Tag Archives: exit from the society

The authors of this study (Full Article), found that people may “dehumanize” social outsiders.  The study used fMRI scans to research the brain’s reaction to pictures of different social groups including business professionals, Olympic athletes, and drug attics. The medial prefrontal cortex, which is used for social cognition, is not active when people are shown pictures of people labeled as “extreme out-groups.” This study is somewhat disturbing since it shows that social outsiders can be viewed as less human or possibly, not human at all.

If we look at social outsiders as non-human, there can be a certain amount of subconscious justification for their improper treatment. The previous article mentions how three Florida teens went on a homeless person beating rampage. It would be interesting to see if these teenagers justified their actions through the dehumanizing of the homeless individuals.  This study also helps us understand why people can turn a blind eye to these social outsiders so easily.

“Extreme out-groups” were the focus of the study or, people who were extremely far from societal norms.  In my opinion, the participants of the study, who happened to be college undergraduates, simply could not relate to the people in these social out-groups. By having so little in common, participants could more easily disassociate themselves.

At its core, this study focused on the brain’s reaction to images of social outsiders. Therefore, it is easy to see a relationship between people’s image, and their treatment by others. The findings of this study could be reason enough to set up programs which focus on bettering the physical appearance of social outsiders, at the very least, to give them equal treatment by others.