Geoffrey Cohen

About Geoffry: Geoffrey Cohen is a social psychologist who conducts research on the importance of social belonging in a variety of arenas, including school, work, healthcare settings, and politics and negotiation. He also has a long-standing interest in designing brief but psychologically powerful interventions that help to remedy pressing social problems.

Talk title: Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides

This talk will describe research on the causes and consequences of a sense of social belonging in a variety of social contexts, including schools, workplaces, politics, and health settings. I will review and synthesize the practices and principles that arise out of research on “wise interventions”- theory-driven and psychologically impactful strategies to bolster belonging and improve outcomes. Though brief, these interventions can have large and lasting impacts on trajectories, lessening achievement gaps, improving health, and bridging political divides.