Identity Formation

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Identity Formation

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A black-and-white photo of a child’s profile with a torn section revealing a technical blueprint illustration over the head area.
1hr 42mins
Full Interview
How early attachment scars can impact us forever
“Why would adding shame and blame help me improve my behavior?”
Becky Kennedy
Person with long hair, wearing a brown blazer, surrounded by text bubbles labeled "Narrative," "Negativity Bias," and "Confirmation Bias." Arrows connect the bubbles.
6mins
Perception Box
A neuroscientist’s guide to building a more positive reality
We’re all assigned a label at some point in our lives. You might be the smart one, the creative one or the lazy one. But is that designation really an […]
Nicole Vignola
Unlikely Collaborators
A solitary figure is suspended in midair above a textured ground, set against a yellow background.
7mins
The Well
The incredible powers of transcendent thinking, explained by a neuroscientist
Finding meaning isn’t just personally fulfilling — it’s critical to our brain’s development, explains USC neuroscientist.
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
A mosaic of 36 square tiles, each showing a different fragment of various human faces, combined to create a composite image of diverse facial features.
12mins
The Big Think Interview
Yascha Mounk: The rise of the identity ideology—and why I think it spells trouble
Is “identity synthesis” the remedy for racial injustice? This political scientist says no.
Yascha Mounk
A man in a black shirt with speech bubbles that say trauma comics art.
6mins
Perception Box
Comics, trauma and art: the origin story of Jim Lee
Jim Lee, President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics, tells us how his childhood obsession with Superman changed his life.
Jim Lee
Unlikely Collaborators
A faint, grayscale image of a classical statue’s face with soft features and minimal details visible against a plain background.
4mins
The Well
The science of the “self”
How do “you” emerge from a collection of cells? A biologist explains.
Michael Levin
Close-up of a painted eye on a textured surface, featuring green, white, black, and a small area of orange.
5mins
The Well
Why we want the wrong things
Humans, like animals, are driven by instincts. But we also have wants. Here’s what that means for our lives.
Luke Burgis
8mins
The Big Think Interview
Anthropologist debunks Darwin’s most abused idea
He lived with a tribe of hunter-gatherers to witness how an ancient culture survives one of the most brutal climates on Earth. His learnings may surprise you.
James Suzman
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