Of mice and machines: The asymmetric dehumanization of immigrants as a function of perceived economic contribution

Abstract

Anti-immigrant research has often focused on the animalistic dehumanization of immigrants and refugees, with little focus on the antecedents of the mechanistic dehumanization of immigrants. In the present study, we investigated the asymmetric dehumanization of immigrants as a function of potential economic contribution, and economic thinking about immigration. We recruited participants (N = 500) from Prolific Academic, measuring beliefs about immigration and assessing the extent to which they subtly or blatantly dehumanized different immigrant groups. While we found no evidence for subtle dehumanization, we found that immigrants ostensibly selected for their educational ability and potential for economic contribution (i.e., economic immigrants, temporary foreign workers, international students) were more blatantly mechanistically (versus animalistically) dehumanized and were more blatantly mechanistically dehumanized compared to non-economic migrants (family class migrants and refugees). Further, economic thinking about immigration was associated with greater blatant mechanistic, but not animalistic dehumanization of immigrants, while beliefs about immigrant’s cultural contribution was associated with decreased blatant dehumanization overall.