The Psychology of Violent Extremism

On Oct. 30, the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE), hosted a webinar with John Horgan, Ph.D., distinguished university professor of psychology at Georgia State University. Key Takeaways:

There's a major lack of comprehensive interviews with terrorists. The study of terrorist psychology is relatively recent, and direct contact and discussion with terrorists has been limited. “From a psychological perspective, we’re just spinning our wheels unless we’re willing to really cross the Rubicon and seriously and comprehensively take on that one big challenge.”

The dynamic definition of terrorism is a big challenge for researchers. Horgan said that difficulty adapting to new legal and social parameters of terrorism is a major point of discussion with other researchers in the field.

There should be less focus on motivations to terrorism. Horgan said that the reasons people seek out extreme movements and become radicalized has been thoroughly researched, and that today there’s an overemphasis on motivation.

There should be increased research on practical deterrence. Family members, friends, coworkers, and peers are often the first to notice warning signs but frequently do not report their concerns.

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