Episode Details

Why do people sometimes see another group’s struggle as connected to their own and other times see that same group as a competitor?

In this episode, I sit down with political psychologist Dr. Efrén Pérez, Professor of Political Science and Psychology at UCLA, to explore the psychology of race, identity, political solidarity, and coalition-building.

We talk about racial and ethnic groups as if shared experiences naturally translate into shared politics. But Dr. Pérez’s research shows a much more complicated picture. Black, Latino, Asian American, and other communities contain substantial political and psychological diversity, and solidarity between groups is neither automatic nor inevitable.

Instead, we explore the psychological processes that can expand our sense of “us.”

One of the ideas I kept coming back to throughout our conversation is that our identities can be remarkably stable while the boundaries of the groups we identify with can still expand.

The larger psychological question may be this:

How do we learn to make the circle of “us” bigger without erasing the differences within it?

Dr. Efrén Pérez is a Professor of Political Science and Psychology at UCLA and a leading scholar in political psychology. His research examines racial and ethnic politics, group identity, interminority relations, political cognition, language, and public opinion. He directs UCLA’s Race, Ethnicity, Politics & Society (REPS) Lab and co-directs its Intergroup Relations Lab.

Learn more about Dr. Pérez:
Efrén Pérez — Official Website
UCLA Faculty Profile
Race, Ethnicity, Politics & Society (REPS) Lab
Dr. Pérez’s Publications

Follow @ego.over.id for more conversations exploring the psychology behind how we think, behave, and make sense of ourselves and the world around us.