Tribal, Michael Morris
Tribal, Michael Morris
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Tribal
How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together

Author: Michael Morris

Narrator: Michael Morris

Unabridged: 9 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 10/01/2024


Synopsis

SHORTLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND SCHRODERS BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR

American Psychological Association's Ursula Gielen Global Psychology Book Award Winner • PROSE Award Finalist • Zócalo Book Prize Finalist

A revelatory, paradigm-shifting work from a renowned Columbia professor and “one of the great social and cultural psychologists” (Amy Cuddy) that demystifies our tribal instincts and shows us how to use them to create positive change.

Tribalism is our most misunderstood buzzword. We’ve all heard pundits bemoan its rise, and it’s been blamed for everything from political polarization to workplace discrimination. But as acclaimed cultural psychologist and Columbia professor Michael Morris argues, our tribal instincts are humanity’s secret weapon. 

Ours is the only species that lives in tribes: groups glued together by their distinctive cultures that can grow to a scale far beyond clans and bands. Morris argues that our psychology is wired by evolution in three distinctive ways. First, the peer instinct to conform to what most people do. Second, the hero instinct to give to the group and emulate the most respected. And third, the ancestor instinct to follow the ways of prior generations. These tribal instincts enable us to share knowledge and goals and work as a team to transmit the accumulated pool of cultural knowledge onward to the next generation. 

Countries, churches, political parties, and companies are tribes, and tribal instincts explain our loyalties to them and the hidden ways that they affect our thoughts, actions, and identities. Rather than deriding tribal impulses for their irrationality, we can recognize them as powerful levers that elevate performance, heal rifts, and set off shockwaves of cultural change.

Weaving together deep research, current and historical events, and stories from business and politics, Morris cuts across conventional wisdom to completely reframe how we think about our tribes. Bracing and hopeful, Tribal unlocks the deepest secrets of our psychology and gives us the tools to manage our misunderstood superpower.

About The Author

Michael Morris works as a cultural psychologist at Columbia University in its graduate Business School and its Department of Psychology. Previously he taught for a decade at Stanford University. Morris received his PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan after earning undergraduate degrees in cognitive science and English literature at Brown University. His research has discovered cultural influences on styles of cognition, communication, and collaboration, as well as situational factors that cue them and social experiences that shift them. Outside of academia, Professor Morris advises corporations, government agencies, NGOs, and political campaigns about culture-related issues. He lives in New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Richard on November 02, 2024

In a fresh approach to a well-seasoned question, the author has delivered a well-written and easily-navigated book that warrants space in your home library. Culture encompasses the collective mindset and daily practices of a society or its parts from which institutions ( in the Douglass North sense......more

Goodreads review by James on October 16, 2024

"Tribal" by Michael Morris offers a compelling exploration of our inherent need for belonging, cleverly revealing how our desire to see ourselves as free thinkers often masks our tribal instincts. As a former student turned researcher, I appreciated how Morris lays bare the irony: we pride ourselves......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on March 01, 2025

I don’t think I learnt anything from reading this apart from the derivation of the expression ‘drinking the Kool aid’ which comes from a real life spiritual guru who killed his young disciples by giving them arsenic dissolved in a Kool Aid type drink! Nearly all the examples in the book are about sp......more

Goodreads review by Bob on October 06, 2024

In his new book, Tribal, Michael Morris digs deep, drawing from leadership lessons of global corporations, social science research, political history, and even the sports pages to illustrate a conceptual framework showing both why we’ve become so tribal as a society, and what to do about it. Along th......more

Goodreads review by Jung on March 06, 2025

The book "Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together" by Michael Morris explores how cultural instincts shape both division and unity in human societies. It delves into why people form tight-knit groups, rally around shared beliefs, and defend traditions, driven by......more


Quotes

PRAISE FOR TRIBAL

“A deep, timely and optimistic look at how to harness our innate tribal instincts to positive effect, rather than allowing them to divide. A fount of valuable lessons on human behavior for political leaders and chief executives.”
— Andrew Hill, Financial Time’s Best Business Books of 2024

"An anthropologist examines ways in which ingrained notions of belonging and difference can be put to work for the good…useful lessons on cultural accommodation and coexistence."
Kirkus

“A riveting read that will challenge you to rethink your core beliefs.” 
— Adam Grant, bestselling author of Hidden Potential, host of Re:Thinking, and Wharton Professor 
 
“Provocative, useful idea. Absolutely spot-on, timely message.”  
— Chip Heath, author of The Power of Moments and Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford  
 
Tribal challenges the conventional wisdom around culture and offers a vision for collective change that can bring about a better future for all of us.” 
— Arianna Huffington, author of Thrive and founder of HuffingtonPost
 
“There is no future, good or bad, without tribalism. This eye-opening book will change the way you think about why we behave the way we do.” 
— Scott Galloway, author of The Algebra of Wealth, Professor of Marketing, NYU 
 
"Brilliantly, Michael Morris flips the script on the impact of tribalism in modern life.”  
— Robert Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-suasion, Professor of Psychology, Arizona State 
 
“This original book lays bare the facts about our tribal natures and shows how the deeply human tendencies that have brought us to the precipice of disaster might still be used to save us. Penetrating, illuminating, and not to be missed!” 
— Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, Professor of Psychology, Harvard 
 
“You’ll tear through it and realize that you’ve learned something that changes your understanding of human nature, nurture, and their fascinating interplay.” 
— Amy Cuddy, author of Presence, Professor, Harvard Business School 
 
"An extremely useful guide to how cultures – from informal clubs to nation states – operate and how they can be changed." 
— Richard Nisbett, author of The Geography of Thought, founder of the Culture and Cognition Program, University of Michigan 
 
"A consummate storyteller and astute observer, Michael Morris has written a masterpiece.” 
— Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness, Professor of Psychology, UC-Riverside