The Power of Us: How Shared Identities Shape Conflict and Cooperation

What does it mean to belong — and how does our sense of identity unite or divide us? Group cooperation is one of the most remarkable features of human nature, enabling people to build teams, communities, and nations. Yet the same psychological forces that bind us together can also drive conflict and polarization. In this talk, I explain how our social identities — the groups we feel part of — shape our thoughts, emotions, and actions. Drawing on insights from social psychology and cognitive science, I will reveal how understanding identity can help us understand and address some of today’s greatest challenges, including political division, misinformation, climate change, and threats to democracy. Ultimately, The Power of Us shows how we can harness our shared identities to foster cooperation, strengthen communities, and build a more connected world. Speaker Jay Van Bavel, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Conflict & Cooperation, NYU