Supplemental Materials
They See Us as Less Than Human: Meta-Dehumanization Predicts Intergroup Conflict via Reciprocal Dehumanization
by N. Kteily, G. Hodson, & E. Bruneau, 2016, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
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(The text below was formatted to appear like a real article, from the Boston Globe [ using the newspaper’s typical typeface and logo. Stimulus images are available from the first author by request.)
In Large Parts of Muslim World, Americans Perceived as “Animals”
A report released this week by the United Nations’ Commission on Global Relationsexamined public perceptions of Americans in the Muslim world. The report examined a number of Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Yemen, and focused primarily on respondents’ views of American lifestyle, governance, culture, and behaviors.
The findings of the report are striking. Of particular note was the extent to which Muslims perceived Americans as brutes that lack self-control and sophistication.This perception of Americans as savage was widespread across the countries surveyed, with even Muslim adolescents holding these views.
One 25-year-old female from Saudi Arabia noted, “Americans think that they are kings of the world. But kings of what? If you look a little closer, all they know is the language of violence and destruction.”
This view was far from isolated; a 46-year-old male in Yemen said, “The Americans? Other people settle their arguments by talking. The Americans, they just come in, rip your throat out and steal everything you have, like animals.”
These views of Americans extended beyond perceptions of American actions in the region. Several respondents commented on aspects of American culture. One 21-year-old woman in Bahrain said, “They have all this money and power, but they have no values. Their families are unstable and violent, and their lives are not guided by principle, only pleasure. No wonder they have so many children outside of marriage.”
A 60-year-old manfrom Jordan also commented on Americanethics: “Most of the world invests in their friends and family. In the U.S., the only thing they care about is money… they chase the dollar like a dog chases a ball.”
Dr. Richard Mankrow, the lead author of the report, noted the increase in this tenor of Muslim perceptions of Americans: “Compared to previous studies we’ve done here, we were struck by the strength, consistency and conviction of these perceptions. The reality is that these views of Americans are highly normative in these contexts, with the majority of people, both in leadership positions and on the Muslim street, seeing them as self-evident.”