Superhumanization as Social Creativity: Positive Exemplars and Cultural Appropriation Concerns Shape Identity Management

Abstract

Why, when, and to whom do we attribute superhuman characteristics? Seven studies establish the positivity of superhumanization, show that Black Americans superhumanize their ingroup more than White Americans, and find that exposure to media portrayals of highly successful Black Americans increases this tendency. Black Americans saw superhumanization as empowering more than White Americans, who in turn believed that superhumanizing their ingroup was inappropriate, insincere, and hurtful to others. Complementing conceptualizations of superhumanization as a stereotype of Black Americans held by White Americans, our findings suggest superhumanization also emerges as the product of a self-labeling process by Black Americans. This reinterpretation of superhumanization challenges and complements the prevailing view of this construct in the intergroup relations literature. The findings advance our understanding of identity management processes among minority group members. They also highlight the role of cultural appropriation concerns in majority group members’ identity management.