Main description:

* Includes interdisciplinary contributions and brings together research on a range of extreme behaviors in one volume, by making theoretical links between different contexts
* Explores the brain, hormones, and behaviour to offer insights into the mechanisms and processes that enable extremism to explain their occurrence and the conditions under which they may be likely to emerge
* Ideal reading for high-level students taking courses on extremism, academics, and professionals dealing with extreme behavior

Contents:

The Psychology of Extremism

Arie W. Kruglanski, Ewa Szumowska, and Catalina Kopetz

Extremism as a Motivational Construct

Consequences of Motivational Imbalance

The Present Volume: Motivational Imbalance Across Domains and Levels of Analysis

Part 1: Motivational Imbalance at Different Levels of Analysis

Part 2: Motivational Imbalance Across Domains of Human Endeavor

Part 1: Motivational Imbalance at Different Levels of Analysis

1. Incentive Salience in Irrational Miswanting and Extreme Motivation

H. M. Baumgartner, Erin E. Naffziger, David Nguyen, and Kent C. Berridge

Introduction

Reward Utilities and 'Wanting'

Attribution of Incentive Salience

'Irrational Miswanting' and 'Dangerous Desire'

Conclusion and Implications in Extreme Aggression

2. Attitudinal Extremism

Joseph J. Siev, Richard E. Petty, and Pablo Brinol

Developing a Model of Attitudinal Extremism

Candidates for Inclusion in a Model of Attitudinal Extremism

Properties of Attitudes That Increase Attributions of Extremism

Processes that Produce Polarized, Confident, and Unusual Attitudes

Properties of Attitudes that Predict Extreme Behavior

Threat as a Moderator of Compensation Effects

Conclusions

3. On Extreme Behavior and Outcomes: The Role of Harmonious and Obsessive Passion

Robert J. Vallerand and Virginie Paquette

A Dualistic Model of Passion

Passion and Extreme Behavior

Conclusions

4. The Extreme Group

John M. Levine and Arie W. Kruglanski

The Present Chapter

Quest for Significance

Narratives

Networks

Conclusion

5. Masters of Both: Balancing the Extremes of Innovation Through Tight-Loose Ambidexterity

Piotr Prokopowicz, Virginia K. Choi, and Michele J. Gelfand

Exploration and Exploitation: Understanding the Extremes of Innovation

Cultural Tightness-Looseness

Exploring Looseness, Exploiting Tightness

The Goldilocks Principle of Innovation

Discussion

Funding

6. The Evolution of Extremis

William von Hippel and Nadia Fox

How Might Extremism Have Evolved?

What Function Might Extremism Serve?

Is Extremism Unique to Humans?

How Does Morality Attenuate and Exacerbate Extremism?

Implications and Conclusions

Part 2: Motivational Imbalance Across Domains of Human Endeavor

7. The Psychology of Extreme Sports

Eric Brymer and Pierre Bouchat

Introduction

Traditional Perspectives on the Psychology of Extreme Sports

Beyond the Risk-Taking Narrative

Positive Psychology Perspectives

8. The Psychology of Gree

Katalin Takacs Haynes

Introduction to Greed Narratives

What Is Greed and Why Is It Extreme?

History of Greed

Greed in the Social Sciences

Multilevel Model of Greed as Extremism

Mitigating the Problem

9. Moral, Extreme, and Positive: What Are the Key Issues for the Study of the Morally Exceptional

William Fleeson, Christian Miller, R. Michael Furr, Angela Knobel, and Eranda Jayawickreme

The Promise of Studying the Morally Exceptional

Do Morally Exceptional People Exist?

Theoretical, Philosophical, and Theological Accounts of the Morally Exceptional

Empirical Findings: Why Are Some People Extremely Moral?

What Is Not Known

Three Difficulties for the Study of the Morally Exceptional and Strategies for Addressing Them

Difficulty 1: What Counts as 'Moral' and What Counts as 'Morally Good'?

Difficulty 2: What Counts as Exceptional?

Difficulty 3: What Will Be Added to the Study of Morality by Studying the Morally Exceptional in Particular?

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

10. The Social Psychology of Violent Extremism

Erica Molinario, Katarzyna Jasko, David Webber, and Arie W. Kruglanski

Introduction

Perceived Efficacy of Violence

Feeling Noticed and Agentic

Ingroup Identification

Culturally Approved Violence

Violence as a Clear Response

Relative Deprivation and Inequality

The 3N Framework: Need, Narrative, and Networks

Conclusion

11. Motivational Imbalance in Jihadi Online Recruitment

Gabriel Weimann

Introduction

Online Recruitment

The Notion of Motivational Imbalance

'Narrowcasting'

Using Motivational Imbalance in Jihadi campaigns

Conclusions