Abstract:
Informal caregivers, who provide unpaid care work to individuals with disabilities, are devalued despite their important contributions to society. Identifying the factors contributing to their devaluation is crucial for recognizing and valuing their work. In two experimental studies, we examined (a) whether informal caregivers are dehumanized; (b) the moderating impact of belief in a just world (BJW) on this process; and (c) the predictive impact of BJW and the dehumanization of informal caregivers on the perception of informal caregivers\' suffering. In Study 1 (N = 180), a 2 (informal caregiver vs. non-caregiver) X 2 (female vs. male) between-participants design was used; in Study 2 (N = 205), there were two experimental conditions: female informal caregiver vs. male informal caregiver. Participants were randomly assigned to one description of a target and were asked to complete measures assessing the dehumanization of the target (Studies 1 and 2), the perception of the suffering of the target (Study 2), and a measure of BJW referring to themselves (Study 2). Results showed the expected dehumanization effect, such that participants attributed fewer uniquely human emotions to informal caregivers compared to non-caregivers, regardless of their gender (Studies 1 and 2). However, this effect was observed only among participants with higher BJW (Study 2). Furthermore, BJW and the dehumanization of informal caregivers predicted the minimization of the perception of informal caregivers\' suffering (Study 2). These results establish a theoretical relationship between these research areas and offer insights for practical implications and future research.
摘要:
非正式的照顾者,为残疾人提供无偿护理工作的人,尽管他们对社会做出了重要贡献,却被贬值了。确定导致其贬值的因素对于认识和评价其工作至关重要。在两项实验研究中,我们研究了(a)非正式照顾者是否非人性化;(b)公正世界(BJW)信念对这一过程的调节作用;(c)BJW和非正式照顾者的非人性化对非正式照顾者痛苦感知的预测影响。在研究1中(N=180),a2(非正式护理人员与非护理人员)X2(女性vs.男性)采用参与者间设计;在研究2(N=205)中,有两个实验条件:女性非正式照顾者与男性非正式照顾者。参与者被随机分配到一个目标的描述,并被要求完成评估目标去人性化的措施(研究1和2),对目标痛苦的感知(研究2),以及衡量BJW的指标(研究2)。结果显示了预期的去人源化效果,因此,与非照顾者相比,参与者将更少的独特人类情感归因于非正式照顾者,无论他们的性别(研究1和2)。然而,这种效应仅在BJW较高的参与者中观察到(研究2).此外,BJW和非正式照顾者的非人性化预测了非正式照顾者痛苦的感知最小化(研究2)。这些结果建立了这些研究领域之间的理论关系,并为实际意义和未来研究提供了见解。