Dehumanization in intensive care units and standard wards: A survey for a comparative cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Dehumanization refers to the practice of treating patients as objects rather than individuals with dignity and respect. METHODS: This study explores dehumanization in healthcare, specifically mechanistic dehumanization and self-dehumanization, which can result in poor care and negative outcomes. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a dehumanization questionnaire given to 324 nurses in various departments. The study took place at ANONYMIZED, from September to November 2022. The questionnaire analyzed emotions like anger, impatience, and apathy, identified as key dehumanizing factors. RESULTS: Results indicated that these emotions were prevalent in nurses' perceptions of patients. Interestingly, while Intensive Care nurses often involved families in patient care, leading to higher satisfaction, ward department nurses sometimes viewed patient or family relationships as obstacles. Despite this, 66 % of nurses reported satisfaction with the care provided, while 12 % were indifferent. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that the root of dehumanization lies in nurses' inability to feel emotions, the impersonality of care, and the sterility of assistance, leading to self-dehumanization. To combat this, the study suggests strengthening nursing autonomy and education and fostering a positive work environment. The way nurses perceive themselves directly impacts their treatment of patients.

Development and validation of a self-report measure of perceived dehumanization from officers.

PURPOSE: Emerging evidence indicates that incarcerated populations' perceptions of dehumanization by officers are prevalent, yet measures of it are few, and to our knowledge, no self-report measure of dehumanization from officers exists. To fill this gap, we have developed the Perceived Dehumanization from Officers Scale (PDOS), which is designed as a brief measure to assess perception of officer treatment as dehumanizing. METHODS: In this article, we provide preliminary evidence from two studies examining the reliability and validity of the PDOS. In study 1, a jail sample (n = 411), we analyzed the exploratory factor structure, internal consistency, and discriminant validity (in relation to procedural justice [PJ]) of the PDOS. Additionally, using a cross-sectional ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis, we related independent variables with the PDOS, the dependent variable. In Study 2, a prison sample (n = 2993), we confirmed the findings from study 1. RESULTS: The PDOS appears to be a psychometrically sound measure of perceived dehumanization from officers with strong association between perceptions of PJ and perceived dehumanization from officers. CONCLUSIONS: The PDOS provides opportunity for future research, intervention through rehumanization efforts, and signals the important officer treatment. Importantly We close by discussing implications of these studies, limitations, and future research directions to further develop and test the PDOS.

Examining the Role of Mononormative Beliefs, Stigma, and Internalized Consensual Non-Monogamy Negativity for Dehumanization.

Interest in consensually non-monogamous (CNM) relationships has been increasing in the general population in recent years. However, given the cultural dominance of monogamy and the normative expectations often imposed through socialization (i.e., mononormativity), people in CNM relationships may experience negativity, which can become internalized and harm their individual and relationship health. The present study investigated if mononormativity beliefs and CNM relationship stigma were associated with more dehumanization and if internalized CNM negativity was an underlying mechanism for these associations. Results showed that participants who endorsed more mononormative beliefs and CNM relationship stigma also reported more internalized CNM negativity. In turn, participants who experienced more internalized CNM negativity attributed more negative (vs. positive) emotions to themselves and treated their partners as more immature, unrefined, exploitable, and emotionless. These results show that mononormativity and internalized negativity can shape the attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of CNM individuals toward themselves and their partners.

Objects Do Not Suffer: An Impact of Mechanistic Dehumanization on Perceptions of Women's Suffering and Lack of Justice in Domestic Assault.

