# Moral violations lead to demeaning: Non-disclosure of HIV undermines perceived psychological needs

## TL;DR

The study explores how immoral actions toward people with HIV in Iran lead to dehumanization by downplaying their uniquely human psychological needs.

## Contribution

The research introduces a novel application of the ADC framework to understand how moral judgments influence dehumanization in a stigmatized context.

## Key findings

- Negative deeds and consequences increase perceived immorality, which leads to greater demeaning of the agent's psychological needs.
- Iranian participants' perceptions of uniquely human needs differ from Western samples, highlighting sociocultural influences on dehumanization.
- Demeaning affects uniquely human needs but not shared physiological needs, showing a specific psychological mechanism.

## Abstract

Dehumanization of stigmatized groups is a pressing social challenge, and to effectively address it, we must understand how it arises. Here, we identify social-cognitive antecedents of a subtle form of dehumanization known as demeaning—which occurs when a target’s “uniquely human” psychological needs (e.g., for meaning in life) are downplayed relative to their physiological needs shared with other animals. We study how demeaning arises by leveraging the Agent-Deed-Consequence (ADC) framework of moral cognition, which posits that perceptions of an Agent’s Deeds, and the Consequences of these Deeds, independently shape perceptions of the Agent’s moral character. Because morality is fundamental to perceptions of humanity, we reasoned that the perception of (im) moral character, in turn, would impact demeaning (i.e., downplaying the Agent’s psychological needs). We support this notion in a vignette experiment in a context where stigma is rampant and crucially understudied—Iran. Participants (N = 272) evaluated a stigmatized Agent—an HIV-positive individual with a history of addiction. We varied the Agent’s Deed (deceiving partner vs. being honest with a partner) and its Consequence (infecting partner with disease vs not) in a 2 x 2 design. Indeed, a negative Deed and Consequence led to greater perceived immorality. Immorality, in turn, influenced perceptions of the Agent’s “uniquely human” needs, but not their “lower” physiological needs shared with animals. Moreover, our Iranian participants’ perceptions of what is a “uniquely human” need differ from those in previous Western samples, underscoring the need for further investigation into the sociocultural forces influencing dehumanization.