Stigma and Health, Vol 8(2), May 2023, 150-158; doi:10.1037/sah0000256
People with mental illness face stigma that leads others to view them as less than fully human. The stereotype content model posits that people dehumanize social groups that are stereotyped as lacking both warmth and competence, but researchers have not tested this prediction with mental illness. Across 5 studies, the current research examined blatant dehumanization, stereotypical warmth, and stereotypical competence as they relate to mental illness. Study 1 (N = 157) demonstrated that dehumanization significantly correlated with warmth and competence across 11 mental disorders. Study 2 (N = 324) included experimental manipulations of warmth and competence and showed that warmth but not competence significantly influenced dehumanization. The results of Study 3 (N = 159) indicated that dehumanization was associated with some disorders stereotyped as having low warmth and competence, such as addiction, but also disorders stereotyped as having moderate warmth, such as intellectual disability. Study 4 (N = 157) demonstrated that addiction, autism, and dementia elicited similar levels of dehumanization despite significant variations in their stereotypical warmth and competence. Study 5 (N = 299) showed that experimental manipulation of the warmth associated with addiction and intellectual disability affected attitudes about the disorders but not dehumanization. Overall, the results suggest that the stereotype content model cannot fully explain the dehumanization of mental illness. Although the correlations between warmth, competence, and dehumanization indicate that the variables are related in the expected directions, some disorders are dehumanized regardless of their stereotypical warmth and competence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)