Is dehumanization a strategy for emotional regulation?
This line of research focuses on discovering and analyzing how dehumanization—that is, the act of considering or treating someone as if they lacked humanity—can serve as a mechanism for regulating the emotions of people who are constantly exposed to situations of suffering, pain, and emotional exhaustion, using the healthcare context as a paradigmatic case. Within this line of research, we have established three main areas of study:
• The perception of others' suffering: In healthcare, professionals often encounter patients suffering from physical or mental illnesses. We seek to explore how professionals perceive and process the suffering of others.
• Situations that trigger moral suffering: The healthcare context can present ethical and moral dilemmas, such as end-of-life decisions, the allocation of limited resources, among others. These situations can cause what is known as moral suffering; in this case, we investigate whether dehumanization can be a response that regulates one's own distress in the face of such situations.
• The need to repeatedly empathize: The need to repeatedly empathize with different patients can be emotionally exhausting. Specifically, we explore how dehumanization might intervene as a mechanism to protect against this exhaustion.
Date:
February 15, 2026
Category:
