Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xm8r8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-16T14:29:28.451Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Extremism and Exclusion

The Role of the Quest for Significance

from Part II - Drivers of the Exclusion–Extremism Link

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

By
Molly Ellenberg  and
Arie W. Kruglanski
Edited by
Michaela Pfundmair ,
Andrew H. Hales  and
Kipling D. Williams
Michaela Pfundmair
Affiliation:
Federal University of Administrative Sciences, Germany
Andrew H. Hales
Affiliation:
University of Mississippi
Kipling D. Williams
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
Get access

Summary

Extremism of all types arises from a motivational imbalance wherein one need outweighs all other needs. When such a process occurs, more means to achieving the focal goal, including those considered extreme, become available to the individual. Presently, we focus on the need for significance, an existential social need. When the quest for significance is dominant, an individual may be willing to make extreme sacrifices in order to achieve their goal. The quest for significance can be activated through many different means, one of which is the loss of significance through exclusion. When one perceives that they have been excluded, their motivation to regain respect is activated. When this motivation to restore significance comes to suppress one’s other needs, the individual becomes willing to engage in activities they may have previously considered socially unacceptable, including joining extreme groups and participating in violence, in order to fulfill their quest for significance.

Keywords

extremismexclusionquest for significancemotivational imbalanceviolent extremism
Type
Chapter
Information
Exclusion and Extremism
A Psychological Perspective
 , pp. 123 - 140
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abdelgadir, A., & Fouka, V. (2020). Political secularism and Muslim integration in the West: Assessing the effects of the French headscarf ban. American Political Science Review, 114(3), 707–723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atran, S., & Ginges, J. (2012). Religious and sacred imperatives in human conflict. Science, 336(6083), 855–857.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aydin, N., Fischer, P., & Frey, D. (2010). Turning to God in the face of ostracism: Effects of social exclusion on religiousness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(6), 742–753.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bäck, E. A., Bäck, H., Altermark, N., & Knapton, H. (2018). The quest for significance: Attitude adaption to a radical group following social exclusion. International Journal of Developmental Science, 12(1–2), 25–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumeister, R. F., Twenge, J. M., & Nuss, C. K. (2002). Effects of social exclusion on cognitive processes: anticipated aloneness reduces intelligent thought. Journal of personality and social psychology, 83(4), 817–827.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bélanger, J. J. (2013). The psychology of martyrdom [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Maryland–College Park.Google Scholar
Beller, J., & Kröger, C. (2021). Religiosity and perceived religious discrimination as predictors of support for suicide attacks among Muslim Americans. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 27(4), 554–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernstein, M. J. (2016). Research in social psychology: Consequences of short- and long-term social exclusion. In Riva, P. & Eck, J. (Eds.), Social exclusion: Psychological approaches to understanding and reducing its impact (pp. 51–72). Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernstein, M. J., Sacco, D. F., Young, S. G., Hugenberg, K., & Cook, E. (2010). Being “in” with the in-crowd: The effects of social exclusion and inclusion are enhanced by the perceived essentialism of ingroups and outgroups. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(8), 999–1009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, M., & Rane, H. (2019). Beyond faith: social marginalisation and the prevention of radicalisation among young Muslim Australians. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 12(2), 273–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2018.1496781CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castro, C. A., & Kintzle, S. (2018). Military transition theory. Springer.Google Scholar
Chow, R. M., Tiedens, L. Z., & Govan, C. L. (2008). Excluded emotions: The role of anger in antisocial responses to ostracism. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44(3), 896–903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costello, W., Rolon, V., Thomas, A. G., & Schmitt, D. (2022). Levels of well-being among men who are incel (involuntarily celibate). Evolutionary Psychological Science, 8(4), 375–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeWall, C. N., & Richman, S. B. (2011). Social exclusion and the desire to reconnect. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(11), 919–932.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeWall, C. N., Twenge, J. M., Gitter, S. A., & Baumeister, R. F. (2009). It’s the thought that counts: The role of hostile cognition in shaping aggressive responses to social exclusion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(1), 45–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duclos, R., Wan, E. W., & Jiang, Y. (2013). Show me the honey! Effects of social exclusion on financial risk-taking. