Vaccine Skeptics and Vaccine Enthusiasts: What Is the Intergroup Wall Made Of?

Abstract

Dehumanization in various forms often accompanies intergroup relations. While it is not clear whether it is a signifier of hostility or rather a source of it, there is a clear link - when dehumanization occurs between groups, we can expect effects ranging from a lack of mutual pro-sociality to an endorsement of violence against an out-group. Our study tested whether mutual dehumanization and meta-dehumanization (the belief that we are being dehumanized by an out-group) occur between supporters and opponents of a COVID-19 vaccine. Using a diverse sample (n = 1262) of residents of Poland, the USA and RPA, we investigated whether attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines can form the basis of an in-group preference and to what extent such groups would dehumanize their opponents. We found evidence for strong in-group preferences among both vaccine enthusiasts and vaccine skeptics. We also found evidence of mutual dehumanization and meta-dehumanization. This dehumanization was particularly pronounced in the case of more extreme forms (as assessed by direct dehumanization and blatant dehumanization measures) and marginally present in the case of subtle dehumanization (as assessed by dual model dehumanization). Vaccine enthusiasts dehumanized vaccine skeptics in all aspects measured, vaccine skeptics dehumanized vaccine enthusiasts in all aspects except one - they did not dehumanize them mechanistically. Overall, the dehumanization found was strong, universal across the countries studied, and largely unspecific. Contrary to our predictions, we did not find many distinctive forms of dehumanization specific to a particular target group - the dehumanization observed was largely symmetrical.