Moral typecasting theory fails to predict how harmful agents are actually perceived.

Evidence

The results of Study 1 were consistent with the perspective coming from dehumanization theory, but contradicted the predictions made by moral typecasting theory. Harmful agents were attributed the lowest levels of agency, followed by the neutral, non-offending agent, while the highest levels of agency were attributed to the benevolent agent. Moreover, agent condition had a significant indirect effect on the perceived moral standing of the agent via agency ratings. — Mansur Khamitov, Jeff D. Rotman, and Jared Piazza, Perceiving the Agency of Harmful Agents, 268

Categorization

• XREF: Directly contradicts typecasting’s prediction of heightened agency for perpetrators. This disconfirmation is the pivot for the reader’s question about which mechanism operates in dehumanizing or relabeling harmful agents.