The road to extremism: Field and experimental evidence that significance loss-induced need for closure fosters radicalization.

The present studies examined the hypothesis that loss of personal significance fuels extremism via the need for cognitive closure. Situations of significance loss-those that make one feel ashamed, humiliated, or demeaned-are inconsistent with the desire for a positive self-image, and instill a sense of uncertainty about the self. Consequently, individuals become motivated to seek certainty and closure that affords the restoration of personal significance. Extremist ideologies should thus increase in appeal, because they promise clear-cut strategies for such restoration. These notions were supported in a series of studies ranging from field surveys of political extremists imprisoned in the Philippines (Study 1) and Sri Lanka (Study 2) to experiments conducted with American samples (Studies 3-4). Implications of these findings are considered for the psychology of extremism, and for approaches to counterradicalization, and deradicalization. (PsycINFO Database Record

Attachment and Self-Regulation.

Close relationships and self-regulation are inextricably intertwined, yet many of the details regarding how interpersonal processes influence self-regulation are not well understood. To gain a better understanding of this link, we investigated the association between attachment styles and self-regulatory mode orientations. According to regulatory mode theory, locomotors are concerned with initiating goal-directed movement, whereas assessors are concerned with appraising potential means and goals. We predicted that the presence of an attachment figure with whom one has an anxious attachment would be associated with higher assessment tendencies. In addition, we predicted that the presence of an attachment figure with whom one has an avoidant attachment would be associated with lower locomotion tendencies. Five studies ( N = 1,434) supported our predictions, and demonstrated that attachment styles and self-regulatory mode orientations covary across interaction partners.