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(1), 12–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duffy, D. (2009). Alienated radicals and detached deviants: what do the lessons of the 1970 Falls Curfew and the alienation–radicalisation hypothesis mean for current British approaches to counter-terrorism? Policy Studies, 30(2), 127–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellenberg, M., Speckhard, A., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2023). Beyond violent extremism: A 3 N perspective of inceldom. Psychology of Men & Masculinities. Advance online publication. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/men0000439CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freedman, M., & Klor, E. F. (2023). When deterrence backfires: House demolitions, Palestinian radicalization, and Israeli fatalities. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 67(7–8), 1592–1617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fung, K., Xu, C., Glazier, B. L., Parsons, C. A., & Alden, L. E. (2016). Research in clinical psychology: Social exclusion and psychological disorders. In Riva, P. & Eck, J. (Eds.), Social exclusion: Psychological approaches to understanding and reducing its impact (pp. 157–176). Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldman, L., & Hogg, M. A. (2016). Going to extremes for one’s group: The role of prototypicality and group acceptance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 46(9), 544–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonsalkorale, K., & Williams, K. D. (2007). The KKK won’t let me play: Ostracism even by a despised outgroup hurts. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37(6), 1176–1186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenaway, K. H., Cruwys, T., Haslam, S. A., & Jetten, J. (2016). Social identities promote well‐being because they satisfy global psychological needs. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(3), 294–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., & Solomon, S. (1990). Anxiety concerning social exclusion: Innate response or one consequence of the need for terror management? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 202–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafez, M., & Mullins, C. (2015). The radicalization puzzle: A theoretical synthesis of empirical approaches to homegrown extremism. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 38(11), 958–975.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hales, A. H., & Williams, K. D. (2018). Marginalized individuals and extremism: The role of ostracism in openness to extreme groups. Journal of Social Issues, 74(1), 75–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hales, A. H., & Williams, K. D. (2019). Extremism leads to ostracism. Social Psychology, 51(3), 149–156. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000406CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hickman, M., Thomas, L., Silvestri, S., & Nickels, H. (2011). “Suspect communities?” Counter-terrorism policy, the press, and the impact on Irish and Muslim communities in Britain. London Metropolitan University.Google Scholar
Hitlan, R. T., Cliffton, R. J., & DeSoto, M. C. (2006). Perceived exclusion in the workplace: The moderating effects of gender on work-related attitudes and psychological health. North American Journal of Psychology, 8(2), 217–236.Google Scholar
Hoffman, B., & Ware, J. (2020). Incels: America’s newest domestic terrorism threat. Lawfare blog. www.lawfareblog.com/incels-americas-newest-domestic-terrorism-threatGoogle Scholar
Hogg, M. A., Sherman, D. K., Dierselhuis, J., Maitner, A. T., & Moffitt, G. (2007). Uncertainty, entitativity, and group identification. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43(1), 135–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hollinger, R. C. (1986). Acts against the workplace: Social bonding and employee deviance. Deviant Behavior, 7(1), 53–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurd, M., & Werther, S. (2016). Retelling the past, inspiring the future: Waffen-SS commemorations and the creation of a “European” far-right counter-narrative. Patterns of Prejudice, 50(4–5), 420–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, W. (1890). The principles of psychology. Macmillan.Google Scholar
Jensen, M., Yates, E., & Kane, S. (2022). Radicalization in the ranks: An assessment of the scope and nature of criminal extremism in the United States military. START. www.start.umd.edu/sites/default/files/publications/local_attachments/Radicalization%20in%20the%20Ranks_April%202022.pdfGoogle Scholar
Keeling, M. E., Ozuna, S. M., Kintzle, S., & Castro, C. A. (2019). Veterans’ civilian employment experiences: Lessons learnt from focus groups. Journal of Career Development, 46(6), 692–705.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knapton, H., Renström, E., & Lindén, M. (2022). The abortion divide: Exploring the role of exclusion, loss of significance and identity in the radicalization process. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kouchaki, M., & Wareham, J. (2015). Excluded and behaving unethically: social exclusion, physiological responses, and unethical behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(2), 547–556.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kruglanski, A. W. (2022, March 1). Putin is on a quest for historical significance by invading Ukraine and gambling on his own and Russia’s glory. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/putin-is-on-a-quest-for-historical-significance-by-invading-ukraine-and-gambling-on-his-own-and-russias-glory-177887.Google Scholar
