Buffered From the Dehumanizing Effects of Negative Interactions With Individuals Experiencing Homelessness? Exploring the Role of Social Justice Motivations and Education

Positive interactions with individuals experiencing homelessness precipitate positive attitudes and a willingness to help those who are unhoused. Importantly, however, not all intergroup interactions are positive. Research exploring factors that buffer individuals from changes to outgroup attitudes when negative encounters do occur remains a critical area for research. In three studies, we explored whether social justice motivations (Study 1 and Study 2) and a novel social justice education intervention (Study 3) mitigate the cognitive and behavioral consequences of imaginary intergroup interactions. Findings from all three studies demonstrated that negative (vs. positive) interactions reliably enhanced the dehumanization of individuals experiencing homelessness, whereas impacts on intentions to help were more variable. Individual differences in and manipulations of intrinsic social justice motivations and education failed to moderate the relationship between interaction valence and outcomes, though they remained significant predictors of attitudes about and intended treatment of individuals experiencing homelessness. Together, these findings emphasize that while social justice motivations—particularly when they are intrinsic in nature—and education are important to consider in the context of rising homelessness, they do not appear to buffer individuals from the interpersonal consequences of negative interactions with those who are unhoused. Put simply, negative intergroup interactions harm outgroup attitudes even for people who might think that they are immune to, or less likely to be influenced by such encounters. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.