This book investigates the psychological mechanisms behind shared reality and how the human need to align our subjective experiences with others functions as both a social glue and a source of division. E. Tory Higgins, a prominent social psychologist, synthesizes decades of research to explain how the motivation to share our inner states with others shapes our cognition, identity, and social behavior. By examining the developmental trajectory of shared reality from infancy through adulthood, the author provides a framework for understanding how we construct a common world and the consequences when that alignment fails.

Experts in social psychology recognize this work as a comprehensive synthesis of Higgins's long-standing research on motivation and social cognition. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is best suited for students and professionals interested in the foundational theories of human connection.