Dr. Jamil Zaki

And again, you can see why this would be part of who we are, because we need to protect one another. We also tend to, by the way, not just think in a negatively biased way, but speak and share in a negatively biased way. In my lab, we had a study where people witnessed other groups of four playing an economic game where they could be selfish or they could be positive.

And again, you can see why this would be part of who we are, because we need to protect one another. We also tend to, by the way, not just think in a negatively biased way, but speak and share in a negatively biased way. In my lab, we had a study where people witnessed other groups of four playing an economic game where they could be selfish or they could be positive.

And again, you can see why this would be part of who we are, because we need to protect one another. We also tend to, by the way, not just think in a negatively biased way, but speak and share in a negatively biased way. In my lab, we had a study where people witnessed other groups of four playing an economic game where they could be selfish or they could be positive.

And we asked them, okay, we're going to ask you to share a piece of information about one of the people you were playing this game with for a future generation of participants. Who would you like to share about? And when somebody in a group acted in a selfish way, people shared information about them three times more often than when they acted in a generous way. So we gossip negatively.

And we asked them, okay, we're going to ask you to share a piece of information about one of the people you were playing this game with for a future generation of participants. Who would you like to share about? And when somebody in a group acted in a selfish way, people shared information about them three times more often than when they acted in a generous way. So we gossip negatively.

And we asked them, okay, we're going to ask you to share a piece of information about one of the people you were playing this game with for a future generation of participants. Who would you like to share about? And when somebody in a group acted in a selfish way, people shared information about them three times more often than when they acted in a generous way. So we gossip negatively.

And again, that gossip is pro-social. The idea is if there's somebody out there harming my community, of course, I'm gonna shout about them from the rooftops because I wanna protect my friends. It's a very noble instinct in a way.

And again, that gossip is pro-social. The idea is if there's somebody out there harming my community, of course, I'm gonna shout about them from the rooftops because I wanna protect my friends. It's a very noble instinct in a way.

And again, that gossip is pro-social. The idea is if there's somebody out there harming my community, of course, I'm gonna shout about them from the rooftops because I wanna protect my friends. It's a very noble instinct in a way.

But we further found that when we actually showed a new generation of participants the gossip that the first generation shared and we asked, hey, how generous and how selfish were people in that first generation? They vastly underestimated that group's generosity. Does that make sense?

But we further found that when we actually showed a new generation of participants the gossip that the first generation shared and we asked, hey, how generous and how selfish were people in that first generation? They vastly underestimated that group's generosity. Does that make sense?

But we further found that when we actually showed a new generation of participants the gossip that the first generation shared and we asked, hey, how generous and how selfish were people in that first generation? They vastly underestimated that group's generosity. Does that make sense?

In other words, in trying to protect our communities, we send highly biased information about who's in our community and give other people the wrong idea of who we are. And I see that unfolding on social media every day of my life. Every day that I'm on social media, I do try to take breaks. But when I'm on there, I see it. And to your question, what do we do here?

In other words, in trying to protect our communities, we send highly biased information about who's in our community and give other people the wrong idea of who we are. And I see that unfolding on social media every day of my life. Every day that I'm on social media, I do try to take breaks. But when I'm on there, I see it. And to your question, what do we do here?

In other words, in trying to protect our communities, we send highly biased information about who's in our community and give other people the wrong idea of who we are. And I see that unfolding on social media every day of my life. Every day that I'm on social media, I do try to take breaks. But when I'm on there, I see it. And to your question, what do we do here?

Why don't positive networks, positive information, why doesn't it proliferate more? I think it's because of these ingrained biases in our mind. And I understand that that can sound fatalistic. Because it's like, oh, maybe this is just who we are. But I don't think that we generally accept our instincts and biases as a life sentence, as destiny.

Why don't positive networks, positive information, why doesn't it proliferate more? I think it's because of these ingrained biases in our mind. And I understand that that can sound fatalistic. Because it's like, oh, maybe this is just who we are. But I don't think that we generally accept our instincts and biases as a life sentence, as destiny.

Why don't positive networks, positive information, why doesn't it proliferate more? I think it's because of these ingrained biases in our mind. And I understand that that can sound fatalistic. Because it's like, oh, maybe this is just who we are. But I don't think that we generally accept our instincts and biases as a life sentence, as destiny.

A lot of us, well, human beings in general, have the instinct to trust and be kinder towards people who look like us. versus people who don't, for instance, who share our racial makeup. None of us, I think, or a few of us sit here and say, well, I have that bias in my mind, so I guess I'm always going to be racially biased. We try to counteract those instincts.

A lot of us, well, human beings in general, have the instinct to trust and be kinder towards people who look like us. versus people who don't, for instance, who share our racial makeup. None of us, I think, or a few of us sit here and say, well, I have that bias in my mind, so I guess I'm always going to be racially biased. We try to counteract those instincts.