Psychological Motivation for Reactive Extremism, and How to Quell It

Abstract The postulate that anxious uncertainties and conflicts motivate hostile worldview extremes launched the field of experimental social psychology. It arose from an integration of cognitive science with psychodynamic, physiological, sociological, and existentialist explanations for the fascist horrors of World War II. This chapter surveys the field’s eighty years of experimental research guided by theories of cognitive dissonance, ego depletion, terror management, self-affirmation, compensatory conviction, and reactive approach motivation. Results converge on the conclusion that uncertainty-related threats heighten extreme tendencies that authentic value affirmations can mute. This conclusion is further validated by new insight into basic neuro-motivational dynamics beneath the experimental effects. The neuro-motivational understanding reveals how reflexive reactive extremes are, and helps explain why two ideas appear so regularly in diverse wisdom traditions: (a) ill-advised reactive extremes are alluring under conditions of personal uncertainty, and (b) proactive commitment to authentic personal values can supplant the allure.