{
  "id": 17625889,
  "title": "Study finds a specific emotional route from feeling humanized to political compromise",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/study-finds-a-specific-emotional-route-from-feeling-humanized-to",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-01T15:00:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PsyPost",
    "slug": "psypost",
    "url": "https://www.psypost.org/study-finds-a-specific-emotional-route-from-feeling-humanized-to-political-compromise/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A new study suggests that voters who feel their political opponents see them as human beings, rather than as \"mindless brutes,\" are more inclined to compromise and work across party lines. This phenomenon, known as meta-humanization, reduces feelings of disgust and may help mend political divisions. Researchers from Heriot-Watt University in Dubai and the University of Greenwich conducted a series of experiments with 1,541 participants in the UK, US, and Canada to investigate how this effect works.\n\nIn the experiments, participants were exposed to fictional social media posts written by supporters of the opposing party, describing them either as \"animals and brutes lacking in self-control\" (meta-dehumanization) or as \"sophisticated\" (meta-humanization). After reading the posts, participants reported lower anger, disgust, hostility, and desire for social distance when they perceived the opposing party as being humanizing. These effects were particularly pronounced among Labour Party supporters in the UK and Republican voters in the US.\n\nThe findings indicate that feeling humanized by political opponents can promote moral emotions such as empathy and perspective-taking, which in turn reduce prejudice and encourage friendly contact. However, the researchers noted that the effect may depend on the perceived immediacy and threat of the political division. Additionally, the study found that perceived threat to social cohesion – the worry that political divisions are eroding shared community values and mutual trust – can also influence the humanization process.",
  "summary": "Across five experiments in three countries, people who read posts describing their party as sophisticated rather than as brutes became more open to negotiation — and the emotion doing the work was disgust, not anger or empathy.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}