Jeroen Vaes
Papers
1
Total Citations
4
H-Index
1
About
Jeroen Vaes is a leading social psychologist whose research illuminates the subtle ways we dehumanize others and how we react to entities that blur the line between human and machine. His work centers on the motivational and cognitive underpinnings of dehumanization, particularly the “infrahumanization” of outgroups—the tendency to deny them uniquely human emotions. Vaes’s most cited papers, including his foundational work on infrahumanization (over 400 citations), have reshaped our understanding of prejudice. He has also explored the uncanny valley of social robotics, showing that robots like Sophia can trigger a fear of the “too human,” a phenomenon he links to threats to human distinctiveness. His research on the subtle denial of humanity to others has been widely cited (his top papers collectively garnering over 1,000 citations) and has influenced fields from political psychology to human-robot interaction. A professor at the University of Padova, Vaes’s work offers a powerful lens for understanding both the fragility of our shared humanity and our complex relationship with the machines we create.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1