Featured Academic Research Papers

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Mechanisms of political radicalization and terrorism

McCauley, C., & Moskalenko, S. (2008). Mechanisms of political radicalization: Pathways toward terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 20(3), 415–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550802073367

McCauley, C., & Moskalenko, S. (2017). Understanding political radicalization: The two-pyramids model. American Psychologist, 72(3), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000062

McCauley, C., & Moskalenko, S. (2014). Toward a profile of lone wolf terrorists: What moves an individual from radical opinion to radical action. Terrorism and Political Violence, 26(1), 69–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2014.849916

Moskalenko, S., & McCauley, C. (2011). The psychology of lone-wolf terrorism. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 24(2), 115–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2011.581835

Moskalenko, S., & McCauley, C. (2009). Measuring political mobilization: The distinction between activism and radicalism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 21(2), 239–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550902765508

Awe and significance, martyrdom, and love

Moskalenko, S., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2025). Significance-questing or awe-stricken: On two paradigms of meaning. In K. Fujita, A. Fishbach, & N. Liberman (Eds.), The psychological quest for meaning (pp. 277–306). Guilford Press.

Kruglanski, A. W., Ellenberg, M., Yu, H., Lemay Jr, E. P., Moskalenko, S., Szumowska, E., ... & Contu, F. (2026). A formula for love: Partner merit and appreciation beget actor significance. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 49, e1. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X25000020

Moskalenko, S. (2025). Down the Yellow Brick Road: How socialization through early narratives shapes the quest for significance. In The Routledge International Handbook of Human Significance and Mattering (pp. 257-271). Routledge.

Moskalenko, S., & McCauley, C. (2012). The political power of martyrdom. Terrorism and Political Violence, 24(3), 504-510. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2012.684596

Kruglanski, A. W., Lemay, E. P., Moskalenko, S., Yu, H., Contu, F., Ellenberg, M., ... & Wang, M. (2026). Love as a lived experience. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 49, e24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X2510277X

Ideology, conspiracy theories, and online extremism

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. https://doi.org/10.21810/jicw.v4i3.3817

Moskalenko, S., Kates, N., González, J. F. G., & Bloom, M. (2022). Predictors of radical intentions among incels: A survey of 54 self-identified incels. Journal of Online Trust and Safety, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.54501/jots.v1i3.57

Moskalenko, S., & McCauley, C. (2021). QAnon: Radical opinion versus radical action. Perspectives on Terrorism, 15(2), 142–146. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27007300

Moskalenko, S., Pavlović, T., & Burton, B. (2024). QAnon beliefs, political radicalization and support for January 6th insurrection: A gendered perspective. Terrorism and political violence, 36(7), 962-981. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2023.2236230

Moskalenko, S., & Romanova, E. (2022). Deadly disinformation: Viral conspiracy theories as a radicalization mechanism. The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare, 5(2), 129-153. https://doi.org/10.21810/jicw.v5i2.5032

Social identity, cultural variation, and self-awareness

Heine, S. J., Takemoto, T., Moskalenko, S., Lasaleta, J., & Henrich, J. (2008). Mirrors in the head: Cultural variation in objective self-awareness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(7), 879–887. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208316921

Moskalenko, S., McCauley, C., & Rozin, P. (2006). Group identification under conditions of threat: College students' attachment to country, family, ethnicity, religion, and university before and after September 11, 2001. Political Psychology, 27(1), 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2006.00450.x

Moskalenko, S., & Heine, S. J. (2003). Watching your troubles away: Television viewing as a stimulus for subjective self-awareness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(1), 76–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202238373

Moskalenko, S. (2008). Moral mires and the grip of the group: Morality as internalized group norms. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 21(4), 301–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070802602062

Moskalenko, S. (2024). Fairytales in the time of war: Analyzing the Russian war in Ukraine through the lenses of cultural narratives. FOLKLORICA-Journal of the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Folklore Association, 28, 48-67. https://doi.org/10.17161/folklorica.v28i.23113

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