Cognitive Drivers of Resistance to Demographic and Societal Change
Accelerating demographic, economic, and societal change has created formidable political problems throughout the developed world. What the world is experiencing now, furthermore, may be just a warm-up for even more pronounced problems likely to result from changes brought on by the climate crisis, technological transformation, and differential population growth across different regions of the world. This talk will examine a few simple cognitive mechanisms that add fuel to the fire by stoking fear, prompting resentment, exacerbating polarization, and interfering with the development of productive policies to deal with the threats the world is facing.