The emergence of dehumanization is linked to the development of mind attribution

Dehumanization is hypothesized to involve denying others a fully human mind. We provide a critical developmental test for the proposed link between dehumanization and theory-of-mind development in 3- to 6-year-olds (total N=247) using a minimal group paradigm. Across two experiments, only children who understood false beliefs rated the outgroup as less human than the ingroup, although they liked the outgroup less regardless of their theory-of-mind performance. As theory-of-mind development advanced, outgroup dehumanization increased. The intent to harm the outgroup was associated with dehumanization, but only among children who also understood second-order beliefs. These results provide initial support for theory-of-mind abilities being related to the perception of humanness while helping to characterize the development of dehumanization relative to intergroup liking. They also point to the potential for possible intervention during early childhood before an association between dehumanization and aggression form.