Pathways to dignity, constructive and destructive: Reflections on a scientific quest

Am Psychol. 2025 Dec;80(9):1368-1379. doi: 10.1037/amp0001574.

ABSTRACT

In an overview of my recent decades of work, I recount here the journey that took my colleagues and me from the experimental lab into the “real world” and back again. Initially, we sought to address the motivational underpinnings of terrorism and radicalization and the conditions that foster extremism. Quickly, we discovered, however, that the same psychological mechanisms are also responsible for humanity, enlightenment, and progress. Foremost among those are our universal strivings for significance and mattering, and our capacity for motivational imbalance wherein one concern predominates over others, legitimizing any behavior seen to serve it. Recognizing the deep psychological roots our better angels share with our inner demons could be of help in transforming the latter into the former. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:41428520 | DOI:10.1037/amp0001574