To the fringe and back : violent extremism and the psychology of deviance

doi:10.1037/amp0000091

To the fringe and back : violent extremism and the psychology of deviance

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To the fringe and back : violent extremism and the psychology of deviance

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punktacja MEiN [2017 A]: 45

title:	To the fringe and back : violent extremism and the psychology of deviance
author:	Kruglanski Arie W., Jaśko Katarzyna , Chernikova Marina, Dugas Michelle, Webber David
journal title:	American Psychologist
volume:	72
issue:	3
date of publication :	2017
pages:	217-230
ISSN:	0003-066X
eISSN:	1935-990X
DOI:	10.1037/amp0000091
language:	English
journal language:	English
abstract in English:	We outline a general psychological theory of extremism and apply it to the special case of violent extremism (VE). Extremism is defined as motivated deviance from general behavioral norms and is assumed to stem from a shift from a balanced satisfaction of basic human needs afforded by moderation to a motivational imbalance wherein a given need dominates the others. Because motivational imbalance is difficult to sustain, only few individuals do, rendering extreme behavior relatively rare, hence deviant. Thus, individual dynamics translate into social patterns wherein majorities of individuals practice moderation, whereas extremism is the province of the few. Both extremism and moderation require the ability to successfully carry out the activities that these demand. Ability is partially determined by the activities’ difficulty, controllable in part by external agents who promote or oppose extremism. Application of this general framework to VE identifies the specific need that animates it and offers broad guidelines for addressing this pernicious phenomenon.
keywords in English:	violent extremism, deviance, terrorism, motivation
affiliation:	Wydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Psychologii
type:	journal article
subtype:	academic paper