Women constitute an overwhelming majority of those who experience domestic violence; furthermore, the vast majority of perpetrators of domestic violence go unsentenced. The objectification of women innately implies the denial of humanness, and dehumanization is known to play a role in willingness to engage in and acceptance of interpersonal harm. Yet, important questions remain. The current study examines the type of humanness objectified women are being denied, and how that denial implicates perceptions surrounding domestic assault. We predict that associating women with objects, and not animals, may be uniquely implicated in the lack of consequences for perpetrators-for objects cannot feel pain. In the current study (N = 319), we manipulated the presentation of a woman as sexualized or not and purported that she had been involved in a domestic violence incident. We found that when the target woman was sexualized (and thus objectified), participants associated her with an inert, non-human object (i.e., mechanistically dehumanized her) more than when she was not sexually objectified, but we found no effect of sexualization on animalistic dehumanization. Furthermore, mechanistic dehumanization mediated decreases in perceptions of the sexually objectified woman's suffering as a result of the domestic violence, which decreased the severity of the punishment participants recommended for the perpetrator, while also, increasing victim, and decreasing perpetrator, blame. We discuss critical considerations of the role of dehumanization in domestic violence directed toward women and the lack of consequences for perpetrators of these crimes.

Personhood as projection: the value of multiple conceptions of personhood for understanding the dehumanisation of people living with dementia.

We examine the concept of personhood in relation to people living with dementia and implications for the humanity of care, drawing on a body of ethnographic work. Much debate has searched for an adequate account of the person for these purposes. Broad contrasts can be made between accounts focusing on cognition and mental faculties, and accounts focusing on embodied and relational aspects of the person. Some have suggested the concept of the person is critical for good care; others suggest the vexed debates mean that the concept should be abandoned. We argue instead that the competing accounts illuminate the very tensions in personhood which are manifest for all of us, but especially for people living with dementia, and argue that our account has explanatory power in shedding light on how precisely dehumanisation and constraints on agency may arise for people living with dementia, and for staff, within an institutional context.

Only human after all? a pre-registered study on gaze behavior and humanity attributions to people with facial difference.

There is a great deal of indirect evidence suggesting that people with facial difference (FD) may be dehumanized. This research aimed to provide direct evidence of the dehumanization of people with FD based on the stigmatizing reactions they elicit. More precisely, previous findings revealed that the specific way people with FD are looked upon is related to the feelings of disgust they elicit. Since disgust fosters dehumanization, our aim was to confirm the modified pattern of visual attention towards people with FD and to determine whether it was also related to humanness perception. For that purpose, a preregistered eye-tracking study (N = 97) using a former experimental design extended to humanity attributions was conducted. This research replicates findings showing that the face of people with FD is explored differently in comparison with other human faces. However, the hypothesis that people with FD were given fewer humanity attributions was not supported. Therefore, the hypothesis of a "dehumanizing gaze" towards people with FD-beyond humanity-related attributions-is discussed in light of these findings.

A linguistic analysis of dehumanization toward substance use across three decades of news articles.

Introduction: Substances and the people who use them have been dehumanized for decades. As a result, lawmakers and healthcare providers have implemented policies that subjected millions to criminalization, incarceration, and inadequate resources to support health and wellbeing. While there have been recent shifts in public opinion on issues such as legalization, in the case of marijuana in the U.S., or addiction as a disease, dehumanization and stigma are still leading barriers for individuals seeking treatment. Integral to the narrative of "substance users" as thoughtless zombies or violent criminals is their portrayal in popular media, such as films and news. Methods: This study attempts to quantify the dehumanization of people who use substances (PWUS) across time using a large corpus of over 3 million news articles. We apply a computational linguistic framework for measuring dehumanization across three decades of New York Times articles. Results: We show that (1) levels of dehumanization remain high and (2) while marijuana has become less dehumanized over time, attitudes toward other substances such as heroin and cocaine remain stable. Discussion: This work highlights the importance of a holistic view of substance use that places all substances within the context of addiction as a disease, prioritizes the humanization of PWUS, and centers around harm reduction.

