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Journal article

Don’t worry, they get the idea: instructions have no impact on dehumanization ratings on the Ascent of Human Scale

Abstract

A common method for assessing blatant dehumanization asks participants to rate "how evolved" they think members of various social groups are using the Ascent of Human scale (AOH) that transitions in stages from a crawling ape to a fully upright modern human. However, little is known about how task instructions affect participant ratings. In this pre-registered study, participants saw alternative forms of instruction including the traditional instructions emphasizing "evolution", a prompt without any reference to evolution, and a prompt that clearly explained that the scale assesses dehumanization. Instruction type had no effect on dehumanization ratings on the AOH scale. These results support the idea that the AOH scale is a robust means of assessing blatant dehumanization.

Authors

Johnson DL; Obhi SS

Journal

The Journal of General Psychology, Vol. 151, No. 4, pp. 467–485

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Publication Date

January 1, 2024

DOI

10.1080/00221309.2023.2300145

ISSN

0022-1309

Labels

Fields of Research (FoR)

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