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POST-DOC
PHILIP PARNAMETS - NYU Social Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow
Philip completed his PhD in cognitive science at Lund University and has spent two years as a postdoc with the Emotion Lab at Karolinska Institutet. His research is grounded in a broad interest in the cognitive and computational mechanisms underlying preference change, decision making and learning, especially in the moral domain. In the Social Identity and Morality lab his work focuses on dynamic models of social learning about moral agents and of moral choices generally. Philip spends his spare time creating, listening or dancing to electronic music.
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RESEARCH
WHAT DIVIDES US AND WHAT UNITES US?
WHAT DIVIDES US AND WHAT UNITES US?
For the past two decades, our research has examined how the groups we identify with influence our thoughts, behaviors, and emotions, shaping both our personal experiences and the societies we live in. Grounded in the understanding that our sense of self and the world is shaped by our social environment, we investigate how people form and navigate identities with groups–such as political parties, universities, and nations–and how these identities affect thought and behavior in both real-world and digital contexts. Our program of research and social identity approach is covered in more depth here and in Jay’s book, The Power of Us.
RESEARCH AREAS
At the Center for Conflict and Cooperation, we apply a social identity approach to understand the roots and consequences of intergroup conflict and cooperation. Specifically, we study how group identities shape social dynamics, including polarization, intergroup tension, prejudice, and ideological extremism, as well as the conditions that foster shared understanding and cooperation. We examine how these forces intersect with social media, misinformation, and AI technology, and explore their implications for democracy, public health, climate change, and psychological well-being around the globe.
Conflict and Polarization
While social conflict is essential for a flourishing society–facilitating innovation, accountability, and social change–extreme division can erode trust, cooperation, and democracy itself. In recent years, many countries, including the U.S., have seen a rise in unproductive and harmful social division, with outgroup hate, empathy gaps, and false polarization deepening societal fractures worldwide.
Read about our research
Cooperation and Cohesion
One of the most important features of groups is how they shape moral concerns and help us construct a shared sense of reality. Whether in politics, religion, organizations, or nations, group members develop common understandings that shape their worldview and judgments of right and wrong.
Read about our research
Misinformation and Belief in the Digital Age
In an increasingly polarized information landscape, there is growing division over what is true, what is false, and how to interpret the world around us. The spread of misinformation is widely regarded as one of the greatest threats to societies, undermining democratic processes, public health, and efforts to combat climate change.
Read about our research
GLOBAL RESEARCH NETWORK
Our global research network includes over 100 scientists from over 70 countries. In the past 5 years, we have conducted studies in 76 countries.
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CONFLICT AND POLARIZATION
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While social conflict is essential for a flourishing society–facilitating innovation, accountability, and social change–extreme division can erode trust, cooperation, and democracy itself. In recent years, many countries, including the U.S., have seen a rise in unproductive and harmful social division, with outgroup hate, empathy gaps, and false polarization deepening societal fractures worldwide. Though often framed through the lens of political parties, polarization extends beyond politics, shaping tensions between ethnic, racial, religious, sectarian, and national groups. Our tendency to categorize and judge others based on group identity emerges astonishingly early in childhood (Leshin et al., 2022; Yudkin, Van Bavel, & Rhodes, 2022) and remains a defining feature of social life across cultures and ages (Van Bavel et al., 2022). While group loyalty fosters belonging and prosocial behavior (Hackel et al., 2017), it can also fuel bias, discrimination, and division. Affective polarization—animosity toward an outgroup—is linked to violence, intolerance, and exclusion. Social media may be intensifying these divisions by amplifying content that expresses moral outrage, negativity, and outgroup animosity (Brady et al., 2017; Rathje et al., 2021; Robertson et al., 2024a). Our analyses of millions of online content find that content including moral outrage and outgroup derogation spreads more easily (Brady et al., 2017; Rathje et al., 2021), monopolizes our attention (Brady, Gantman, & Van Bavel, 2020; Robertson et al., 2023), and reinforces polarization and echo chambers (Brady et al., 2017; Brady et al., under revision). Social media not only skews what we see and how we interact online, but it also affects how we navigate the real world, for instance, by creating an illusion that opposing groups are more extreme and different than they actually are—a phenomenon known as false polarization (Robertson et al., 2024b). Fortunately, polarization is not inevitable. Most people don’t want to live in a divided society. They would prefer to see more positive, accurate, and educational content gain traction online (Rathje et al., 2023) and are generally drawn to conversations that foster understanding and common ground (Reinero et al., 2021). By leveraging insights from social psychology and related disciplines, we can develop strategies to reduce polarization, bridge divides, and promote healthier discourse—both online and offline.