Zumbis e Distopia: Os Restos da Colonialidade e as Lutas de Libertação / Zombies and Dystopia: The Remains of Coloniality and Fights for Freedom / Zombis y Distopía: Los Restos de la Colonialidad y las Luchas de Liberación

Debatemos os rastros presentes na distopia de nossos laços sociais contemporâneos enquanto restos da colonialidade que sobrevivem em nossa cultura. Metodologicamente, recorremos a personagens do imaginário coletivo que interrogam o lugar do outro na cena social e na política. Compreendemos que os zumbis enquanto imagem mnêmica social trazem visibilidade às políticas de degradação do outro - sua dominação, seu extermínio, bem como da desmobilização política. A contextualização histórica e geográfica da origem e da construção desses personagens reforça a constatação da lógica colonizadora e escravagista ali presente, fundamentada nos modos de captura dos desejos, dos corpos e da vida dos sujeitos, culminando no efeito de obliteração das perspectivas de futuro. A figura do zumbi enquanto a lembrança encobridora do negro escravizado haitiano denuncia a desqualificação das lutas de libertação como nada mais que atos violentos de uma horda acéfala, bem como oferece a oportunidade de reinstituir a dignidade dos movimentos que visam à transformação social. Dentro de determinada perspectiva crítica, os zumbis passam a representar a imagem mnêmica social dos libertários que não cessam de lutar. Tornam-se a simbolização do impossível de governar; reagem ao destino certo da condição de mortos, recuperando a potência de construção de um comum na alteridade.

We discuss the traces present in the dystopia of our contemporary social ties as remnants of coloniality that survive in our culture. Methodologically, we resort to characters from the collective imaginary that question the place of the other in social and political scene. We understand that zombies as a social mnemic image bring visibility to the policies of degradation of the other­their domination, their extermination, as well as political demobilization. The historical and geographic contextualization of the origin and construction of these characters reinforces the presence of the colonizing and slavery logic there, based on the ways of capturing the subjects' desires, bodies and lives, culminating in the effect of obliterating the prospects for the future. The figure of the zombie as a screen-memory of the enslaved black-Haitian denounces the disqualification of liberation struggles as nothing more than violent acts by an acephalous horde, as well as offers the opportunity to bring back the dignity of movements that claims for social transformation. Within a certain critical perspective, the zombies come to represent the social mnemic image of libertarians who never stop fighting. They become the symbolization of the impossible to govern; they react to dead condition as a fate, recovering the power to build a common in otherness.

Discutimos los rastros presentes en la distopía de nuestros lazos sociales contemporáneos como restos de colonialidad que perviven en nuestra cultura. Metodológicamente, recurrimos a personajes del imaginario colectivo, que cuestionan el lugar del otro en la escena social y en la política. Entendemos que los zombis como imagen mnémica social visibilizan las políticas de degradación del otro - su dominación, su exterminio, así como la desmovilización política. La contextualización histórica y geográfica del origen y de construcción de estos personajes refuerza la constatación de la lógica colonizadora y esclavista allí presente, basada en los modos de captura de los deseos, cuerpos y vida de los sujetos, culminando en el efecto de obliteración de perspectivas futuras. La figura del zombi como recuerdo encubridor del negro haitiano esclavizado denuncia la descalificación de las luchas de liberación como nada más que actos violentos de una horda acéfala, además de ofrecer la oportunidad de restituir la dignidad de los movimientos que aspiran a la transformación social. Dentro de cierta perspectiva crítica, los zombis vienen a representar la imagen mnémica social de los libertarios que no cesan de luchar. Se convierten en la simbolización del imposible de gobernar; reaccionan ante el destino cierto de la condición de los muertos, recuperando la potencia de construir un común en la alteridad.

From industrialization to dehumanization: understanding the deriving forces of environment and implications for sustainable development.

