“Dehumanization is at the core of human evil, because it depicts a person as less than human.” - Reimann and Zimbardo, 2011.
Research proposal update #82: I don’t believe I’ll be making any friends with the direction I’m going with this, so \/\/. Also, why isn’t there a nice way to see experiments in progress?! In conclusion, if this doesn’t pan out, I’m joining a late 60’s biker gang that LOITERS and may, on occasion, cause a mild public nuisance from the hours of 3-8pm! Yeahman, take that.
More on deindividuation and dehumanization:
In the case of deindividuation, a decrease in activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex could possibly result from a “feeling” of anonymity and a loss of personal accountability, because somatic states are not triggered by memories and knowledge of social norms and, thus, lead to disinhibited, antisocial behaviors.
In the case of dehumanization, decreased ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation could also be accompanied by an increase in amygdala activation (Harris & Fiske, 2006). Being excluded from the moral order of human beings (that is, being dehumanized) could pose an immediate threat that leads to increased processing in the amygdala, which in turn triggers somatic states in the viscera via the brainstem. (via)
