Can Science Solve Terrorism? Q&A with Psychologist John Horgan

Scientific American:

For years, I’ve been getting emails from people who praise my brilliant research on terrorism and then ask me tough questions about the topic. I’m forced to reply: “Sorry, I’m John Horgan the American science writer. I occasionally write about terrorism, but you have mistaken me for John Horgan the Irish psychologist and terrorism expert.” I wish I could take credit for the work of the other John Horgan (who as far as I know is unrelated to me). For more than 15 years, he has carried out extensive interviews with former militants to understand why they turn to and away from terrorism. He has written half a dozen books on terrorism and has consulted for the FBI and other agencies. He was born in Ireland and received his doctorate from University College, Cork, and now directs the Center for Terrorism & Security Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. (See his website here.) I’ve been brooding over terrorism even more than usual lately because of terror attacks in Europe and the rise of ISIS. So I emailed Horgan and asked if he thought it would be too “gimmicky” for us to do a Q&A. “I’m all for gimmicky,” he replied, “if it allows us to do something informative.”

…

Q: Why did you devote yourself to studying terrorism?

A: Initially, I just fell into it by accident. I was taking a social psychology class at University College, Cork one day and the Professor (Max Taylor, a well known terrorism expert) had just finished teaching us about the Milgram experiments on obedience to an authority. The idea that extreme behavior can often develop from mundane beginnings was the most profound thing I had ever heard. In the next class, Professor Taylor went on to tell us about how the same dynamics worked inside terrorist groups. I was hooked.

Read the whole story: Scientific American