Environment has detrimental effects on economic activity and human survival. Climate change is increasingly conducive to natural disasters, epidemics, social conflicts, food security, financial shocks, economic hardships, and life subsistence. In pursuit of this issue, this study empirically investigates the effects in outcome variable CO2 provoked by independent variables governance, technological innovation, renewable energy, economic growth, and economic policy uncertainty in APEC economies. The APEC region accounts for 60% of global emissions, 62% of world GDP, 48% of global trade and contribute 8.7% renewable energy annually. A dynamic panel PMG-ARDL model is applied under the assumption of maximum likelihood estimation with DH causality and CS-ARDL for the period of 1996-2020. Our empirical results confirm that governance, technology innovation, and transitional energy have significant and positive effect to mitigate CO2 emissions. The region needs to design policy mechanisms supportive to promote institutional quality, enhances transparency, ensure political stability and rule of law. It develops the infrastructure that ensures the adaptation of technology innovations, promotes green growth, improves energy efficiency, and implements carbon pricing mechanism. Economic policy uncertainty has insignificant and positive effects on environmental degradation. The findings show that governance, technological development, and transitional energy have an essential role to mitigate CO2 emissions and achieve sustainable development. Moreover, this study will be helpful in understanding the implications of SDGs and achieving specific targets such as (SDG-7: Clean energy sources) and (SDG-8: Sustainable development goal) based on the largest set of emitters APEC.

Salience Matters: Filler groups on the ascent of human scale impact ratings for target groups.

Researchers using the ascent of human scale (AOH) to study dehumanization typically include filler groups in addition to the main comparator groups, to hide the true intent of the study. However, there is little work examining the impact of filler group choice on dehumanization ratings between groups of interest. Across two studies (including one pre-registered study) we manipulated the salience of a target out-group (i.e., the extent to which the group stood out) by embedding it within lists of other groups. By comparing AOH ratings across three conditions in which the target out-group was either high salience, medium salience, or low salience, we were able to determine the effects of target out-group salience on dehumanization. In study 1, we included participants' in-group (Canadian) in the list, and in study 2, we did not include participants in-group in the list. Results from study 1 showed that group salience had no impact on AOH ratings for the out-group when the participant in-group was included in the list. However, in study 2, when participant in-group was removed from the list, ratings for the out-group in the high salience condition were significantly lower than both the medium and low salience conditions. Implications for both theoretical and methodological issues in investigations using the AOH scale are discussed.

La inteligencia artificial en el cine / Artificial intelligence in movies

La mayor parte de los films sobre inteligencia artificial hacen de esta un pretexto para tratar otras cuestiones: los peligros de la tecnociencia al servicio de intereses económicos, bélicos o políticos, la violencia de género, la segregación, los riesgos de un sistema político totalitario, o la deshumanización de la sociedad consumista en que vivimos. Las películas que optan por imaginar un futuro cercano en que se produzca la "singularidad" de un programa que se subjetive y empiece a desear, odiar o amar, pueden ordenarse en cinco grandes escenarios típicos: programas autoconscientes empoderados, subjetividades humanas transformadas en programa computacional, androides diseñados mediante biotecnología, robots que devienen humanos, y robots que semejan a humanos, pero no lo son

Most films about artificial intelligence make this a pretext to address other issues: the dangers of technoscience at the service of economic, war or political interests, gender violence, segregation, the risks of a totalitarian political system, or the dehumanization of the consumerist society in which we live. The films that choose to imagine a near future in which the "singularity" of a program that becomes subjective and begins to desire, hate or love occurs, can be organized into five large typical scenarios: empowered self-conscious programs, human subjectivities transformed into a computer program, androids designed through biotechnology, robots that become humans, and robots that look like humans, but are not.

Guinea pigbots.

Doing research with human subjects is costly and cumbersome. Can AI chatbots replace them?

Experiences of dehumanizing: Examining secondary victimization within the nurse-patient relationship among African American women survivors of sexual assault in the Upper Midwest.

