Psychology Behind Political Polarization w/ Dr. Jay Van Bavel

You can watch two people look at the same video of the Minneapolis shooting and come to completely opposite conclusions about what happened. Why? Because their brains — literally — were looking at different parts of the screen. That's selective perception. And once Dr. Jay Van Bavel explained it to me, I couldn't stop seeing it everywhere. In my feed. In my family. In myself. Jay is one of the top 1% of researchers in the world — not my words, that's Clarivate — and a professor of psychology and neuroscience at NYU. His research has been cited by the US Supreme Court, the Senate, and the World Health Organization. And in this conversation, he did not let me off the hook. Neither will you. We went deep on why our brains are not built for social media, how AI is becoming a full-time confirmation bias machine, what's actually happening to democracy right now, and — I promise there's a reason to keep listening — one genuinely hopeful hack backed by hard data that can lower your polarization by 25%. In this episode, you'll learn: Why two people can watch the exact same video and reach opposite conclusions — and it's not about intelligence or bad faith How AI chatbots are 50% more sycophantic than actual humans — and what that's doing to your relationships and your politics What the research actually says about Trump's approval drop and the role of "apolitical" influencers in shifting minds The one social media move backed by a clinical study that can reduce your polarization by 25% in a single month — and keep it lower for a full year Rather watch on YouTube? https://youtu.be/-upTCa6s7oc Resources & Links Mentioned: Dr. Jay Van Bavel's Substack: The Power of Us NYU Center for Conflict and Cooperation: nyu.edu The Power of Us (book) by Jay Van Bavel & Dominic Packer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allison__hare LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonhare/ Website: https://allisonhare.com Book a free podcast clarity call: https://allisonhare.com/freecall Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.Schedule a FREE podcast clarity call with me - Your future audience is out there. Talk to them!Sign up for the free weekly emailAllisonHare.comFollow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.DOWNLOAD the free podcast equipment guide- No guesswork, no google rabbit holes, start recording todayReb3l Dance Fitness - Try it at home! Free month with this link.Feedback and Contact:: [email protected]