Dehumanization theory predicts harmful agents are denied agency and humanness.

Evidence

From a different perspective, however, harmful agents should not be typecasted as agents, but denied agency, as an extension of the human inclination to dehumanize cruel agents (Bastian et al., 2013; Haslam & Loughnan, 2014; Leidner, Castano, & Ginges, 2013; Viki, Fullerton, Raggett, Tait, & Wiltshire, 2012). According to work on dehumanization, harmful agents are often seen by others as lacking basic aspects of humanity or “humanness” (Haslam, 2006; Haslam, Kashima, Loughnan, Shi, & Suitner, 2008), such as civility and warmth, and at times may even be imbued with animalistic or machine-like traits (Bastian et al., 2013; Vasquez et al., 2014). — Mansur Khamitov, Jeff D. Rotman, and Jared Piazza, Perceiving the Agency of Harmful Agents, 53

Categorization

• DEFINE: The competing prediction: harm-doers are stripped of humanness and animalized or mechanized rather than typecast as capable agents.