Despite calls recognizing the need for culturally sensitive responses to minimize the occurrence of secondary victimization for African American women following an experience of sexual assault, few studies have focused on hearing from African American women survivors about their experiences receiving healthcare services in a hospital setting following sexual assault. Employing critical ethnography as our methodology and using intersectionality theory as a lens, we centered the voices of African American women survivors about their experiences receiving nursing care in urban acute care or hospital settings in the Upper Midwest of the United States following sexual assault. In this qualitative study, 30 African American women survivors were interviewed using in-depth, semi-structured interviews about their post-sexual assault care. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. An important theme identified focused on survivors' experiences of dehumanization when receiving healthcare services following sexual assault. These experiences included: discrediting, dismissing, shaming, and blaming. To mitigate and prevent secondary victimization in the future, we present practice and education change recommendations for nurses, and healthcare providers more broadly, based on the voices of African American female survivors of sexual assault.

Testing the associations between internalized cisgenderism, self-objectification, body shame, and mental health correlates in the framework of the pantheoretical model of dehumanization: A study in Chinese transgender adults.

As an integrated framework informed by the Minority Stress Model and Objectification Theory, the Pantheoretical Model of Dehumanization was proposed to better understand mental health outcomes in transgender individuals. With a sample of 200 Chinese transgender adults, the present study tested the associations and potential mechanisms between internalized cisgenderism, self-objectification, body shame, and mental health correlates in the framework of the Pantheoretical Model of Dehumanization. Correlation and regression analyses were used. Results showed that internalized cisgenderism was positively related to body shame, psychological distress, disordered eating, non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Body shame showed significant indirect effects in the association between internalized cisgenderism and suicide attempts, and in the associations between internalized cisgenderism and psychological distress, disordered eating, and NSSI. In addition, body shame had significant indirect effects in the associations between body surveillance and disordered eating, NSSI, and suicide attempts, and in the association between body surveillance and psychological distress. As the first study testing the associations of core variables in the Pantheoretical Model of Dehumanization in a Chinese transgender sample, the findings largely supported the model in describing meaningful variance in Chinese transgender adults' psychological distress, disordered eating, and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors.

Self-dehumanization and other-dehumanization toward students with special educational needs: examining their prevalence, consequences and identifying solutions-a study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Students with special educational needs (SEN) often face dehumanization, which negatively impacts their mental health, daily functioning, and educational outcomes. This study seeks to address the research gap in dehumanization literature by examining the prevalence, dynamics, and consequences of self-dehumanization and other-dehumanization among SEN students. Moreover, by utilizing psychological experiments, the study aims to identify potential intervention strategies and make recommendations to minimize the negative psychological consequences derived from the dual model of dehumanization. METHODS: This two-phase, mixed-methods study incorporates cross-sectional surveys and quasi-experimental designs. Phase 1 investigates the self-dehumanization of SEN students and other-dehumanization from non-SEN peers, teachers, parents, and the public. Phase 2 involves four experimental studies to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions emphasizing human nature and uniqueness in reducing self-dehumanization and other-dehumanization of SEN students, as well as their associated negative consequences. DISCUSSION: The study fills a research gap by examining dehumanization in SEN students, applying dyadic modeling, and identifying potential solutions to ameliorate dehumanization and its negative consequences. The findings will contribute to the advancement of the dual model of dehumanization, increase public awareness and support for SEN students in inclusive education, and promote changes in school practice and family support. The 24-month study in Hong Kong schools is expected to provide significant insights into inclusive education in school and community settings.

The Phenomenology of Objectification in and Through Medical Practice and Technology Development.

Objectification is a real problem in medicine that can lead to bad medical practice or, in the worst case, dehumanization of the patient. Nevertheless, objectification also plays a major and necessary role in medicine: the patient's body should be viewed as a biological organism in order to find diseases and be able to cure them. Listening to the patient's illness story should not be replaced, but, indeed, developed by the physical examination of his body searching for the causes of his complaints. Whereas phenomenologists have so far mainly been identifying the back sides of objectification in medicine, in this paper the aim is to analyze differences between detrimental objectifications and objectifications that do not deprive the patient of his subjectivity but, rather, at least in some cases, may lead the patient to feel more at home with his body.

