Wow. That's fascinating: we humans have strong in-group/out-group differentiation, but the definition of "in" and "out" is very malleable, from context to context and even from moment to moment....
Similarly, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, have shown that subjects tend to quickly and automatically categorize pictures of people by race. Yet if the researchers showed their subjects photos of both black and white people wearing two different colored uniforms, the subjects automatically began to categorize the people by their uniforms instead, paying far less attention to race.
Take a bunch of strangers and randomly split them into two groups by tossing a coin. The participants know the meaninglessness of the division. And yet within minutes, they are more generous toward and trusting of members of their in-group.
Walk down a dark street at night, see one of “them” approaching, and your amygdala screams its head off. But sit next to that person in a sports stadium, chanting in unison in support of the same team, and your amygdala stays asleep.
Wow. That's fascinating: we humans have strong in-group/out-group differentiation, but the definition of "in" and "out" is very malleable, from context to context and even from moment to moment. We can be prejudiced towards anyone for any reason, and inclusive of anyone for any reason. In other words, tribalism can be harnessed for good as well as for evil, if we can get people to define their "in-group" appropriately.
Wow. That's fascinating: we humans have strong in-group/out-group differentiation, but the definition of "in" and "out" is very malleable, from context to context and even from moment to moment. We can be prejudiced towards anyone for any reason, and inclusive of anyone for any reason. In other words, tribalism can be harnessed for good as well as for evil, if we can get people to define their "in-group" appropriately.