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Author, professor, scholar
Author, professor, scholar
Dr. Sophia Moskalenko (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Latvia and associate editor of Motivation and Emotion. Her latest research centers on the experience of freedom, the tension between awe and significance, and the architecture of extremism. She serves as an expert consultant for NATO and the European Commission on questions of terrorism, political violence, and radicalization. Her scientific inquiry is reflected in more than 90 published research articles and books, including: The Psychology of the Extreme; Feeling Big, Feeling Small: The Human Yearning for Significance and Wonder; and Friction: How Conflict Radicalizes Them and Us.
Featured Books
Featured Books
Recent Keynote Addresses
"The Evolution of Radicalization in the Age of Social Media" — Resilience to Radicalization Research Symposium, The Hague, Netherlands (2026)
"Deadly Disinformation: The Role of Ideology in Mass Radicalization" — Polish Society of Social Psychology, Warsaw, Poland (2025)
"Deadly Disinformation: The Role of Ideology in Mass Radicalization" — International Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA) Annual Conference, Munich, Germany (2024)
"Mental Health and Radicalization" — Behavioral Insights Academy, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Hub, Doha, Qatar (2023)
Recent Grants & Research Awards
Principal Investigator, "Youth Pathways to Polarization and Resilience: Online and Offline Radicalization Patterns" — High Impact Grant ZDP (2025)
Co-Principal Investigator, "Mapping the Social Ecology of Misinformation, Radicalization and Violence" — U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research Minerva Research Initiative (2024)
Co-Principal Investigator, "Cyberpsychology Aspects of Foreign Malign Influence" — National Science Foundation (NSF) AI Challenge Problem Grant (2023)
Co-Principal Investigator, "Assessing the Extent of RMVE Penetration into the U.S. Military: Comparing Far Right and Jihadi 'Insider Threats'" — U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research Minerva Research Initiative (2022)
Co-Principal Investigator, "Weaponized Conspiracies: Mapping the Social Ecology" — U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research Minerva Research Initiative (2021)
Connect with Dr. Sophia Moskalenko
Connect with Dr. Sophia Moskalenko
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