1st Edition
The Tribal Mind and the Psychology of Collectivism
Tribalism is a key evolutionary feature of humans, and the recent growth in tribal polarisation presents a serious challenge to our highly individualistic civilisation. This fascinating book examines the psychological origins and consequences of tribalism both in our private and in our public lives.
The chapters explore how social, evolutionary, biological, and cognitive factors shape our tribal habits, featuring contributions from eminent international researchers. The chapters review the nature and origins of tribalism, the psychological mechanisms promoting tribalism, how tribal narratives can distort rationality and perceptions of reality, and the role of tribalism in politics and public affairs. The contributions investigate how insecurity, the search for meaning and attachment, victimhood, grievance, and cognitive shortcomings can facilitate tribal bonding and how such groups once formed can foster conflict, hatred, and irrational behaviours. The book suggests that the survival of our extremely successful civilisation based on the enlightenment values of liberty and individualism may well depend on our ability to understand and manage the human evolutionary propensity for tribalism.
The book will be of great interest to students and researchers in psychology, sociology, and other disciplines of behavioural and social sciences, as well as all readers who seek to understand one of the most intriguing issues that shape human social life.
01 | The Tribal Mind and the Psychology of Collective Delusions
By Joseph P. Forgas
Part One: The Nature and Origins of Tribalism
02 | An Attachment Perspective on the Tribal Mind: Secure and Insecure Forms of Tribalism
By Mario Mikulincer and Phillip R. Shaver
03 | A Terror Management Theory Perspective on Tribalism
By Tom Pyszczynski and Joseph A. Wagoner
04 | Inductive Reasoning can Facilitate Tribalism
By Joachim I. Krueger
05 | The Birthing, Nurturing, and Evolution of Dystopian Groups
By William D. Crano and Amber M. Gaffney
Part Two: Psychological Mechanisms of Tribalism
06 | Tribes of Victims: How Feelings of Victimhood Drive Moral Conflict
By Kurt Gray, Carlos D. Rebollar, and Will Blakey
07 | Bright sides of tribal exaggeration: Collective narcissism and tribal attitudes towards equality
By Agnieszka Golec de Zavala
08 | Protecting the Tribe from Dominant Leaders
By Richard Ronay
09 | Political tribalism, polarization, and the motivated rejection of science
By Peter Kreko
Part Three: How Tribal Narratives Dominate Rationality and Reality
10 | Psychology of Tribal Narratives
By Daniel Bar-Tal
11 | Tribalism in Scientific Practice: On the Failure to Erase Collective Misbeliefs in Science
By Klaus Fiedler
12 | The New Book Burners: Academic Tribalism
By Lee Jussim, Nathan Honeycutt, Akeela Careem, Nathanial Bork, Danica Finkelstein, Sonia Yanovsky, and Joel Finkelstein
13 | The power of tribal narratives: Understanding the psychological appeal of Marxism
By Joseph P. Forgas
Part Four: The Role of Tribalism in Politics and Public Life
14 | Tribal Hostility in Political Conflict
By Roy F. Baumeister
15 | Use It and Lose It: Exerting Scientific Authority for Political Ends Undermines Scientific Authority
By Cory J. Clark
16 | Burying the Hatchet: Tribalism is Essential to Peacemaking
By Gilad Hirschberger and Baillie Shuster
17 | Is Political Identification a Key for Political Animosity?
By Mark J. Brandt, Shree Vallabha and Abigail L. Cassario
Biography
Joseph P. Forgas is Scientia Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He received his DPhil and DSc from the University of Oxford, and his research focuses on affective influences on social cognition and behaviour. He has published more than 30 books and 300 papers, and for his work, he received the Order of Australia and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, as well as a number of academic fellowships and honours.
