The Emergence of Belief Attribution and Dehumanization Are Associated
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2026-05
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<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:sec> <jats:label/> <jats:p> Dehumanization is hypothesized to involve denying others a fully human mind. We tested its proposed link with theory‐of‐mind development in 3‐ to 6‐year‐olds (total <jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 247) using a minimal group paradigm framed as a competition. Across two experiments, only children who understood false beliefs rated the outgroup as less human than the ingroup, although they liked the outgroup less regardless of their theory‐of‐mind performance. As theory‐of‐mind development advanced, outgroup dehumanization increased, with intent to harm the outgroup only being associated with dehumanization among children who also understood second‐order beliefs ( <jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 51). However, the strength of this relationship remains uncertain since the effect became marginally significance after controlling for intergroup liking. These results provide initial support for theory‐of‐mind abilities being related to the development of dehumanization. They also point to the potential for intervention during early childhood before an association between dehumanization and aggression forms. </jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Summary</jats:title> <jats:p> <jats:list list-type="bullet"> <jats:list-item> <jats:p>The emergence of dehumanization is associated with the development of theory‐of‐mind. Only children with belief attribution capacities consider the outgroup as less human.</jats:p> </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:p>Children with more advanced belief attribution demonstrate stronger dehumanization, reflected in lower humanness ratings for the outgroup.</jats:p> </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:p>In preschool‐aged children (3‐ to 6‐year‐olds), dehumanization of the outgroup is not associated with verbal ability or age.</jats:p> </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:p>In preschool‐aged children, dehumanization and intergroup preference appear distinguishable by the relationship of dehumanization to the development of belief attribution abilities.</jats:p> </jats:list-item> </jats:list> </jats:p> </jats:sec>
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Zhou, Wen, and Brian Hare (2026). The Emergence of Belief Attribution and Dehumanization Are Associated. Developmental Science, 29(3). 10.1111/desc.70165 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/34312.
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Wen Zhou
Her research focuses on the intersection among intergroup relations, social cognition, and human-animal relations. She is especially interested in how social and developmental processes shape our perceptions of humanity and hierarchy. Her teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include evolutionary anthropology, social and developmental psychology, and moral decision making.
She has had papers published in leading academic journals including Developmental Science, Behavioral & Brain Sciences, Conservation Biology, Human Nature, Current Research in Social and Ecological Psychology, and Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. She is a member of the editorial board of Psychology of the Human-Animal Intergroup Relations.
Zhou has a Ph.D. in evolutionary anthropology from Duke University. Before joining Duke Kunshan in 2022, she obtained her Bachelor degree in psychology at Beijing Normal University. She also holds secondary appointments with Duke University and Wuhan University.
Brian Hare
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