The brain? It has a flexible social perception. In interactions with people from different ethnic groups, it tends to respond more inclusively when a shared national identity is made salient. A study, by the University of Trento, Italy, and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sheds light on the underlying neural mechanisms.

The findings help to better understand the relationship between ethnic and national identity and have implications for improving intergroup relations in multicultural societies.

The study shows that the brain’s representation of social boundaries can rapidly reorganize in response to context. The research team suggests that this neural flexibility underlies the human ability to navigate complex social environments characterized by multiple and interconnected group identities.