Harris Lasana T, Fiske Susan T
Psychology Department, Green Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
Psychol Sci. 2006 Oct;17(10):847-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01793.x.
Traditionally, prejudice has been conceptualized as simple animosity. The stereotype content model (SCM) shows that some prejudice is worse. The SCM previously demonstrated separate stereotype dimensions of warmth (low-high) and competence (low-high), identifying four distinct out-group clusters. The SCM predicts that only extreme out-groups, groups that are both stereotypically hostile and stereotypically incompetent (low warmth, low competence), such as addicts and the homeless, will be dehumanized. Prior studies show that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is necessary for social cognition. Functional magnetic resonance imaging provided data for examining brain activations in 10 participants viewing 48 photographs of social groups and 12 participants viewing objects; each picture dependably represented one SCM quadrant. Analyses revealed mPFC activation to all social groups except extreme (low-low) out-groups, who especially activated insula and amygdala, a pattern consistent with disgust, the emotion predicted by the SCM. No objects, though rated with the same emotions, activated the mPFC. This neural evidence supports the prediction that extreme out-groups may be perceived as less than human, or dehumanized.
传统上，偏见被概念化为单纯的敌意。刻板印象内容模型（SCM）表明有些偏见更为恶劣。SCM先前展示了热情（低 - 高）和能力（低 - 高）这两个独立的刻板印象维度，识别出四个不同的外群体类别。SCM预测，只有极端外群体，即那些在刻板印象中既怀有敌意又缺乏能力（低热情，低能力）的群体，如瘾君子和无家可归者，才会被非人化。先前的研究表明，内侧前额叶皮层（mPFC）对于社会认知是必要的。功能磁共振成像提供了数据，用于检查10名观看48张社会群体照片的参与者以及12名观看物体的参与者的大脑激活情况；每张图片都可靠地代表一个SCM象限。分析显示，除了极端（低 - 低）外群体之外，mPFC对所有社会群体都会产生激活，而极端外群体尤其会激活脑岛和杏仁核，这一模式与厌恶情绪一致，而厌恶情绪正是SCM所预测的。尽管对物体的评级带有相同的情绪，但没有物体激活mPFC。这一神经学证据支持了极端外群体可能被视为低于人类或被非人化的预测。