Examining the consequences of dehumanization and adultification in justification of police use of force against Black girls and boys.

OBJECTIVE: Given the greater contact that Black youth have with the legal system compared with White youth, it is important to consider the differential ways that police use of force against these youth is perceived. Black youth may be at greater risk than White youth for animalistic (being seen as animal-like) and mechanistic (being seen as object-like) dehumanization, which, along with a tendency for Black youth to be perceived as older (adultification), may impact observers' perceptions of police use of force toward Black youth. This study examined whether dehumanization and adultification were associated with the perceptions of force used and harm caused by police. HYPOTHESES: We made five hypotheses. First, participants would dehumanize Black individuals more than White individuals, more mechanistically dehumanize Black women than Black men, and more animalistically dehumanize Black men than Black women. Second, dehumanization would be positively associated with adultification. Third, force would be rated as less appropriate and more excessive for White than for Black targets, particularly for males. Fourth, dehumanization, particularly animalistic dehumanization, would be associated with higher participant ratings of force justification and lower participant ratings of force severity and excessiveness. Fifth, participants would perceive girls as more harmed than boys and White individuals as more harmed than Black individuals. METHOD: After completing an implicit dehumanization measure, participants viewed an image (varied on age and gender) of a juvenile, estimated the juvenile's age, and read a vignette in which the juvenile had an altercation with police. Participants rated the amount, severity, and justification of the force used by the officer as well as the physical and emotional harm caused to the juvenile. RESULTS: We found that Black targets were dehumanized more than White targets. Adultification, unrelated to implicit dehumanization, predicted perceiving police use of force against juveniles as more justified and less severe. Black girls were most likely to experience adultification; participants generally perceived them as less victimized than Black boys and White girls. CONCLUSIONS: Adultification is associated with fewer protections for youth. Those with particular intersectional identities, such as Black girls, may be uniquely vulnerable to harm caused by police victimization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Role of the media in promoting the dehumanization of people who use drugs.

Dehumanization, the perception or treatment of people as subhuman, has been recognized as "endemic" in medicine and contributes to the stigmatization of people who use illegal drugs, in particular. As a result of dehumanization, people who use drugs are subject to systematically biased policies, long-lasting stigma, and suboptimal healthcare. One major contributor to the public opinion of drugs and people who use them is the media, whose coverage of these topics consistently uses negative imagery and language. This narrative review of the literature and American media on the dehumanization of illegal drugs and the people who use them provides a perspective on the components of dehumanization in each case and explores the consequences of dehumanization on health, law, and society. Drawing from language and images from American news outlets, anti-drug campaigns, and academic research, we recommend a shift away from the disingenuous trope of people who use drugs as poor, uneducated, and most likely of color. To this end, positive media portrayals and the humanization of people who use drugs can help form a common identity, engender empathy, and ultimately improve health outcomes.

Am I being dehumanized? Development and validation of the experience of dehumanization measurement.

Scholarly interest in the experience of dehumanization, the perception that one is being dehumanized, has increased significantly in recent years, yet the construct lacks a validated measurement. The purpose of this research is therefore to develop and validate a theoretically grounded experience of dehumanization measurement (EDHM) using item response theory. Evidence from five studies using data collected from participants in the United Kingdom (N = 2082) and Spain (N = 1427), shows that (a) a unidimensional structure replicates and fits well; (b) the measurement demonstrates high precision and reliability across a broad range of the latent trait; (c) the measurement demonstrates evidence for nomological and discriminant validity with constructs in the experience of dehumanization nomological network; (d) the measurement is invariant across gender and cultures; (e) the measurement demonstrates incremental validity in the prediction of important outcomes over and above conceptually overlapping constructs and prior measurements. Overall, our findings suggest the EDHM is a psychometrically sound measurement that can advance research relating to the experience of dehumanization.