title: Blaming, praising, and protecting our humanity: the implications of everyday dehumanization for judgments of moral status.
abstract: Being human implies a particular moral status: having moral value, agency, and responsibility. However, people are not seen as equally human. Across two studies, we examine the consequences that subtle variations in the perceived humanness of actors or groups have for their perceived moral status. Drawing on Haslam's two-dimensional model of humanness and focusing on three ways people may be considered to have moral status - moral patiency (value), agency, or responsibility - we demonstrate that subtly denying humanness to others has implications for whether they are blamed, praised, or considered worthy of moral concern and rehabilitation. Moreover, we show that distinct human characteristics are linked to specific judgments of moral status. This work demonstrates that everyday judgments of moral status are influenced by perceptions of humanness.
authors: Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Institute for Social Science Research and School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia. b.bastian@uq.edu.au
authors: Brock
authors: B
authors: Bastian
authors: Simon M
authors: SM
authors: Laham
authors: Sam
authors: S
authors: Wilson
authors: Nick
authors: N
authors: Haslam
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Koval
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D032981:Dehumanization; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009014:Morals; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012539:Scapegoating; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult