Arie Kruglanski: cognition, motivation and radicalization

Arie Kruglanski: cognition, motivation and radicalization

Arie W. Kruglanski is one of the most important social psychologists in the world. Continue reading to learn more about his theories!



Arie Kruglanski is a professor at the University of Maryland. Despite the fact that he was born in Poland, he has spent most of his life in the United States, where he has contributed to the development of various important theories. He began to study the theory of cognitive clearance, but has also contributed in other fields. In fact, there are many different articles and books that mention his discoveries.

Among Arie Kruglanski's contributions, the most important are the need for cognitive clearance, motivational preparation and search for meaning. Each of these theories has influenced the others. His final theory, the search for meaning, aims to explain the motivation that terrorists have by using the other two previous theories.

Arie Kruglanski and the need for cognitive clearance
Arie Kruglanski developed the need for cognitive clearance, which corresponds to the desire to give a quick answer to a question whose content is either confusing or ambiguous. This gives a conclusion to that search and helps us to gain knowledge. It is therefore necessary to have such a termination in everyday life so that we do not constantly look for information.

Those who have a great need for a conclusion quickly come across their uncertainty as they use the clues that are available. These clues help them draw appropriate conclusions. If the clues are incorrect then it may end up defeating the wrong ideas.

Since the members of the group are the biggest contributing factor to the uncertainty of knowledge, they can give us a cognitive conclusion. These people will therefore be able to tell us how the world is, what we should do in different situations, who they are and why they are important.
Motivational preparation
According to Arie Kruglanski, an intense desire is created when one yearns for something. These desires can be materialistic or symbolic. These desires often arise due to the influence from the surroundings or from our loved ones. Wishes therefore have two components: magnitude and content. Magnitud has to do with how much we want something and the content represents what we really want.

On the other hand, we also have an expectation in relation to this desire: the appreciated possibility that our desire will come true. The expectation will depend on our previous experiences and what others believe. If our friends think we can achieve our goal then we will have higher expectations. It is important to be aware that there are other factors, such as optimism or cost, that can affect our expectations.

In fact, desire and expectation influence each other. Our expectations that our desire will be fulfilled will depend on how strong this desire is from the very beginning. The opposite can also apply. The higher the expectations, the greater the desire. A goal will arise when they both have reached a high level, and that is when we will get an appropriate motivation to achieve that goal.
The search for meaning
Arie Kruglanski also said that we all have a need for meaning, to feel that we are important and to have goals and values ​​that affect the decisions we make. We are motivated when we lose meaning and then we find an opportunity to get it back. This motivation is the search for meaning, which leads us, as the name suggests, to search for meaning.

When we are motivated, we will look for a way to achieve this meaning. One can find such a meaning within eg ideologies. If these ideologies tell us that violence is the only possible way to achieve meaning and our social network supports the use of force then it will end up being violent. In other words, if our group supports violence and you yourself seek meaning then it may end up using violence. According to Kruglanski, this is how terrorists work.

As you can see, Arie Kruglanski has contributed a great deal to psychology, especially in the fields of cognition, motivation and terrorism. His theories of cognition and motivation have given rise to his second theory which allows us to understand how people are radicalized and join terrorist organizations.