For the past few years, we've been sharing our insights on the psychology of groups and identity through this newsletter. We have published over 180 articles and now have over 14,000 subscribers and followers! We are thrilled that so many of you have joined us and find our newsletter useful and interesting.

That's why we’re rebooting our paid subscription benefits to include more perks. We hope you’ll level-up your subscription. To make it worth your time, we are offering a back-to-school discount of 20% off a more engaging experience.

We are also very close to reaching “Bestseller” status on substack. Our 100th paid subscriber will therefore get a free signed copy of our book in the mail to mark the occasion.

🔗Use this link to access the 20% off discount! 🔗

Paid subscription benefits now include even more:

• Exclusive Content: Access to in-depth articles for paid subscribers only, previews and snippets of our new upcoming book, and bonus materials (chapter summari…

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The Final Polar Race

The early twentieth century was the culminating age of polar exploration. Teams from Britain, America, Germany, Japan, Norway, and beyond competed to be the first to chart never seen before—by industrialized eyes, anyway—coastlines, islands, glaciers, and ice sheets. But the real race was for the poles.

On April 6, 1908, American Robert Peary’s team reached the North Pole. With that triumph, all eyes turned to the Antarctic and the South Pole. To be the first to reach the globe’s axis at the bottom of the world was the next grail.

When Peary attained the North Pole, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was almost two years into planning an attempt at the same prize. He immediately cast his sights southward, but dared not tell anyone. All his financial backing, grounded in scientific questions about the Arctic, was based on his going north. He was also loath to alert his rivals as to his change of plans, chief among them the British naval officer and polar explorer Robert Scott. So, except for a few close and trusted confidants, he kept his new southern ambitions a secret, including from the crew of men and fellow explorers he was taking with him aboard his ship, the Fram.

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If you want to use our book in your class or organize a book club, fill out this form and we can share a bunch of educational materials that we created. We also created a free syllabus you can use to enrich your own learning or use in any educational setting. We also visit a few classes and book clubs every year. Start your own—it’s a great way to deeply understand ideas and might even help make a dent in the loneliness epidemic!

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It's only $7.54 for the hardcover + $8.96 for the audiobook on Amazon.com

If you ever wanted a deal, now is the time to buy it for yourself or as a gift for a friend or colleague. This is the biggest discount we’ve ever seen it listed for on Amazon so we wanted to share it.

We don’t know how long the sale will last, but it will likely be short so we encourage folks to buy it now.

Please share the news with anyone who might be interested.

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This will provide a real example of a book proposal for those of you who have aspirations of writing your own popular science book. It will also allow people who have read our book to see our original ideas and observe how much they evolved through the writing process. Most people never get to see how a book is written, so this offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at that process.

The title of our book, at that time, was “THE POWER OF IDENTITY: How identity shapes our actions and how we can shape identity”. One of the first lessons we learned as book authors is that we did not have complete control over the title—the publisher does (although we got some input and there were countless discussions).

By the time our book was published, our title had changed to include more business/self-help lingo: “The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony.

Our proposal includes an overview of the book, a brief biography of the authors, a description of related books (and how ours was different), a detailed marketing plan, the table of contents, the introduction section of the book, a sample chapter (chapter 1), and detailed description of all the other chapters. In all, the entire proposal was 55 single-spaced pages long!

Below we share the Overview and a link to a PDF of the entire proposal for paid subscribers. Note that we will also be reaching out to paid subscribers to set up summer meetings with Jay & Dom. So update your subscription now if you want an invitation to join those discussions.

Overview

Most of us believe that our identity is stable. In fact, our identity is constantly changing – often outside our conscious awareness and even against our wishes – to reflect the interests of the groups around us. That identity has a powerful influence over our feelings, beliefs, and actions.

This book will revolutionize how you think about identity. Once you understand how identity works, you will be able to resist its pull and harness it to influence others.

The most selfishly oriented people exhibit the greatest increase in cooperative behavior when they identify with a group. The same identity motives that lead to discrimination and conflict can bridge ancient divides and inspire personal and social change.

In The Power of Identity, psychologists Dominic Packer and Jay Van Bavel integrate their own cutting-edge research in psychology, neuroscience and economics to explain what identity really is and show how to harness its dynamic nature to:

• Increase productivity

• Improve physical and psychological health

• Overcome prejudice

• Unlock altruism

• Break political gridlock

• Galvanize others to solve controversial but persistent global problems

Along the way, they explain such seemingly unrelated phenomenon as why men cry at football games but not funerals, why the history of slavery in U.S. counties is one of the best predictors of current day racism, and why Canada keeps a national reserve of maple syrup.

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• Groups–even of the most arbitrary kind–are often central to a person's sense of self and influence prosocial and antisocial behaviors.

