Pseudospeciation begins with the fact that cultural differences cause humans to separate into different social groups, with different language, dress, customs, etc. These cultural differences are analogous to the formation of different biological species (speciation). In the extreme, pseudospeciation leads to dehumanization of other cultural groups (out-groups).

Pseudospeciation, according to the OED, refers to the tendency of members of in-groups to consider members of out-groups to have evolved genetically into different, separate, and inferior species to their own. The term was first used by Erik Erikson in 1966, according to his biographer, Lawrence J. Friedman (Identity's Architect, p. 442). Dehumanization is one possible outcome of pseudospeciation, as is discrimination and genocide.

Francisco Gil-White proposed in 2001 that humans evolved in such a way that the brain perceives different ethnic groups to be equivalent to different biological 'species,' thus suggesting that pseudospeciation is innate. His hypothesis has yet to receive widespread empirical support. His theory and data are found in Current Anthropology, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 515-554. Pseudospeciation is an especially virulent form of ethnocentrism.

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