Arie Kruglanski
· Professor (Affiliate-Psychology), CommunicationVerifiedUniversity of Maryland, College Park · Communication
Active 1969–2026
About
Arie W. Kruglanski is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, affiliated with the Department of Communication and Psychology. He is a recipient of numerous awards and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. His research expertise lies in Communication Science, and he has served as editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition, editor of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and associate editor of the American Psychologist. His work focuses on understanding social cognition and communication processes.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Psychology
- Social psychology
- Cognitive psychology
- Sociology
- Data Mining
- Medicine
- Epistemology
- Pathology
- Biology
- Nursing
- Virology
- Internal medicine
- Data science
Selected publications
2026-05-08
book-chapterSenior author2026-05-08
bookSenior authorWhy do we sometimes feel powerful, expansive, and driven—only to feel small, humbled, or overwhelmed moments later? This book proposes that much of human experience is shaped by a fundamental psychological rhythm between two states the authors call Bigness and Smallness. Blending psychology with insights from biology, development, culture, religion, history, and mental health, the book introduces a theory of Dynamic Magnitude: the idea that human flourishing depends on our ability to move fluidly between striving for significance and yielding to forces greater than ourselves. Through vivid examples drawn from everyday life, art, love, parenting, politics, extremism, ritual, and belief systems, the authors show how modern societies have come to privilege Bigness while neglecting the human need for Smallness. They explore how imbalance between these states fuels burnout, polarization, addiction, anxiety, depression, and radicalization, while their healthy alternation underlies creativity, intimacy, resilience, and meaning. Rather than offering self-help prescriptions or single-factor explanations, the book provides a unifying lens that connects personal psychology with larger cultural and historical patterns. Written for psychologists and social scientists, this book also speaks to a wider audience of intellectually curious readers—students of culture and history, philosophers, clinicians, and thoughtful observers of contemporary life—interested in how inner experience, social forces, and meaning-making intersect.
2026-05-08
book-chapterSenior author2026-05-08
book-chapterSenior author2026-05-08
book-chapterSenior authorThe Need that Makes the World Go Round
2026-05-08
book-chapterSenior authorThe effect of past experiences on affective reactions to outcome uncertainty
Current Psychology · 2026-01-01
articleFreedom Dwells in Possibility: How Resource Availability Spawns the Sense of Liberty
Open MIND · 2026-01-01
articleOpen accessSenior authorFrontiers in Social Psychology · 2026-03-10
articleOpen accessObjective Studies on radicalization require a nuanced understanding of the narratives that legitimize violent actions, as well as the complex processes underlying radicalization, in order to formulate effective and targeted counter-radicalization strategies. Method To address this gap, a mixed-methods approach was conducted using the 3N Model of Radicalization and Identity Fusion Theory as a theoretical framework. A total of 41 convicted terrorists (97.6% male; M = 39.0 years, SD = 10.47; age range = 24–59 years) across Indonesia agreed to participate in this study. Participants were affiliated with Negara Islam Indonesia (NII), Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD). Results Quantitative results indicated that loss of significance, extremist narratives, networks, and identity fusion (with group, leader, and ideology) were significantly correlated with activism and radicalism intentions. Qualitative thematic analysis enriched the findings by revealing distinct patterns in narratives and strategies that emerged across the different groups. JI members were older, more educated, and motivated by collective grievances and ideology, with less violent narratives. In contrast, JAD and NII members often experienced personal crises (loss of significance) that were linked to quest for significance as the driver toward radicalization and more violent adherence to Takfiri narratives. Conclusion These findings highlight that radicalization pathways vary based on group context—JAD favors rapid recruitment via social media, JI emphasizes long-term ideological dissemination, and NII relies on passive indoctrination. This nuanced understanding can inform tailored, evidence-based counter-radicalization programs sensitive to group-specific dynamics.
4 Significance Quest and the 3N Model
2026-02-15
book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
Recent grants
NIH · $473k · 2001
NIH · $576k · 1994
A Parametric Model of Social Judgment
NSF · $240k · 2006–2010
Multifinality Without Awareness: Implicit Value Maximizing in Dynamic Goal Environments
NSF · $401k · 2009–2014
RAPID: Current Contexts for Testing the Psychology of Radicalization
NSF · $148k · 2016–2018
Frequent coauthors
- 155 shared
Antonio Pierro
Sapienza University of Rome
- 77 shared
Katarzyna Jaśko
- 67 shared
David Webber
Virginia Commonwealth University
- 64 shared
Jocelyn J. Bélanger
- 53 shared
Erica Molinario
Institute of Psychology
- 46 shared
Marina Chernikova
University of Maryland, College Park
- 42 shared
E. Tory Higgins
Columbia University
- 41 shared
Michele J. Gelfand
Stanford University
Labs
Awards & honors
- Fellow of the American Psychological Association
- Fellow of the American Psychological Society
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