Explore the psychology of social identity and ingroup bias and discover the conditions that cause people to turn against one another.



One day a pair of brothers working together as shoemakers had an explosive fight that split the family business in two. Over the coming years, this disagreement divided their town— residents and businesses chose sides. Could such a serious divide really be about shoes? Doesn’t it take more significant differences to produce this degree of conflict? Jay Van Bavel and Dominic Packer investigate.

Lesson by Jay Van Bavel and Dominic Packer, directed by Arvind Singh Jeena, Totem Creative.

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