How to Harness the Power of Belonging

Jay Van Bavel, associate professor of psychology and neural science at New York University, and Dominic Packer, a psychology professor at Lehigh University, have written a new book titled, The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony. It examines how group affiliations influence behavior and inspire both personal and social change.

During the interview, Van Bavel talks about why he and Packer wrote The Power of Us, how shared identity can help us become better people, and what social science can teach us about tackling the challenges we face as an increasingly polarized society, among other topics.