The Psychology Behind Political Division

Every month, Third Thursdays with Arizona Talks gathers engaged Arizonans for an evening of candid conversation about the issues shaping our state. Not speeches, not panels. Discussions you can actually take part in.

You've felt it. The suspicion across political lines, the sorting, the sense that the other side isn't just wrong but alien. Where does that come from, and how much of it is by design?

We're joined this month by Dr. Steven Neuberg, Foundation Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. He's spent decades researching the evolutionary and social roots of prejudice and intergroup conflict. He'll walk us through what psychology actually says about why American political life feels the way it does right now.

We'll look at the forces that drive how we sort each other, and at how parties, advocacy groups, consultants, and campaigns have learned to map those instincts to shape opinion and mobilize voters.