A review by mccarthygirl25
Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides by Geoffrey L. Cohen
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
This book surprised me. I got it on a Goodreads Giveaway in hopes of reading more psychology books and it was that but also very philosophical. Belonging made me realize why I love going to Taylor Swift concerts or going to School Psychology conferences. Those are my people, those people make me feel seen. The author also talks about the political divide we currently are in right now. How the fundamental attribution error can overly simplify our understanding of others. For example, you committed a crime so you must lack character. We should realize how little we understand other peoples circumstances. For example, I think if people realized there are more factors in a person’s life then just being “lazy” on why they may be lower SES. I think it all goes back to empathy and there’s not a lot of empathy in a patriarchal society. I really do believe that if people had more experiences with people that weren’t like them, there would be more peace in the world. It also talks about belonging on a college campus and how they aren’t always welcoming to minority students. It talks about research on how white college students may not have the same feeling of belonging that minority students do because in the past minority students weren’t welcome. This also includes women. For example, I remember reading that at one time Harvard lecture halls didn’t even have a ladies bathroom. This book really focuses on how important social policy and systematic change are to addressing the crisis of belonging.
“His views had changed not because of those arguments, though, but because he had come to identify with a group whose members he cared about and that advocated, and lived by norms of tolerance. He was also affirmed by those in the group, which, as we’ll see, is a current list for opening peoples minds” pg 305
“If we want to build bridges across partisan divides, we must find ways to alleviate the sense of threat to people sense of belonging that’s triggered by considering opposing views” pg 305
“His views had changed not because of those arguments, though, but because he had come to identify with a group whose members he cared about and that advocated, and lived by norms of tolerance. He was also affirmed by those in the group, which, as we’ll see, is a current list for opening peoples minds” pg 305
“If we want to build bridges across partisan divides, we must find ways to alleviate the sense of threat to people sense of belonging that’s triggered by considering opposing views” pg 305