Rehumanization is the process by which one reverses the damage done by dehumanization. That is, in individuals or groups, the process of rehabilitating one’s way of perceiving the other(s) in question in one’s mind and in consequent behavior.
A study conducted at Princeton by Mary Wheeler and Susan Fiske (2005) showed that rehumanization could be achieved by blocking brain activation that is often associated with the appearance of a person perceived to be from another race. Wheeler and Fiske were able to help subjects unconsciously suppress the activation of “fight or flight” responses arising from deep in the limbic system. In this case, dehumanization came from the stereotyping of “the other”, and rehumanization was achieved when he or she was seen not as a category, racial or other, but as an individual: the researchers “primed” the subjects by asking them to guess whether the person whose face they were about to see liked coffee or tea, etc.
In general, rehumanization can usually be achieved by avoiding labels and stereotypes in one’s language and thoughts. Other techniques that have been found to be effective include: