Abstract
The current work proposes that awe can promote identification with a broader group, including both ingroups and outgroups, thereby reducing the blatant dehumanization of obese people. We supported this theoretical model in 4 studies (N = 606). In Study 1 (N = 137), people with obesity were blatantly dehumanized (i.e., considered less evolved). In Studies 2 and 3 (N = 377), by using various manipulations of awe (i.e., watching videos and imagining scenarios) and various measurements of common ingroup identity (CII) and by comparing awe with different emotions (i.e., neutral and general positive emotions), we repeatedly observed the unique effects of awe: awe weakened the blatant dehumanization of people with obesity, which was mediated by increased CII with them. In Study 4 (N = 92), priming higher CII with obese people led to less blatant dehumanization, supplying causal evidence for the complete mediation model between awe and blatant dehumanization. The findings of the current work indicate that awe may alter identification with a superordinate group, reduce the blatant dehumanization of outgroup members and improve intergroup relationships.
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Notes
Study 1 additionally included repeated-measures ANOVAs for subtle dehumanization (measured by the attribution of humanness and needs; see ESM). At least 30 participants were needed to detect a medium effect size (f = 0.25, α = 0.05, 90% power). Considering all these analyses together, the minimum recruitment was 119 participants.
In Studies 2 and 3, we additionally conducted one-sample t tests to examine whether obese people were subtly dehumanized (measured by the denial of UH traits in Study 2 and the denial of needs in Study 3; see ESM). According to G*Power analyses, at least 180 participants were needed to detect a medium effect (f = 0.25, α = 0.05, 90% power) for these analyses.
Non-nature neutral and nature neutral conditions = 0, non-nature awe and nature awe conditions = 1.
The Helmert contrast codes categorical X as X1 and X2. X1 refers to the comparison of X1 “awe vs. other emotions” (awe = 0.66…, positive emotions = − 0.33…, neutral = − 0.33…), and X2 refers to the comparison of “positive emotions vs. neutral emotion” (awe = 0.00, positive emotions = 0.50, neutral = − 0.50).
The seven questions were also used to check manipulation. Participants whose total score was below 5 were excluded.
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Lv, Y., Tang, Q., Wang, S. et al. Awe weakens the blatant dehumanization of people with obesity via common ingroup identity. Curr Psychol 43, 15328–15341 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05509-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05509-w