• The norms associated with an individual’s group identities are often powerful drivers of behavior, and can be manipulated in different social situations.

• Though we can readily see how other people’s perceptions are fallible, we struggle to recognize our own bias–which is known as the “bias blind spot”.

• Factors such as initial commitment to the belief and receiving social support from like-minded individuals play roles in individuals' reluctance to let go of false beliefs.

• When you are talking to people across the aisle, try to understand that their identity and motives might be getting in the way of them seeing your perspective. It may be helpful to remove symbols of identity.

• Taking on a social identity can lead to a shift in motivation, causing individuals to become interested in outcomes beyond their own self-interest, fostering trust and cooperation.

These are a special perk for our paid subscribers—please subscribe if you want to receive all the summaries. You can print these summaries and keep them handy when you are trying to remember the basic principles of social identity. Or you can share them with people who might be interested in picking up a copy of the book and reading the whole thing. Here is a preview of the first two chapter summaries:

We want to thank Yvonne Phan, our newsletter editor, for reading the entire book and drafting these summaries (which Jay and Dom reviewed and edited for accuracy and clarity). Here is a link to the summaries from all 10 chapters:

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For the past few years, we've been sharing our insights on the psychology of groups and identity through this newsletter. We have published over 100 columns and now have over 5,000 subscribers and followers! We are thrilled that so many of you have joined us and find our column useful and interesting.

As we dig a bit deeper into these issues, we want to offer you an even richer and more engaging experience. That's why we’re introducing paid subscriptions to "The Power of Us." We hope you’ll level-up your subscription.

What will you gain as a paid subscriber?

• Exclusive Content: Access to in-depth articles, interviews with leading authors and experts, and bonus materials not available to free subscribers.

• Interactive Community: Participate in live Q&A sessions, discussions, and exclusive subscriber events.

• Early Access: Get a sneak peek at new research findings, upcoming projects, and books before anyone else.

• Supporting Science Communication: Your subscription will directly support our efforts to bring high-quality, evidence-based insights to a wider audience.

• Win free stuff: We host monthly book giveaways with the authors we interview on our newsletter and paid subscribers are automatically entered for a chance to win each month!

Why subscribe now?

By becoming a paid subscriber today, you'll not only gain access to exclusive content and benefits, but you'll also play a vital role in supporting independent science communication—getting science to the masses. Your contribution will help us continue to produce high-quality content, conduct cutting-edge research, and share valuable knowledge with the world. We already spend a great deal of time creating this newsletter and we will use the money to produce better, more engaging content.

You can join yourself, as a group, or buy a subscription as a gift to a friend.

How much does it cost?

Subscribers: $0

• It costs nothing to subscribe to the basic newsletter

• We will continue to write and publish free columns periodically

Community Members: $6/month

• You get everything that subscribers receive, plus…

• Weekly columns, including more in-depth articles and controversial topics

• Free access to over 100 archived columns

• Free chapter summaries of our book

• Miscellaneous bonus items (e.g., our original book proposal)

• Monthly virtual group meeting with Jay or Dom

Insiders: $50/year

• You get everything that community members receive, plus…

• A 31% discount compared to subscribing monthly

Cult Member $150/year

• You get everything that insiders receive, plus…

• Signed copy of “The Power of Us” book mailed to you (or gifted to a friend)

• If we write another book together (we are working on it!), you get a free sneak peak—the very first copies of the book will be sent directly to fanatics!

Insider Team Subscriptions: $40/month per person

• Sign up with friends or colleagues and get a significant discount!

• We offer team subscriptions for Insiders at a 20% discount when 2 or more team members subscribe

Join the "Power of Us" community and help unlock the full potential of this newsletter! You can sign up yourself or offer a paid subscription as a gift to a friend, family member, or teammate. Please spread the word to anyone else who might enjoy being part of our community.

Finally, we would love to hear feedback — tell us what other perks you want in your subscription tier and we will continue to update this list of options.

News and Updates

Do the principles from our research actually make us any smarter? We recently put our collective intelligence skills to the test!

Laura Kriska, business consultant and author of The Business of We, came to Jay’s lab meeting to test his research team using her TeamMachine exercise.

Jay’s team had 90 minutes to build a complex machine which tested their ability to communicate effectively, allocate responsibilities, share resources, and come together without competing against one another.

Laura broke the lab up into 4 teams of 3, and each team had to build a component of the team machine (which was a Rube Goldberg style contraption). After each team had built and tested each component, they had to merge all the components together into a working machine.

His lab completed the exercise in 40 minutes, a new record! According to Laura said our team “vastly outperformed any corporate group I have ever worked with in my 30 year career working on 4 continents”.

