Us And Them
If you haven’t noticed, America is polarizing into two main factions. The trigger for this division is generally seen as being the election of Donald Trump in 2016, though, to me, this ‘us vs. them’ culture war started decades earlier. This “us and them” thinking is, of course, also called in-group favoritism and out-group bias. It is the result, apparently, of our natural tribalism, meaning we tend to quickly form distinct groups or “tribes” in various areas of life (politics, religion). Problems can arise as the polarization between in/out-groups increase.
Here is an excellent 12 minute video on the psychology of tribal, us and them thinking. It deals with what the research in the field of social psychology has discovered. It is from the You Are Not So Smart podcast which deals with critical thinking and cognitive biases (as the title, an apparent reference to the Dunning-Kruger effect, indicates). I recommend the podcast for those who want a good podcast on these issues (on iTunes as well).
Another outstanding piece on this us and them tribal thinking in the political sphere (political tribalism is stronger in most people than other potential dividers such as race) is the essay I recommended before, I Can Tolerate Anything Except the Out-Group.
An excellent source for the average person on critical thinking is Kevin deLaplante (YouTube channel). I also appreciate his focus on this cognitive bias as essential to know about when developing critical thinking skills. Here’s his video on this:
Kevin also has a Argument Ninja podcast dealing with critical thinking and argumentation.
.
Why This is Important (To Me)
This tribal, us and them, in-group/out-group bias is a central, perhaps the most important cognitive bias humans have to me. I was primarily thinking of this and confirmation bias when I said in my first post that one of my biggest pet peeves the last few years has been the prevalence of cognitive biases and the lack of critical thinking skills in most. Teaching about cognitive biases and developing critical thinking skills should be standard practice in middle and high school.
Usually, this tribalism is more entertaining or annoying than alarming or dangerous. However, with the increasing polarization and attempts to shut down the speech of one side – let alone the lack of effort for both sides to talk to each other to sort things out – the censorship, “cancel culture” and general demonization and dehumanizing are getting more concerning and frustrating for me.
Since I don’t believe in censorship of different views or “cancel culture,” I feel like I am being forced to choose sides more than I would like. The censorship, etc. needs to be opposed and stopped. Out of respect for all concerned. This shouldn’t be a controversial, polarizing issue, but it is becoming one.
- Perseverance Rover Lands On Mars
- Book Review: If the Universe Is Teaming With Aliens… Where is Everybody?