The 404 Media Podcast How Identity Literally Changes What You See (with Samuel Bagg)
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Feb 2, 2026 
Samuel Bagg, assistant professor of political science who studies social identity and democratic theory, explains how group belonging shapes what people notice and trust. He reviews experiments showing minimal cues change perception. They discuss which institutions curb bias, why facts alone fail, and the ethics and designs for building healthier collective identities.
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Identity Shapes Perception And Knowledge
- Social identities are group affiliations that shape perception, memory, and trust even for newly assigned groups.
- Samuel Bagg argues these identities inevitably color what we literally see and believe about the world.
Source Cues Alter Memory And Trust
- Experiments show people trust and recall information differently when a source is labeled as belonging to an in-group.
- Bagg cites survey experiments and neuroimaging linking identity cues to memory and trust.
Institutions Correct Individual Biases
- Institutions reduce individual bias through procedures, norms, and responsiveness to correction.
- Bagg warns alternative ecosystems succeed when they reject those corrective norms and audiences who disregard corrections.
