Dehumanization of cyclists predicts self-reported aggressive behaviour toward them: A pilot study

Abstract

Cycling provides many benefits to individuals and society, yet in many countries attitudes toward cyclists are largely negative. Public and humorous references to violence against cyclists are not uncommon and a significant minority of cyclists report harassment and aggression. We hypothesize that these hostile attitudes and behaviours are caused, in part, by the dehumanization of cyclists among some individuals. Dehumanization refers to any situation where people are seen or treated as if they are less than fully human. This paper presents a pilot study applying two validated dehumanization measures to a road user group for the first time. We found that the dehumanization measures were inte..