Back to Student and Alumni Profiles

Terror prevention aided by psychology research of students & alumni

(Jan. 11, 2007)

Critical to preventing terrorism is an understanding of the beliefs, motivations and social circumstances that foster the appeal of terrorist actions and behavior. Below are profiles of four students conducting research in the psychology of terrorism:

Shira Fishman – A Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland, Fishman is researching the motivational factors behind membership in a terrorist group versus another type of organization with the hypothesis that terrorist groups are seen as more important based upon collectivistic (thinking of others ahead of self) goals. An outcome is recognizing how to design alternative organizations that fulfill the same needs as terror group participation.

Jennifer Goldman – Seeking to understand how intense emotions such as humiliation can contribute to engagement in terrorist behavior, Goldman is a DHS Dissertation funding recipient studying at the Columbia University Teacher’s College. Her work seeks to give greater insight into the design of systematic interventions that prevent potentially violent behavior that may result from certain types of humiliating events.

Sophia Moskalenko – A START Fellow and University of Pennsylvania Post-doctoral fellow, Moskalenko examines factors that motivate an individual’s progression from ordinary citizen to terrorist. Called radicalization, she looks at this process from the perspective of linking radical tendencies to various traits and past behaviors with a hope that people and governmental agencies can neutralize radicalization processes.

Edward Orehek – Examining the motivations that drive political ideology regarding terrorism, Orehek, also a Ph.D. candidate at Maryland, has found that the motivation to avoid uncertainty leads to support for strong counter-terrorism policies. He is collecting international responses among terrorists' potential base of support on the motivation to avoid uncertainty and support for terrorism. He hopes to shed light on the processes that give rise to specific styles of thinking to disrupt the ideological motivations behind increased violence as a way of dealing with conflict.