**As featured on The Oprah Podcast, NPR's Hidden Brain, and in The New York Times**
A “fascinating” (Charles Duhigg) and “must-read” (Annie Duke) book about WHAT we believe and HOW we experience the world is shaped by WHO we're around – and how to use that insight to rebuild the trust our institutions, workplaces, and communities depend on.
Why has it become so hard to disagree without contempt? Why do smart, well-intentioned people slide into hostility toward neighbors, colleagues, and strangers online―often without realizing it?
In The Power of Us, psychologists Jay Van Bavel and Dominic Packer offer a surprising answer: the same psychology that lets us love our families, rally behind causes, and build great teams is the psychology that turns disagreement into contempt. Group identity is the engine of human cooperation―and, left unexamined, the engine of incivility. Understanding how these dynamics work is the first step to changing them.
Drawing on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience, Van Bavel and Packer show how a clearer view of identity can help you:
• See past your own hidden biases and make better decisions
• Build trust and cooperation across lines of difference
• Escape echo chambers and resist groupthink
• Lead more effectively by harnessing the power of “we”
• Disagree honestly―without escalating division
Along the way, the book reveals why people cling to false beliefs even after they've been disproven, how a shift in identity can turn selfish individuals into generous collaborators, why shared experiences bind us so powerfully, and how modern technology is quietly reshaping who we think we are.
At a moment when contempt too often feels like the default setting of public life, The Power of Us explains how people actually think―and how you can bring out the better instincts in yourself and those around you.
** Recipient of the William James book award from the American Psychological Association and the Social Impact book award from the Center for Moral Understanding **
Jay Van Bavel is a Professor of Psychology and Neural Science and Director of the Center for Conflict and Cooperation at New York University. He studies how shared identities and beliefs can unite people―or drive them apart―and what this reveals about the human mind and society. Specifically, his research examines intergroup conflict and polarization, cooperation and collective intelligence, moral judgment and decision-making, belief formation and misinformation, and the impact of social media and artificial intelligence. He lives in New York City with his family and once taught a class while trapped in an elevator with his kids.
Dominic Packer is a Professor of Psychology at Lehigh University. Dominic’s research investigates how people’s identities affect conformity and dissent, racism and ageism, solidarity, health, and leadership. He lives in eastern Pennsylvania with his family and dog, Biscuit.
Jay and Dominic received their PhDs from the University of Toronto, where they bonded in a shared sub-basement office. They write the popular The Power of Us newsletter.
