Trait-based measure of dehumanization: adaptation for the Portuguese population

Abstract

Although dehumanization (i.e., the denial of full humanness to others; Haslam, 2006) has been a frequent subject in social psychology, a set of traits designed to evaluate this phenomenon has not been validated to the Portuguese population. The main purpose of this study was to translate, culturally adapt and validate a set of dehumanization traits proposed by Haslam and colleagues (Haslam & Bain, 2007; Haslam, Bain, Douge, Lee & Bastian, 2005), which measure both the denial of uniquely human and human nature traits. A sample of 597 individuals (Mage = 40.83; SD = 11.50) were asked to rate a set of 52 traits on how much they perceived each as a characteristic of human nature and human uniqueness, as well as its desirability. T-tests were conducted to distinguish between low and high rated traits in each dimension, and to construct clusters of traits that differ in each dimension. We successfully provide a measure containing positive traits in both senses of humanness dimensions; however, we were only able to validate a human uniqueness measure with negative valence. Implications of this measure for future research on dehumanization processes are discussed.