After the exercise, Laura explained how Jay’s lab used team-oriented language and how they cooperated or competed in ways that were effective. She summarized some keys to our success that she noticed as we completed the task, including:

1️⃣ Embrace collective pronouns like 'we' over 'I' to foster unity.
2️⃣ Define a superordinate goal to keep everyone focused on the bigger picture.
3️⃣ Share resources to break down competitive silos and boost collaboration.

We also discussed writing up a more detailed summary about how the science and practice of successful teams come together. So stay tuned for that!

Catch up on the last one…

Want to know the behind the scenes of auctioning and promoting a scientific trade book? We spill our secrets in last week’s newsletter here:

This is part of a series on how to write a book. In Part I, we wrote about how to go from an idea to a book proposal and this week we discuss how to auction, write, and promote your book. In Part III, we give subscribers a sneak peak at our original book proposal for The Power of Us.

DEVELOP A PROMOTION PLAN

A huge part of writing a book is getting people to actually buy it. Getting people to spend $20-30 for a book—and then invest hours reading it—is a unique challenge. In fact, most books don’t sell. A lawsuit last year revealed that 50% of published books from Penguin Random House sold less than a dozen copies. Another analysis from top publishers suggests that 66% of new books sell less than 1,000 copies in a year (and 93% se…

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[This is part of a series on how to write a book. In Part II, we described The Auction, Writing, and Promotion aspects of the process. In Part III, we give subscribers a sneak peak at our original book proposal for The Power of Us.]

HAVE AN IDEA

You need to start with a big idea—one big enough for a book.

We started our first book “THE POWER OF US” after a weekend visit when we realized that we might actually have an idea for a book. Writing a book—and then promoting it—takes an enormous amount of tim…

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If you have been a subscriber for long enough, you might remember from an earlier newsletter that our entire idea for writing a book—and, therefore, launching this newsletter—arose from a conversation we had about Dominic’s local book club. His book club didn’t love (ok, pretty much hated) the popular science book he had recommended (oops!) and this led us to try to write our own.

Drawing on that inspiration, we have decided to create our own virtual book club for our newsletter subscribers in which you can tell us if you love or hate our book! You’ll have a chance to ask the authors (us) tough questions, meet other people with similar interests, and maybe find the occasion an inspiration to write your own book! We’ll give you the full backstory of what it …

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William James was a leading thinker of the late 19th century, one of the most influential philosophers of the United States, and widely considered the "Father of American psychology". In 1890 wrote the landmark book “The Principles of Psychology where he developed the a concept of the social self that became the core theme of our book. (You can read James’ ideas here).

William James divided the "Me" part of self into: a material, a social, and a spiritual self. For him, the social self is who we are i…

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Our documentary film explains some of the sources of polarization and extremism in American and abroad and offers solutions to polarization from researchers, change makers, and organizational leaders. We wrote a short summary of the film in a previous newsletter and you can watch it below. We are trying something different with the newsletter this week, so the remainder is about the film festival experience through Jay’s eyes.

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To make the holiday season special, we have decided to mail out autographed book plates to anyone who buys a gift copy of "The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony"! If you read the book and liked it, feel free to spread the word by giving it as a gift. The best way to create social change is by building a community of people who share a common vision.

To receive a free autographed postcard/bookplate from either Jay or Dom, simply fill out our short Google Form.

There are two ways you (or someone you know) can receive a signed postcard/bookplate:

1. Gifting the book to someone you know: In the form, simply send us proof you ordered a book for them (e.g., link to a URL with an image of the receipt that you ordered the book) and we will send the bookplate to the address that you specify. It can include a very short inscription, if you wish.

2. If you have spread …

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1. We contain multitudes

Each of us contains multiple identities that come in and out of focus at different times, often because of the social situations around us.

2. People have a readiness for solidarity

When people experience a sense of common fate, it generates feelings of common identity. These identities allow for solidarity, helping people to work together. Great leaders know how to harness this psychology, especially during times of change or crisis.

3. All reality is social reality

People naïvely assume they see the world for what it really is, but when you adopt an identity, it is as if you put on a pair of glasses that filters your experience of the world—what we call the “Lens of Identity”.

4. Tribalism is a myth

The idea that groups are inevitably discriminatory is incredibly common—but it’s …

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We’ll start with three lessons now and share two more next week. We also recorded an audio version for the Next Big Idea App if you want to listen to us talk about them.

1. We contain multitudes.

We are social psychologists who study how people’s identities affect how they perceive and understand the world, and how they make decisions. If we’re chatting with a stranger on a long flight, we might have them play a little game in which they complete the statement “I am ____” twenty times. Dom would say, “I am a professor, a father, a Canadian, a foodie, a bit shy, a fiction lover, etc.” while Jay would say, “I am a former hockey player, a New Yorker, a sports fan, a politics junkie, etc.”

Some of these things are individual in nature, characteristics…

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