Arie W. Kruglanski
Distinguished Professor of Psychology | University of Maryland, College Park
I am a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland, where I direct the Motivated Cognition Laboratory at the Department of Psychology. Among the projects the lab is currently pursuing are violent extremism, political activism, the quest for significance, coping with uncertainty, and closed-mindedness. Our research uses a variety of methods, including lab experiments, neuroscience techniques, computer modeling, text analyses, and surveys. Our laboratory collaborates closely with the Sapienza University of Rome (in Italy); the Jagiellonian University (in Krakow, Poland); the University of Groningen (in the Netherlands); Nanyang Technological University (in Singapore); and New York University Abu Dhabi.
Featured Works
Selected Papers
Webber, D., Molinario, E., Jasko, K., Gelfand, M.J., & Kruglanski, A.W. (in press). The Way They See Us: Intergroup Metaperceptions of Syrian Refugees. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
Contu, F., Ellenberg, M. Kruglanski, A.W., & Pierro, A. (in press). People Act Extremely towards Their Amorous Partner When They Feel Insignificant. Personal Relationships.
Ellenberg, M., Speckhard, A., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2023). Beyond violent extremism: A 3N perspective of inceldom. Psychology of Men and Masculinities.
Kruglanski, A.W., Ellenberg, M., Szumowska, E., Molinario, E. Speckhard, A., Leander, N.P., Pierro, A. Di Cicco, G. & Bushman, B. (in press). Frustration-Aggression hypothesis reconsidered: The role of significance quest. Aggressive behavior.
DiSanto, D. Pierro, A., Ellenberg, M., Baldner, C. & Kruglanski, A.W. (in press). By All Means Necessary: Closed Mindedness, Ingroup Morality and Weapon Ownership. European Journal of Social Psychology.
Kaltenthaler, K., Kruglanski, A.W. & Knuppe, A.J. (in press). The Paradox of the Heavy-Handed Insurgent: Public Support for the Taliban Among Afghan Pashtuns. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
Resta, E. Mollenberg, M., Kruglanski, A.W. & Pierro, A. (in press). Marie Curie vs. Serena Williams: Ambition Leads toExtremism through Obsessive (but not Harmonious) Passion. Motivation and Emotion.
Szumowska, E., Wojcik, N., Schwed, P. & Kruglanski, A.W. (in press) Say who? Credibility Effects in Self-Verification Strivings. Psychological Science.
Pica, G. Milyavsky, M., Pierro, A., & Kruglanski, A.W. (in press). The Epistemic Bases of Changes of Opinion and Choices:The Joint Effects of the Need for Cognitive Closure, Ascribed Epistemic Authority and Quality of Advice. European Journal of Social Psychology. PDF
Szumowska, E. & Kruglanski, A.W. (in press). The psychology of getting busy: Multitasking as a consequence of goal activation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. PDF
Jasko, K, Webber, D. Molinario, E. & Kruglanski, A.W. (in press). Ideological Extremism among Syrian Refugees Is Negatively Related to Intentions to Migrate to the West. Psychological Science. PDF
Kruglanski, A.W., Szumowska, E. & Kopetz. C.E. (in press). The call of the wild: How extremism happens. Current Directions in Psychological Science. PDF
Jasko, K., Grzymala-Maoszczynska, J., Maj, M., Szastok, M. & Kruglanski, A.W. (2020). Making Americans feel great again? Personal significance predicts political intentions of losers and winners of the 2016 U.S. elections. Political Psychology. PDF
Webber, D., Kruglanski, A., Molinario, E., Jasko, K. (2020). Ideologies that justify terrorism and political violence. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 34, 107-111. PDF
Leander, N. P., Kreienkamp, J., Agostini, M., Stroebe, W., Gordijn, E. H., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2020). Biased hate crime perceptions can reveal supremacist sympathies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117 (32), 19072-19079. PDF
Kruglanski, A.W., Szumowska, E., Kopetz, C., Vallerand, R.J., & Pierro, A. (2020). On the psychology of extremism: How motivational imbalance breeds intemperance. Psychological Review. PDF
Jasko, K., Webber, D., Kruglanski, A. W., Gelfand, M., Taufiqurrohman, M., Hettiarachchi, M., & Gunaratna, R. (2019). Social context moderates the effects of quest for significance on violent extremism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. PDF
Kruglanski, A. W., Fernandez, J. R., Factor, A. R., & Szumowska, E. (2019). Cognitive mechanisms in violent extremism. Cognition, 188, 116-123. PDF
Kruglanski, A. W., Fishbach, A., Woolley, K., Bélanger, J. J., Chernikova, M., Molinario, E., & Pierro, A. (2018). A structural model of intrinsic motivation: On the psychology of means-ends fusion. Psychological Review, 125(2), 165-182. PDF
Kruglanski, A.W., Jasko, K., Chernikova, M., Milyavsky, M. Babush, M., Baldner, C. & Pierro, A. (2016). The rocky road from attitudes to behaviors: Charting the goal systemic course of actions. Psychological Review. PDF
