Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University

@MichaelMorrisCU

I conduct research on cognitive, social, and cultural psychology. I help organizations, communities and campaigns. Please see http://tribalbook.org

New York and around the world

Joined March 2024

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533Followers

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Dec 7

A video interview with McKinsey Insights mckinsey.com/featured-insig…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. Professor Michael Morris of Columbia University discusses his new book, “Tribal: How The Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together.”

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jul 18

A heart-warming evening recently in Beijing. My wife Tatjana and I joined my old pal Kaiping Peng for a sumptuous fusion cuisine banquet. Then he and I sat down for his famous podcast about psychology and life. (Kaiping has become a Dean at Tsinghua University but also the Andrew…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet image. A heart-warming evening recently in Beijing. My wife Tatjana and I joined my old pal Kaiping Peng for a sumptuous fusion cuisine banquet. Then he and I sat down for his famous podcast about psychology and life. (Kaiping has become a Dean at Tsinghua University but also the Andrew…

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jun 18

Sharing photos from a recent keynote talk in China at a conference on Sustainable Growth in the Digital Age. I shared insights from my book, TRIBAL, about the evolved cultural instincts that enabled early humans to start living in tribes and that still underpin solidarity and…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet image. Sharing photos from a recent keynote talk in China at a conference on Sustainable Growth in the Digital Age. I shared insights from my book, TRIBAL, about the evolved cultural instincts that enabled early humans to start living in tribes and that still underpin solidarity and…

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University Retweeted

Human Givens - Psychotherapy and Education@humangivens · Jun 20

Book Reviews - we have three books to recommend, all of which accord with and illuminate HG understandings.... Tribal, by cultural psychologist Michael Morris, is a fascinating account of how our tribal instincts, far from holding us back, can explain some of our greatest…

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jul 11

theignitedlife.net/p/when-belongi… Have you ever softened your truth just to fit in—then felt off afterward? In a recent conversation on The Ignited Life, John  R. Miles shared exactly this moment. Our Peer Instinct: the urge to align with our group is powerful—and often invisible…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. A personal reflection on tribal instincts, identity shifts, and the quiet courage of staying true

Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jul 10

brownalumnimagazine.com/articles/2025-… Brown Alumni Magazine interviewed me about TRIBAL Brown is famously a place that nourishes artsy, left-leaning, free spirits. I was ready for skepticism about the upside of tribalism. But I found receptive audience, perhaps because Brown itself…

Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jun 26

business.columbia.edu/global-family-… Belonging and tradition are a powerful forces in family enterprises. Drawing from my book Tribal, @Columbia_Biz explores how our innate instincts shape leadership and cohesion during times of change.

Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jun 24

brieffy.com/p/tribal-como-… Honored to see TRIBAL featured in the Mexican micro-learning site @Brieffy this week. Glad to see the book making its way to Spanish-speaking audiences. 🇪🇸🌎 The article highlights a core message of the book: that our cultural instincts—though often…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. Por Michael Morris.

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jun 16

Honored to share snapshots from the Award Ceremony last week in Xi'an. Deep gratitude to the global community of IACMR researchers for acknowledging my work. 🏆🌍

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet image. Honored to share snapshots from the Award Ceremony last week in Xi'an. Deep gratitude to the global community of IACMR researchers for acknowledging my work. 🏆🌍

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jun 11

linkedin.com/posts/gregsate… Grateful to see this thoughtful reflection from Greg Satell on the ideas in TRIBAL. His point about the importance of tribal signals in leadership couldn’t be more timely. We often think of tribalism as something to overcome—but the real challenge is…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. Humanity’s superpower is collective action. We collaborate in large numbers and in incredibly complex ways. That’s how we managed to hunt animals larger than ourselves, build shelters for protection,...

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jun 9

businessinsider.com/elon-musk-bill… Remember when Bill Gates was the 'meddling technocrat' that international development pundits complained about? That's changed in the time of DOGE as Gates has stepped into the breach to mitigate some of the damage wrought by far less patient…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. The onetime world's richest man just schooled today's world's richest man on the downsides of "disruption."

Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · Jun 5

web.cvent.com/event/dc776ca9… Excited to share that I’ll be speaking in Hong Kong on June 19 as part of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ Think Better Speaker Series — its first time ever in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 This is a kind of homecoming for me as I lived in Hong…

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · May 28

Hooding ceremony for my graduating adviser. Lucy starts now as a prof at @ucl in London!

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · May 23

youtube.com/watch?v=0DV6c_… Thanks to Focused Booklover for capturing the core of my book in this fast-paced, high-clarity video. If you’ve ever wondered why humans are wired for group identity—and how those instincts can build unity or division—this is 19 minutes well spent.

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · May 19

blog.mindvalley.com/michael-morris/ Grateful for the great minds at Mindvalley. com and their continuing dialogue with my book TRIBAL. Tatiana Azman shows how to recognize the three tribal instincts in our lives today: The peer instinct is all about fitting in. It’s why we copy the…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. Michael Morris unpacks why you’re wired to follow the crowd without realizing it. Find out what that means for your beliefs, habits, and relationships.

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · May 16

swiftpress.com/tribal-how-the… I’m honored to share that my book, TRIBAL: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together, has received the 2025 Ursula Gielen Global Psychology Book Award from the @APA. This recognition means a great deal to me—not just as a…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. This award is given every year by the International Psychology Division (52) of the American Psychological Association to the authors of the book that makes the most significant contribution to...

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Swift Press@_SwiftPress · May 15

We're delighted that #Tribal by @MichaelMorrisCU has won the 2025 Ursula Gielen Global Psychology Book Award. Find out more: shorturl.at/9iDpo

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · May 13

rizwanbuttar.com/tribal-how-the… I came across an eye-catching account of TRIBAL on a site by @rizwanbuttar, an entrepreneur, mountaineer, and photographer. Rizwan shares essays and book reviews that are rended in precise prose and captivating graphics. I don‘t know how he produces them…

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet card. Introduction Humans are wired for connection, but that same instinct can lead to division. In Tribal, Michael Morris explores how cultural instincts—our need for belonging, admiration, and traditio...

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Michael Morris, Professor at Columbia University@MichaelMorrisCU · May 11

Great to spend an afternoon with students in our Senior Executive Programs. There is a palpable electricity in the room when these groups of C-level executives from many countries and many industries come together.

MichaelMorrisCU's tweet image. Great to spend an afternoon with students in our Senior Executive Programs. There is a palpable electricity in the room when these groups of C-level executives from many countries and many industries come together.