A seven-item unipolar scale measuring the degree to which a person is perceived as mechanistic or dehumanised — stripped of the qualities associated with full human agency, uniqueness, and vitality. Items use single-word descriptors capturing emotional coldness, rigidity, fungibility, superficiality, passivity, and inertness, reflecting the mechanistic dehumanisation pathway theorised by Haslam (2006) in which people are likened to automata or objects. Developed in social psychology and applied in consumer research examining how machine-like health messaging portrays human body functions.
7-point unipolar (not at all / very much)
Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.
Three reliability estimates from manipulation check pretests: α = .84 (Study 1), α = .85 (Study 2), α = .95 (Study 4) — Weihrauch & Huang (2021, web appendix). VALIDITY: Not discussed. Items draw on Haslam (2006) and Haslam et al. (2005) dehumanisation framework, though neither source provides a formal scale; Weihrauch & Huang (2021) appear to have operationalised Haslam's theoretical dimensions as unipolar descriptors. Used as manipulation checks confirming that machine-framing induced dehumanisation perceptions. Parenthetical definitions provided for technical items (fungible, inert) — these should be retained in survey instruments to ensure consistent interpretation.
Haslam, Nick (2006). Dehumanization: An integrative review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(3), 252–264. [Applied by: Weihrauch, Andrea and Szu-Chi Huang (2021). Portraying humans as machines to promote health: Unintended risks, mechanisms, and solutions. Journal of Marketing, 85(3), 184–203.]
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