The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony

Summary

**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 **