Jul 15, 2026 · 30 min · 8 segments
##### July 15, 2026 * * * # The Remarkable Benefits of Diversity Even if you aren’t ideologically opposed to segregation in schools, research shows that it doesn’t make sense for practical reasons…
Alfie KohnHost
So one thing we humans have in common is, ironically, a tendency to notice what we don't have in common with everybody else.
We start out in life by categorizing people, even if we don't do it consciously, um, identifying with those who are or seem similar to us, which unfortunately leads to stereotyping of people in the out group.
Fascinating research on this, which is very reassuring for those who just write off, uh, this, this preference to human nature.
First, babies look longer at faces of their own race, but, and I'm gonna quote here a research review in the journal Psychological Science, "The preference for own race faces was observed only in infants living in predominantly homogeneous own race environments, and not in infants who experienced intensive cross-race exposure." Second example of what the research has to say that's reassuring.
Kids often prefer to socialize with those they regard as similar to themselves, but those who attended diverse preschools were more likely to have friends of different ethnic backgrounds by the time they were in first grade.
And then that in turn led them to show less racial bias by the time they were in third grade.
And heterogeneous friendships are not only valuable, I think, in their own right, but they in turn tend to reduce prejudice according to other studies.
When more immigrants come into a country, it often leads, as we have certainly seen, to ugly prejudice, to, uh, support for racist political movements, but it's not inevitable, again.
A recent series of studies that was done across many different countries found, I'll, I'll quote it, "Inclusive integration policies that render immigrants more equal to natives," meaning that the new arrivals are given the same legal, political, social, economic rights as the existing citizens, "reduce xenophobia," meaning anti-immigrant prejudice, "among the natives." So the reactions that people have towards seeming to prefer those who are like themselves and become prejudiced against, suspicious of, hostile to those who are unlike themselves is not just a built-in fact of human life.
It is a reflection of the extent to which people are exposed to different circumstances where it's more heterogeneous.
He said, "There's nothing inherent in any distinction between human beings that compels us to see others as they." In other words, you can construct cultural systems, legal systems, educational systems to overcome tribalism.
So one thing we humans have in common is, ironically, a tendency to notice what we don't have in common with everybody else.
We start out in life by categorizing people, even if we don't do it consciously, um, identifying with those who are or seem similar to us, which unfortunately leads to stereotyping of people in the out group.
Fascinating research on this, which is very reassuring for those who just write off, uh, this, this preference to human nature.
First, babies look longer at faces of their own race, but, and I'm gonna quote here a research review in the journal Psychological Science, "The preference for own race faces was observed only in infants living in predominantly homogeneous own race environments, and not in infants who experienced intensive cross-race exposure." Second example of what the research has to say that's reassuring.
Kids often prefer to socialize with those they regard as similar to themselves, but those who attended diverse preschools were more likely to have friends of different ethnic backgrounds by the time they were in first grade.
And then that in turn led them to show less racial bias by the time they were in third grade.
And heterogeneous friendships are not only valuable, I think, in their own right, but they in turn tend to reduce prejudice according to other studies.
When more immigrants come into a country, it often leads, as we have certainly seen, to ugly prejudice, to, uh, support for racist political movements, but it's not inevitable, again.
A recent series of studies that was done across many different countries found, I'll, I'll quote it, "Inclusive integration policies that render immigrants more equal to natives," meaning that the new arrivals are given the same legal, political, social, economic rights as the existing citizens, "reduce xenophobia," meaning anti-immigrant prejudice, "among the natives." So the reactions that people have towards seeming to prefer those who are like themselves and become prejudiced against, suspicious of, hostile to those who are unlike themselves is not just a built-in fact of human life.
It is a reflection of the extent to which people are exposed to different circumstances where it's more heterogeneous.
He said, "There's nothing inherent in any distinction between human beings that compels us to see others as they." In other words, you can construct cultural systems, legal systems, educational systems to overcome tribalism.
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