Lasana Harris - Flexible Social Cognition

In this episode, Wendy speaks with social neuroscientist Lasana Harris about his work on flexible social cognition—the variable ways that we perceive others. This conversation covers many topics, including: his accidental entry into psychology; what flexible social cognition is; schemas and predictions about others' minds; dehumanization and why we do it; the role of propaganda and implications for the war in Ukraine; how these processes scale up from individuals to societies; bias and prejudice, and the key roles of threat and safety; the inseparability of cognition and emotion; how contemplative practice might help reduce dehumanization; information overload and echo chambers, and what to do about them; and looking at the concept of self to change social bias. Full show notes and resources