Is it possible to dehumanize yourself?

Research in Psychological Science, however, suggests that we can also dehumanize ourselves, setting into motion a cyclical process through which performing antisocial behavior causes us to view ourselves as less human, leading in turn to further antisocial action.

What is mental dehumanization?

Abstract. Dehumanized perception, a failure to spontaneously consider the mind of another person, may be a psychological mechanism facilitating inhumane acts like torture. Social cognition – considering someone’s mind – recognizes the other as a human being subject to moral treatment.

How does it feel to be dehumanized?

Dehumanization is the denial of full humanness in others and the cruelty and suffering that accompanies it. A practical definition refers to it as the viewing and treatment of other persons as though they lack the mental capacities that are commonly attributed to human beings.

What does dehumanization cause?

Dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing the enemy, making them seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment. This can lead to increased violence, human rights violations, war crimes, and genocide.

Who discovered dehumanization?

clergyman Morgan Godwyn
Dehumanization and psychology Dehumanization seems to have been first described as a psychological phenomenon by the 17th century Anglican clergyman Morgan Godwyn, who wrote that slaveholders believed that Africans are “Creatures destitute of Souls, to be ranked among Brute Beasts, and treated accordingly”.

How was slavery dehumanizing?

Slaves retained their humanity thanks to the support of families and religion, which helped them resist oppression. Nonetheless, slavery was a dehumanizing institution. Assaults on the bodies and minds of the enslaved exposed them to trauma that was both physical and psychological.

What does it mean to dehumanize another human being?

Definition of dehumanize transitive verb. : to deprive (someone or something) of human qualities, personality, or dignity: such as. a : to subject (someone, such as a prisoner) to inhuman or degrading conditions or treatment “…

How is war dehumanizing?

War, which is characterized by impersonal violence and large-scale suffering, is inherently dehumanizing. That dehumanization propagates and intensifies among soldiers at war because there is a strong human tendency to respond to feeling dehumanized by dehumanizing others.

Why is it important to dehumanize the enemy in a war?

Dehumanizing an enemy during conflict forms part of the psychological offensive of war, and the image created of the enemy plays an important role in enabling soldiers to fight and kill as required during war and in encouraging civilians to support the actions of war and to maintain their enthusiasm for it as the …