Dr. Cottone explores the ideas of tribalism and how it offers benefits and drawbacks around human connection. He emphasizes how identifying with a group can help people connect, survive, and have positive feelings, while having the potential to harm others.
Guest:
John G. Cottone, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry within the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. His research—on psychotherapy outcome, executive functioning and the neurological correlates of schizophrenia—has been published in acclaimed peer-reviewed journals, including Archives of General Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. He has a youtube channel called MindCube 3D. He has contributed to Psychology Today, The New York Times, and The Washington Post and is the author of several books included: Who Are You? Essential Questions for Hitchhikers on the Road of Truth and Z-score: How a Statistic Used in Psychology Will Revolutionize Baseball.

To learn more about Dr. Cottone, please visit:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-cube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcuWgaynspx77K4vavXIRfw
[email protected]

Timestamps:
5:00 – Personal Story – What Brought Dr. Cottone into Exploring Tribalism
8:00 – Personal Story – Stepping Outside Tribes
8:55 – Book – Sapiens : a brief history of humankind (Harari, 2014)
9:30 – Reference – Tribalism: How to Be a Part of the Solution, Not the Problem (Cottone, 2025)
10:20 – Concept – Impact of Critiquing Your Own Tribe (Truthtellers and Traitors)
12:00 – Research – ‘They Saw a Protest’: Cognitive Illiberalism and the Speech-Conduct Distinction (Kanahan et al., 2011)
13:50 – Concept – Our Fist Tribe is Our Family
17:30 – Concept – Tribalism & Resources/Survival
17:47 – Research – Threat and the Rise of Fear Politics and Tribalism (Hobfoll, 2019)
19:00 – Concept – What Can Tribalism Look Like Day to Day?
22:10 – Research – Being part of a group can create positive feelings (Research)
23:40 – Benefit – You Can Make Connections with Other People in New Places
26:30 – Benefit – Decrease Loneliness, Increased Feelings of Empowerment
28:00 – Concept – Positive Benefits of Tribalism
29:50 – Concept – Options to Act on the Excesses of Your Tribe
34:00 – Dangers – Turning a Blind Eye to Your Tribe (Denial)
37:00 – Concept – How to Sit with Cognitive Dissonance from Your Tribe
42:30 – Student Strategies – Being Flexible to Making New Connections
51:30 – Story – Story of Shibboleth & Tribalism
54:50 – Parent Strategies – Emphasize Time and Perspective
58:00 – Research – Social connection as a key target for youth mental health (Birrell et al., 2025)
64:00 – Emotional Practice – Meditation & Spirituality

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/
DJsNeverEndingStory: https://djsneverendingstory.bandcamp.com/

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast