2019/01/29 by Jan‐Willem van Prooijen, André Krouwel · 1 voice · 4 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion #Social and Intergroup Psychology #Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
paper · pdf · doi:10.1177/0963721418817755
openalex publication_date 2019/01/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/11
In this article, we examine psychological features of extreme political ideologies. In what ways are political left- and right-wing extremists similar to one another and different from moderates? We propose and review four interrelated propositions that explain adherence to extreme political ideologies from a psychological perspective. We argue that (a) psychological distress stimulates adopting an extreme ideological outlook; (b) extreme ideologies are characterized by a relatively simplistic, black-and-white perception of the social world; (c) because of such mental simplicity, political extremists are overconfident in their judgments; and (d) political extremists are less tolerant of different groups and opinions than political moderates. In closing, we discuss how these psychological features of political extremists increase the likelihood of conflict among groups in society.