Threat Rejection, COVID-19 and Dehumanization

The COVID-19 pandemic brought lots of surprises, including the political and religious conflicts connected to it. In this podcast we explore one facet of this as Emily Kubin and Frank J. Kachanoff discuss their research published in the paper "Threat Rejection Fuels Political Dehumanization" published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. Part of their abstract for the paper reads, "Americans disagree about many things, including what threats are most pressing. We suggest people morally condemn and dehumanize opponents when they are perceived as rejecting the existence or severity of important perceived threats." Although not a part of their research project, this dynamic may play a part in conservative Christian reactions to those who take a different stance on COVID-19 vaccines.

"Threat Rejection Fuels Dehumanization": https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/19485506211068922

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#socialpsychology #dehumanization #COVID