Do humans naturally form groups and then discriminate against others? Perhaps not.

With examples of partisanship and tribalism seemingly all around us, it’s easy to imagine that the tendency to segregate ourselves into rival groups is an unavoidable part of human nature.

But it’s not that simple, says associate professor of psychology and neuroscience Jay Van Bavel , director of New York University’s Social Identity and Morality lab and coauthor of a new book, The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony (Little, Brown Spark, 2021).

His research shows that group identity—the same thing that can turn us against each other—can also help us embrace what we have in common and work more effectively on teams.

Source: Jonthan King for NYU

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