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About

Nick Haslam is a prominent social psychologist whose research has fundamentally shaped our understanding of dehumanization and the psychological dimensions of humanness. Based at the University of Melbourne, Haslam has dedicated much of his career to exploring how people perceive and categorize human and nonhuman attributes, producing work that bridges social psychology, bioethics, and mental health. His most influential contribution is a landmark theoretical framework distinguishing two distinct forms of dehumanization: one in which people are denied uniquely human attributes and likened to animals, and another in which they are denied human nature and likened to robots. This model, which has garnered over 239 citations for its cross-cultural extension alone, has become foundational in dehumanization research worldwide. Haslam has also brought this lens to pressing contemporary debates, applying folk concepts of humanness to posthumanism and biotechnology ethics, and more recently exploring dehumanization's often-overlooked connections to mental health. Across his career, Haslam has demonstrated a rare ability to translate complex psychological theory into frameworks with real-world relevance — from understanding historical atrocities to informing modern clinical and bioethical practice — making him an indispensable voice in understanding what it means to be human.