psychology. 

Discussant: Dr. Yeshim Iqbal is an Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science at Duke Kunshan University. Prior to this, she was Senior Research Scientist at Global TIES for Children, New York University. She has a PhD from the Psychology and Social Intervention Program in the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University and a B.A. in Psychology from Cornell University. She worked for three years as a Research Coordinator at the Harvard Laboratory for Developmental Studies. She then went on to found Kaan Pete Roi, the first emotional support and suicide prevention helpline in Bangladesh.  Broadly, her work and research examine how people respond to violence, both in their everyday lives and in their group’s histories, and how belonging to certain social groups influences those responses.