Kruglanski, A. W., Bélanger, J. J., Gelfand, M., et al. (2013). Terrorism – A (self) love story: Redirecting the significance quest can end violence. American Psychologist, 68(7), 559–575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kruglanski, A. W., Bélanger, J. J., & Gunaratna, R. (2019). The three pillars of radicalization: Needs, narratives, and networks. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruglanski, A. W., Chen, X., Dechesne, M., Fishman, S., & Orehek, E. (2009). Fully committed: Suicide bombers’ motivation and the quest for personal significance. Political Psychology, 30(3), 331–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruglanski, A. W., Ellenberg, M., Szumowska, E., et al. (2023). Frustration-aggression hypothesis reconsidered: The role of significance quest. Aggressive Behavior, 49(5), 445–468. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.22092CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kruglanski, A. W., Gelfand, M. J., Bélanger, J. J., et al. (2014). The psychology of radicalization and deradicalization: How significance quest impacts violent extremism. Political Psychology, 35, 69–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruglanski, A. W., Gunaratna, R., Ellenberg, M., & Speckhard, A. (2020). Terrorism in time of the pandemic: Exploiting mayhem. Global Security: Health, Science and Policy, 5(1), 121–132.Google Scholar
Kruglanski, A. W., Molinario, E., Jasko, K., et al. (2022). Significance-quest theory. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(4), 1050–1071.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kruglanski, A. W., Szumowska, E., Kopetz, C. H., Vallerand, R. J., & Pierro, A. (2021). On the psychology of extremism: How motivational imbalance breeds intemperance. Psychological Review, 128(2), 264–289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lankford, A. (2013). A comparative analysis of suicide terrorists and rampage, workplace, and school shooters in the United States from 1990 to 2010. Homicide Studies, 17(3), 255–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lobato, R. M., García-Coll, J., & Moyano, M. (2023). Disconnected out of passion: relationship between social alienation and obsessive passion. Journal of interpersonal violence, 38(1–2), 1950–1969.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lyons-Padilla, S., Gelfand, M. J., Mirahmadi, H., Farooq, M., & Van Egmond, M. (2015). Belonging nowhere: Marginalization & radicalization risk among Muslim immigrants. Behavioral Science & Policy, 1(2), 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, G., & Leary, M. R. (2005). Why does social exclusion hurt? The relationship between social and physical pain. Psychological Bulletin, 131(2), 202–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McAuley, J. (2020). France mandates masks to control the coronavirus. Burqas remain banned. Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/france-face-masks-coronavirus/2020/05/09/6fbd50fc-8ae6-11ea-80df-d24b35a568ae_story.htmlGoogle Scholar
Miller-Idriss, C. (2021). From 9/11 to 1/6: The War on Terror supercharged the far right. Foreign Affairs. www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-08-24/war-on-terror-911-jan6Google Scholar
Milton, D., & Mines, A. (2021). “This is war”: Examining military experience among the Capitol Hill siege participants. Program on Extremism. https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs5746/files/This_is_War.pdfGoogle Scholar
Mitts, T. (2019). From isolation to radicalization: Anti-Muslim hostility and support for ISIS in the West. American Political Science Review, 113(1), 173–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moskalenko, S., González, J. F. G., Kates, N., & Morton, J. (2022). Incel ideology, radicalization and mental health: A survey study. The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare, 4(3), 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohnuki-Tierney, E. (2007). Kamikaze diaries: Reflections of Japanese student soldiers. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Oyserman, D. (2017). Culture three ways: Culture and subcultures within countries. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 435–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pastore, N. (1952). The role of arbitrariness in the frustration-aggression hypothesis. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 47(3), 728–731.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedahzur, A. (2005). Suicide terrorism. Polity.Google Scholar
Pfundmair, M., Hales, A., & Williams, K. D. (Eds.). (2024). Exclusion and extremism: A psychological perspective. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Pfundmair, M., & Wetherell, G. (2019). Ostracism drives group moralization and extreme group behavior. The Journal of Social Psychology, 159(5), 518–530.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piazza, J. A. (2011). Poverty, minority economic discrimination, and domestic terrorism. Journal of Peace Research, 48(3), 339–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ren, D., Hales, A. H., & Williams, K. D. (2017). Ostracism: Being ignored and excluded. In Williams, K. D. & Nida, S. A. (Eds.), Ostracism, exclusion, and rejection (pp. 20–38). Routledge.Google Scholar
Renström, E. A., Bäck, H., & Knapton, H. M. (2020). Exploring a pathway to radicalization: The effects of social exclusion and rejection sensitivity. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 23(8), 1204–1229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Resta, E., Ellenberg, M., Kruglanski, A. W., & Pierro, A. (2022). Marie Curie vs. Serena Williams: Ambition leads to extremism through obsessive (but not harmonious) passion. Motivation and Emotion, 46(3), 382–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saiya, N., & Manchanda, S. (2020). Do burqa bans make us safer? Veil prohibitions and terrorism in Europe. Journal of European Public Policy, 27(12), 1781–1800.