Dehumanization, Demonization, and Morality Shifting

Giner‐Sorolla, Roger; Leidner, Bernhard

doi:10.1002/9781444344073.ch10

Cited by 30 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Although perpetrators and victims are rarely clear‐cut categories in most large‐scale conflicts, social psychological research has distinguished people's responses to wrongdoings committed by their own group (e.g., Castano & Giner‐Sorolla, ; Leidner & Castano, ; Leidner, Castano, Zaiser, & Giner‐Sorolla, ) from responses to wrongdoings suffered by their own group (e.g., Čehajić, Brown, & Castano, ; Leidner, Castano, & Ginges, ). When confronted with wrongdoings committed by the ingroup, for example, people tend to use moral disengagement strategies (Bandura, , ) such as denial (Cohen, ), dehumanization of victims (Castano & Giner‐Sorolla, ), or even moralization of outgroup‐directed violence (Giner‐Sorolla, Leidner, & Castano, ; Leidner & Castano, ). These strategies, in turn, have been shown to explain why members of perpetrator groups have less interest in pursuing justice than members of third parties (Leidner et al, ).…”

Section: Victim and Perpetrator Perspectives Of Intergroup Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of retributive justice and the use of international criminal tribunals in post‐conflict reconciliation

Leidner

Petrović

et al. 2017

Euro J Social Psych

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Four experiments examined people's responses to intergroup violence either committed or suffered by their own group. Experiment 1 demonstrated that Serbs who strongly glorified Serbia were more supportive of future violence against, and less willing to reconcile with, Bosniaks after reading about Serbian victimization by Bosniaks rather than Serbian transgressions against Bosniaks. Replicating these effects with Americans in the context of American–Iranian tensions, Experiment 2 further showed that demands for retributive justice explained why high glorifiers showed asymmetrical reactions to ingroup victimization vs. perpetration. Again in the Serb and the American context, respectively, Experiments 3 and 4 demonstrated that post‐conflict international criminal tribunals can help satisfy victim group members' desire for retributive justice, and thereby reduce their support for future violence and increase their willingness to reconcile with the perpetrator group. The role of retributive justice and the use of international criminal justice in intergroup conflict (reduction) are discussed.

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Section: Victim and Perpetrator Perspectives Of Intergroup Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of retributive justice and the use of international criminal tribunals in post‐conflict reconciliation

Leidner

Petrović

et al. 2017

Euro J Social Psych

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“…Consequently, the findings are subject to many possible confounding factors. And indeed, research on intergroup conflict has demonstrated that people tend to see the use of violence in the context of politics and foreign relations as more tolerable than in other contexts, and even at times advocate for it as a legitimate and moral strategy (Giner-Sorolla, Leidner, & Castano, 2011;Leidner & Castano, 2012;Skitka, 2010;Skitka & Mullen, 2002). And indeed, research on intergroup conflict has demonstrated that people tend to see the use of violence in the context of politics and foreign relations as more tolerable than in other contexts, and even at times advocate for it as a legitimate and moral strategy (Giner-Sorolla, Leidner, & Castano, 2011;Leidner & Castano, 2012;Skitka, 2010;Skitka & Mullen, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, there is a widespread assumption, especially among political scientists as well as laypeople, that violence is more effective than nonviolence in creating social change (Stephan & Chenoweth, 2008). And indeed, research on intergroup conflict has demonstrated that people tend to see the use of violence in the context of politics and foreign relations as more tolerable than in other contexts, and even at times advocate for it as a legitimate and moral strategy (Giner-Sorolla, Leidner, & Castano, 2011;Leidner & Castano, 2012;Skitka, 2010;Skitka & Mullen, 2002). These past findings from research on intergroup conflict and the over-reliance of research on movement strategies on correlational data make it hard to pinpoint the cause of success or failure of movements.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of nonviolence: Confirming and explaining the success of nonviolent (rather than violent) political movements

Orazani

Leidner

2018

Euro J Social Psych

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Drawing on literatures on social movements and collective action, mentalization, and morality, four studies investigated whether a social movement's use of nonviolence can increase people's willingness to support and join the movement. In a correlational study with a nested design, across 23 movements perceived use of nonviolence predicted participants' willingness to support and join the movement (Study 1, n = 203). This effect was also found experimentally, with Americans supporting nonviolent movements more than violent ones, in hypothetical and real foreign countries (Study 2 and 3, ns = 606 and 373). Study 4 (n = 247) replicated the effects in participants' own country. The effects were transmitted by attribution of mental states to nonviolent movements and subsequent greater perceived morality (Study 2–4). This research demonstrates that nonviolence can benefit social movements in terms of support and mobilization potential, and that these benefits are rooted in perceptions of mental capacity, humanness, and morality.

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“…Our ancestors developed an effective "behavioral immune system" to detect infectious pathogens, but the system also responded to "an overly general set of superficial cues" that pose no actual threat of disease transmission, but can still provoke aversive feelings and responses (Schaller and Park, 2011). Sanctity stresses the priority of the soul over the body, and imposes strict rules on the "pure" use of the body (Giner-Sorolla et al, 2012). People feel disgusted and repelled when witnessing behaviors viewed as degrading or inhuman, whereas they feel uplifted and elevated when witnessing acts of moral beauty and perfection (Haidt, 2000;Haidt and Morris, 2009).…”

Section: Binding Foundations and Psmmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Moral Theory of Public Service Motivation

2020

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Morality constructs the relationship between the self and others, providing a sense of appropriateness that facilitates and coordinates social behaviors. We start from Moral Foundation Theory (MFT), and argue that multiple moral domains can shape the meaning of public service and engender Public Service Motivation (PSM). From the lens of cognitive science, we develop a causal map for PSM by understanding the social cognition process underlying PSM, focusing on five innate moralities as the potential antecedents of PSM: Care, Fairness, Authority, Loyalty, and Sanctity. Extending moral domains beyond compassion and justice can provide a disaggregated view of PSM, which may help to identify institutional and cultural variation in the meaning of PSM. We discuss the theoretical implications of synthesizing MFT and PSM literatures, and provide directions for future research that could improve our understanding of PSM.

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Dehumanization, Demonization, and Morality Shifting

Cited by 30 publications

References 58 publications

The role of retributive justice and the use of international criminal tribunals in post‐conflict reconciliation

The role of retributive justice and the use of international criminal tribunals in post‐conflict reconciliation

The power of nonviolence: Confirming and explaining the success of nonviolent (rather than violent) political movements

A Moral Theory of Public Service Motivation

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