COOPERATION AND COHESION
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One of the most important features of groups is how they shape moral concerns and help us construct a shared sense of reality. Whether in politics, religion, organizations, or nations, group members develop common understandings that shape their worldview and judgments of right and wrong. Crucially, such basic social identity processes can be harnessed to reduce conflict and foster cohesion and cooperation instead. Strong group ties can drive prosocial and altruistic behavior (Gill et al., 2013; Hackel et al., 2017), spark collective action (Van Bavel & Packer, 2021), and enhance teamwork and performance—which can be observed even at the neural level (Reinero et al., 2021; Van Bavel et al., 2008; 2022). Encouraging a more inclusive sense of identity—where individuals see themselves as sharing a common identity or purpose with outgroup members— is amongst the most effective strategies to mitigate polarization, implicit bias, discrimination, hostility, and empathy gaps (Cikara et al., 2014; Van Bavel & Cunningham, 2008; Van Bavel et al., 2009; Voelkel et al., 2024). Additionally, exposure to cooperative group norms (Van Bavel et al., 2022) increases the perceived value of collaboration, making individuals more willing to compromise and work together. Exchanging personal experiences with outgroup members can also further bridge social divides (Van Bavel et al., 2021). With the accessibility of generative intelligence, there are new risks but also great opportunities to leverage technology to increase harmony. For instance, in an ongoing project, we examine whether genAI can be a tool to improve civic discourse and participation in democratic processes (Globig et al., in progress). By shaping identities and social norms, groups not only influence how we see the world but also determine whether we work together or grow apart.
MISINFORMATION AND BELIEF IN THE DIGITAL AGE
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In an increasingly polarized information landscape, there is growing division over what is true, what is false, and how to interpret the world around us. The spread of misinformation is widely regarded as one of the greatest threats to societies, undermining democratic processes, public health, and efforts to combat climate change. Social context and identity play a crucial role in shaping how people form beliefs, interpret information, and develop opinions about critical issues such climate change (Spampatti et al., 2024), new technologies (Globig et al., in progress) and public health (Van Bavel et al., 2020). Our Identity-Based Model of Belief (Van Bavel et al., 2024) lays out the psychological and neural pathways underlying people’s motivations to accept (or reject) information based on its alignment with their social identities—whether those identities are partisan (Pereira et al., 2021), national (Sternisko et al., 2023), or religious. In our research, we find that when affirming a salient identity provides a sense of belonging or social status, individuals are more likely to believe and share (mis)information that supports that identity, regardless of its factual accuracy (Rathje et al., 2023; Sternisko et al., 2020). Similarly, people tend to adopt beliefs that align with those of their social networks and communities, where shared values and perspectives reinforce collective worldviews (Pretus et al., 2023; Van Bavel et al., 2020). Our research suggests that these processes are further amplified by the unique dynamics of social media, where economic incentives, biased algorithms, and curated information diets compound people’s exposure to and motivation for engaging with misinformation (Rathje et al., in progress; Rathje et al., 2024; Rathje et al., 2021; Robertson et al., 2024b). The good news is, however, that even relatively minor changes to social media platform design—such as allowing users to flag or label misleading content—can significantly reduce the spread of false and harmful content (Pretus et al., 2024; Robertson et al., 2024a).
Many thanks to our generous sponsors & funders!
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