The Role of Valence and Uniqueness of Emotions in the Context of Infrahumanization Theory

BACKGROUND: Infrahumanization is a result of group comparison when the ingroup is considered as fully human in comparison to an outgroup that is viewed as lacking humanness and similar to animals. Infrahumanization theory proposed that the attribution of emotions to ingroups and out-groups is based on their uniqueness, regardless of the valence of these emotions. Since the valence of information plays an important role in its processing and perception, it was decided to clarify the role of uniqueness and valence. OBJECTIVE: This article aims to explore the role of valence and uniqueness in the perception of emotions within the framework of the infrahumanization theory. DESIGN: Three studies were conducted. A preliminary study selected emotions with extreme values for uniqueness and valence to create a list for measuring infrahumanization for the Russian socio-cultural context. In Study 1, we tested three alternative models of perception of emotions’ uniqueness and valence. In Study 2, we replicate the results from Study 1 and check the robustness of the models obtained. RESULTS: In a preliminary study (N = 146), twelve emotions with different levels of uniqueness and valence were selected for the Russian sociocultural context. CFA was used for testing the models in Studies 1 and 2. The results of Study 1 (N = 243) demonstrated the role of valence and uniqueness in the perception of emotions. Study 2 (N = 482) confirmed the results obtained in Study 1. CONCLUSION: For the first time, the infrahumanization measure was adapted to the Russian socio-cultural context. Infrahumanization research should control valence for a qualitative discussion of the results.