Kruglanski, A. W., Chernikova, M., Rosenzweig, E., & Kopetz, C. (2014). On motivational readiness. Psychological Review, 121(3), 367. PDF
Kruglanski, A.W., Belanger, J., Chen, X., Kopetz, C. Pierro, A. & Mannetti, L. (2012). The Energetics of Motivated Cognition: A Force Field Analysis. Psychological Review, 119, 1-20. PDF
Kruglanski, A.W., & Gigerenzer, G. (2011). Intuitive and deliberate judgments are based on common principles. Psychological Review, 118, 97-109. PDF
Kruglanski, A.W., Pierro, A., Mannetti, L. & DeGrada, E. (2006). Groups as epistemic providers: Need for closure and the unfolding of group centrism. Psychological Review, 113, 84-100. PDF
Kruglanski, A.W. & Webster, D.M. (1996). Motivated closing of the mind: "Seizing" and "freezing". Psychological Review, 103, 263283. PDF
Kruglanski, A. (1980). Lay epistemologic process and contents: Another look at attribution theory. Psychological Review, 87, 7087. PDF
Kruglanski, A. (1975). The endogenousexogenous partition in attribution theory. Psychological Review, 82, 3 87406. PDF
Press and Opinion Editorials
April 13, 2023
Why do mass shooters kill? It’s about more than having a grievance
The Conversation
July 6, 2022
Looking into the psychology of Mass Shooting
A Little More Conversation with Ben O’Hara-Byrne For Omny FM
June 27, 2022
The Use of the 3N Model Through Sports, to Reduce Extremism and Radicalization. (Scroll to 3.14 minute)
E Sport+ TV
March 18, 2022
$2.6 M In DOD Grants to Fund Studies of Climate Change Impact on Security
March 1, 2022
Putin is on a quest for historical significance by invading Ukraine and gambling on his own and Russia’s glory
December 8, 2021
U.S. Threat to Squeeze Russia’s Economy Is a Tactic With a Mixed Record
November 9, 2021
Violent extremism is on the rise. How to prevent people from turning to hateful ideologies
November 4, 2021
'Hate at Home' addresses growing wave of violent extremism
October 15, 2021
How to Moderate Extreme Thinking, Behavior and Obsessions at Work
September 11, 2021
20 Jahre 9/11: Warum tun Menschen so etwas?
June 4, 2021
Was ist psychologischer Extremismus, Herr Kruglanski?
May 6, 2021
Doctor, Lawyer, Insurrectionist: The Radicalization of Simone Gold
April 20, 2021
Post-riot effort to tackle extremism in the military largely overlooks veterans
April 14, 2021
A scientist’s opinion: Interview with Professor Arie Kruglanski about our need for cognitive closure during COVID-19
interview by Julianna Photopolous for European Science Media Hub
March 11, 2021
How the quest for significance and respect underlies the white supremacist movement, conspiracy theories and a range of other problems
March 2, 2021
Why Have So Many Recent Extremist Events Involved Ohioans?
interview by Michael Monks for Cincinnati Public Radio (30:00 minute mark)
February 18, 2021
Psychologist details historic ties between pandemics and extremism
February 16, 2021
Pandemics have spawned extremist movements since ancient times
January 13, 2021
Extremism then and now. My discussion with USSMH historian Dr. Patricia Heberer Rite
January 12, 2021
Arie Kruglanski: One Survivor's Quest to Make the World a Better Place
Yael Luttwak & Megan Maggi
January 18, 2021
Experts discuss whether Biden can unite the country (third clip)
January 17, 2021
Joe Biden's Options for Dealing with Donald Trump are Worse than Watergate
January 15, 2021
Insurrection at the Capitol: The Escalating Radicalization of American Politics
January 11, 2021
What drives the pro-Trump mob
Understanding that psychology may allow us to mitigate and prevent far-right extremism.
The Boston Globe
June 9, 2020
State of Global Emergency: Rising Social Tensions During the COVID-19 Pandemic
World Government Summit (on YouTube)
September 12, 2019
Are Syrian Refugees a Danger to the West?
The National Interest
August 7, 2019
How to Talk About People Disengaging from Violent Extremism
United States Institute of Peace (YouTube)
August 6, 2019
Rehabilitation of Violent Extremists
USIP presentation on C-Span
July 19, 2019
Are Syrian Refugees a Danger to the West?
The Conversation
November 2, 2018
The psychology of how someone becomes radicalized
Angela Fritz for The Washington Post
November 1, 2018
Psychology of Violent Extremism
A conversation with Christian Piccolini for the MPOWER project (YouTube)
April 20, 2018
Reducing Prejudice through Empathy
moderated by David Gregory, CNN analyist
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
February 12, 2018
Countering Violent Extremism
A lecture at the US Embassy Berlin (YouTube)
January 9, 2018
Understanding the Global Refugee Crisis: A Tale of 3 Myths
The National Interest
Dr. Arie W. Kruglanski
3147H Biology/Psychology Building, University of Maryland
4094 Campus Dr
College Park, MD 20742
+1 301-405-5918 (O)
+1 301-204-6932 (M)