Supporting the Dehumanization Hypothesis, but Under What Conditions? A Commentary on Over (2020).

Over (2020; this issue) puts forth seven challenges for what she terms the dehumanization hypothesis (i.e., that out-group members are viewed as nonhuman and that this underlies the harm inflicted on them). For the most part we do not disagree with her points, but we disagree that those points constitute a challenge. Previous research, by us and by others, leads to the expectation that dehumanization is conditional, which suggests that the real challenge for dehumanization researchers is to determine the conditions under which the hypothesis is correct.