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scaptura, M. N., & Boyle, K. M. (2020). Masculinity threat, “incel” traits, and violent fantasies among heterosexual men in the United States. Feminist Criminology, 15(3), 278–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shanaah, S. (2022). Alienation or cooperation? British Muslims’ Attitudes to and engagement in counter-terrorism and counter-extremism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 34(1), 71–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, S., Sherman, D. K., MacLean, A., & Kay, A. C. (2021). The challenges of military veterans in their transition to the workplace: A call for integrating basic and applied psychological science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 16(3), 590–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simi, P., Bubolz, B. F., & Hardman, A. (2013). Military experience, identity discrepancies, and far right terrorism: An exploratory analysis. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 36(8), 654–671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sommer, K. L., Williams, K. D., Ciarocco, N. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001). When silence speaks louder than words: Explorations into the intrapsychic and interpersonal consequences of social ostracism. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 23(4), 225–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, B., Zidenberg, A. M., & Olver, M. E. (2023). One is the loneliest number: Involuntary celibacy (incel), mental health, and loneliness. Current Psychology, 1–15.Google Scholar
Speckhard, A. (2012). Talking to terrorists: Understanding the psycho-social motivations of militant jihadi terrorists, mass hostage takers, suicide bombers & “martyrs”. Advances Press.Google Scholar
Speckhard, A., & Ellenberg, M. (2022). The effects of Assad’s atrocities and the call to foreign fighters to come to Syria on the rise and fall of the ISIS Caliphate. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 14(2), 169–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Speckhard, A., & Ellenberg, M. (2023). An analysis of active-duty and veteran military members involved in white supremacist and violent anti-government militias and groups: 2017–2022. International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.Google Scholar
Speckhard, A., Ellenberg, M., & Garret, T. M. (2022a). The challenge of extremism in the military is not going away without a new perspective. International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.Google Scholar
Speckhard, A., Ellenberg, M., & Garret, T. M. (2022b). White supremacists speak: Recruitment, radicalization & experiences of engaging and disengaging from hate groups. International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism.Google Scholar
Speckhard, A., Ellenberg, M., Morton, J., & Ash, A. (2021). Involuntary celibates’ experiences of and grievance over sexual exclusion and the potential threat of violence among those active in an online incel forum. Journal of Strategic Security, 14(2), 89–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, J. D. (2020). “Suspect categories,” alienation and counterterrorism: Critically assessing PREVENT in the UK. Terrorism and Political Violence, 32(4), 851–873.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thau, S., Derfler-Rozin, R., Pitesa, M., Mitchell, M. S., & Pillutla, M. M. (2015). Unethical for the sake of the group: risk of social exclusion and pro-group unethical behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(1), 98–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torchinsky, R. (2022, February 9). 1 in 5 Patriot Front applicants say they have ties to the military. NPR. www.npr.org/2022/02/09/1079700404/1-in-5-patriot-front-applicants-say-they-have-ties-to-the-militaryGoogle Scholar
Trédaniel, M., & Lee, P. K. (2018). Explaining the Chinese framing of the “terrorist” violence in Xinjiang: insights from securitization theory. Nationalities Papers, 46(1), 177–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Twenge, J. M., Baumeister, R. F., Tice, D. M., & Stucke, T. S. (2001). If you can’t join them, beat them: effects of social exclusion on aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1058–1069.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Twenge, J. M., Catanese, K. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2002). Social exclusion causes self defeating behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(3), 606–615.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Bergen, D. D., Feddes, A. F., Doosje, B., & Pels, T. V. (2015). Collective identity factors and the attitude toward violence in defense of ethnicity or religion among Muslim youth of Turkish and Moroccan Descent. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 47, 89–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Victoroff, J., Adelman, J. R., & Matthews, M. (2012). Psychological factors associated with support for suicide bombing in the Muslim diaspora. Political Psychology, 33(6), 791–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, K. D. (2007). Ostracism: The kiss of social death. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 1(1), 236–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, K. D. (2009). Ostracism: A temporal need‐threat model. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 275–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, K. D., & Jarvis, B. (2006). Cyberball: A program for use in research on interpersonal ostracism and acceptance. Behavior Research Methods, 38, 174–180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, K. D., & Nida, S. A. (2011). Ostracism: Consequences and coping. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(2), 71–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witt, T. (2020). “If i cannot have it, i will do everything i can to destroy it”: the canonization of Elliot Rodger: “Incel” masculinities, secular sainthood, and justifications of ideological violence. Social Identities, 26(5), 675–689.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×