There is a lot of diversity amongst people, and Susan Fiske, a social psychologist from Princeton, says social cognition of people varies along predictable dimensions and so does the extent to which we humanise or dehumanise other people.
She identifies two benchmarks: when we see new people, the first thing we need to know is whether they are friend or foe; do they intend us well or not. This is called the warmth dimension. The second and even more important thing we need to know is whether they are capable of acting upon their intentions. This is called the competence dimension.
“We call this the stereotype content model… with this we tried to understand how various groups are treated in society. This is necessary if we want to understand diversity,” says Fiske.
Fiske draws a chart with four quadrants; the high warmth, low competence, the high warmth, high competence; similarly, the low warmth, low competence and low warmth, high competence.
In the low warmth category, low competence section, are the poor, the homeless or immigrants who are generally reported as “disgusting”.
Interesting it is to see that in the, “… low warmth, high competence section fall the rich and the professionals who elicit the emotion of envy…over achievers, lost their humanity getting there is how many people view them…,” says Fiske.
Into the high warmth group with low competence fall the older people and the disabled who evoke pity and tolerance...they are not useful, but they are not harmful either. The high competence, high warmth group have in the group allies, the reference group who give pride in their association.
“What is important is that different kinds of behaviour are directed against the different groups. Those who evoke pity and pride are protected and those who arouse disgust and envy may be robbed and attacked. People associate themselves with the first category and exclude the lower ones. What is interesting is what happens to people who are being protected and yet excluded…my point is that diversity is textured but not impossibly textured, so there are systematic ways of understanding dimensions of discrimination and prejudice and beliefs that tend to go along with this,” says Fiske.
Fiske says no matter where in the world you go, these dimensions spread the groups across space and that is useful to understand them. “The patterns are not exactly the same, but it helps to provide a window into that society…gives a societal map,” says Fiske.
Fiske finds that those in the low-low category who elicit disgust are often not thought about as having a mind, a life…they are best avoided for the fear of too much pain or contamination…and this is one way in which we dehumanise them. Another potential dehumanisation is with the low-high category….those who evoke envy…she is really efficient, she works all the time… is an example of the resentment directed to the envied groups…you need them but they are seen as exploitative and not seen as having good intentions…so you feel a little good when something bad happens to the envy group and not so happy when something good happens to them. This is the only group, the privileged group, that evokes negative emotions.
The pitied group has to say subordinate to get pity…you have to be completely blameless to get pity…if you did something stupid and so got disabled in a car accident, sorry no pity. Older people, Fiske says are sidelined and as long as they stay there evoke pity. Or else it is resentment…again dehumanising.
Where she makes her mark is by putting women in bikinis also in the same category…their body is interesting, it does not matter who the face belongs to…are more women getting there?
Fiske ends by saying when you need the other person, when the outcome of your life/work is dependent on the other, then we try to understand them and humanize them. There lies the key.
Web link:>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f--dDx0q6so
