Uploaded November 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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A clip from my appearance on the Living and Leading with Emotional Intelligence podcast, with host Brittney-Nichole Connor-Savarda.

Topics discussed:
- How Brittney-Nichole came to be familiar with my work
- Definitions of tribalism and tribal psychology
- The evolutionary roots of tribal psychology; positive and negative aspects of tribalism
- Definition of polarization, and the effects of increasing polarization
- Why certain kinds of truth-seeking communication can only happen in the interstitial spaces between ideologically charged tribal zones
- Why "complexity is unstable" within polarized groups
- Strategies for improving our emotional intelligence by learning more about, and embracing, our tribal psychology
- Why "character is contextual", and how we can take advantage of this fact for personal growth
- Mental models for understanding human nature and social change, and cultivating emotional intelligence

Full interview on Brittney-Nichole's channel: youtu.be/BMPPPw7zeVU

This interview is also available on my Argument Ninja podcast:
kevindelaplante.com/038-tribal-literacy-and-emotional-intelligence

Brittney-Nichole's book, The EQ Deficiency:
amzn.to/2JoPDGu

More clips from this interview:

What is tribal psychology? (1/7)
youtu.be/DDQLJ-NXhj8

The Evolution of Tribalism (2/7)
youtu.be/ywNPMUNZOWQ

Pathological Tribalism (3/7)
youtu.be/T5QTcrktOU8

Within Polarized Tribes, Complexity is Unstable (4/7)
youtu.be/PwGZrW5K97k

Character is Contextual (5/7)
youtu.be/Eq-6Sn2gJrE

Social Change Has Causes at Multiple Levels (6/7)
youtu.be/4Xd9Mz-FnxE

A Learning Model for Personal Growth (7/7)
youtu.be/Zy-M0Oiqb78