Tethered humanity: humanizing self and others in response to interpersonal harm

We propose an integrative framework in which the self-image of perpetrators and victims in interpersonal conflictual relationships becomes tethered to each other. To the extent that both parties stop seeing themselves as fully human when interpersonal harm is inflicted, we theorize that this state motivates attempts at restoration. Specifically, we propose the tethered humanity hypothesis which ascertains that perpetrators or victims can reclaim their full human status by re-establishing the humanness of the opposing party. This hypothesis was analyzed from both the perspective of the perpetrator (Studies 1–3) and the victim (Study 4). In all studies, results indicated that perpetrators or victims self-dehumanize in response to interpersonal harm and managed to regain a full human status when re-humanizing the opposing party. Interestingly, this process was interrupted when the opposing party did not accept attempts at reconciliation. Our findings offer a new interpersonal perspective on the implications of immoral behavior.