The role of valence and uniqueness of emotions in the context of infrahumanization theory

Psychology in Russia: State of the Art. 2022. Vol. 15. No. 1. P. 179–192.

Terskova M., Agadullina E.

Background. Infrahumanization is a result of group comparison when the
ingroup is considered as fully human in comparison to an outgroup that is
viewed as lacking humanness and similar to animals. Infrahumanization

theory proposed that the attribution of emotions to ingroups and out-
groups is based on their uniqueness, regardless of the valence of these

emotions. Since the valence of information plays an important role in its
processing and perception, it was decided to clarify the role of uniqueness
and valence.

Objective. This article aims to explore the role of valence and unique-
ness in the perception of emotions within the framework of the infrahu-
manization theory.

Design. Three studies were conducted. A preliminary study selected
emotions with extreme values for uniqueness and valence to create a list
for measuring infrahumanization for the Russian socio-cultural context.
In Study 1, we tested three alternative models of perception of emotions’
uniqueness and valence. In Study 2, we replicate the results from Study 1
and check the robustness of the models obtained.

Results. In a preliminary study (N = 146), twelve emotions with differ-
ent levels of uniqueness and valence were selected for the Russian socio-
cultural context. CFA was used for testing the models in Studies 1 and

2. The results of Study 1 (N = 243) demonstrated the role of valence and
uniqueness in the perception of emotions. Study 2 (N = 482) confirmed
the results obtained in Study 1.
Conclusion. For the first time, the infrahumanization measure was

adapted to the Russian socio-cultural context. Infrahumanization re-
search should control valence for a qualitative discussion of the results.

Keywords: emotion, uniqueness, valence, infrahumanization