Review of THE POWER OF US
How identity shapes human behavior
Identity is a cultural buzzword now, with folks displaying lists of their identities in social media profiles and email signatures. But identity is more than a cultural badge, it’s an inherent part of what makes us a social species, even if we’re not always consciously aware of our identities.
In The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony, psychologists Jay Van Bavel and Dominic Packer share the voluminous research on how identity shapes behavior. I’ll be honest, I’ve been a bit of a skeptic about identity psychology previously, but The Power of Us convinced me of the importance of this research area.
Identity shapes a lot of our behavior, whether we realize it or not. But an important caveat is whether specific aspects of our identities are activated. Put differently, our identities don’t always matter, but they can if they are activated and interact with specific contexts which then impact our behavior.
A particularly interesting example of this is how identity shapes cross-partisan conversations. Unless you live under a rock – or in your own ideological echo chamber – you may know how difficult and often useless talking about hot-button issues like abortion can be. In our increasingly political social lives, it’s common to broadcast our identities before conversations even start. But this may be reinforcing, rather than breaking down, our silos. Signaling our identities can stifle conversation, as we are more likely to trust those that come from our own ideological camp. If we leave that information ambiguous, however, we may be more open to listening across the aisle.
The Power of Us also provides useful information for leaders in the workplace. Identities go beyond individuals – they can be properties of organizations and groups as well. If groups, teams, or institutions don’t have a coherent identity, it can have downstream negative consequences for fostering cooperation and strategic dissent. The latter of which is what allows groups to thrive. Strong group identities allow folks to speak up and to be listened to. If there are weak group identities, strategic dissent is stifled, innovation suffers, and groups become echo chambers.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Social psychology has been under fire in recent years because of the replication crisis, but The Power of Us is an excellent example of social psychology done right, and presented in a way that not only gives you a better understanding of humans, but also practical insights that can be applied across your life.
Published: September 2021
Format: Hardcover
If you think this sounds interesting, bookmark these other great reads:
Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides by Geoffrey Cohen (2022)
Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them by Joshua Greene (2013)
The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution by Richard Wrangham (2019)
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