Rule Violations with Severe Consequences Increase Dehumanization and Demonization: Examining Perceived Dominance as a Mediator and Social Status as a Moderator

This research investigated how the severity of a violation’s consequences shapes observers’ dehumanization and demonization of violators and examined perceived dominance of the violator as a psychological mechanism underlying this process. Across three experiments (N = 785), rule violations with severe (vs. routine) consequences led observers to perceive violators as more dominant and to dehumanize and demonize them more strongly. Perceived dominance accounted for part of the effect of consequence severity on both dehumanization and demonization. Additionally, stronger perceived dominance predicted higher dehumanization (but not demonization) specifically for high-status violators. These findings clarify when everyday rule violations escalate into dehumanizing and demonizing perceptions, informing efforts to understand how moral conflicts intensify in public life.