Intergroup Contact and Outgroup Humanization: Is the Causal Relationship Uni- or Bidirectional?

ABSTRACT: The attribution of uniquely human characteristics to the outgroup may favor the search for contact with outgroup members and, vice versa, contact experiences may improve humanity attributions to the outgroup. To explore this bidirectional relationship, two studies were performed. In Study 1, humanity perceptions were manipulated using subliminal conditioning. Two experimental conditions were created. In the humanization condition, the unconditioned stimuli (US) were uniquely human words; in the dehumanization condition, the US were non-uniquely human and animal words. In both conditions, conditioned stimuli were typical outgroup faces. An approach/avoidance technique (the manikin task) was used to measure the willingness to have contact with outgroup members. Findings showed that in the hu

SUBMITTER: Capozza D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5261613 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature