From Uncertainty to Extremism Social.pdf

Current Directions in Psychological Science 2014, Vol. 23(5) 338 –342 ? The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: /journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0963721414540168 The world we live in can seem pervaded by extremism— rigid one-dimensional ideologies and worldviews, improbable conspiracy theories, strident and ethnocen- tric stereotypes, social exclusion and stigma, destructive popular unrest, terrorism and collective violence, and so forth. These belief systems and behaviors, which are an enduring focus of social psychological research (e.g., Dovidio, Glick, Hewstone, Esses, 2010), often appear to be associated with feelings of uncertainty about one’s world and one’s place and identity within it. For example, Staub (1989) noted that genocides often arise under con- ditions of acute societal uncertainty. In recent years, a number of social psychologists have explored the relationship between people’s feelings of uncertainty about themselves and the world they live in and extremist belief systems and behaviors (see Hogg Blaylock, 2012; Hogg, Kruglanski, Van den Bos, 2013). These researchers have asked whether feelings of uncer- tainty can, under certain circumstances, lead people to extremism. How and when might uncertainty cause peo- ple to embrace all-encompassing exclusionary ideolo- gies; identify with rigidly structured, intolerant, and ethnocentric social groups; and engage in radical, extreme, and sometimes violent intergroup behaviors (e.g., Jonas et?al., 2014; Kruglanski, Pierro, Mannetti, De Grada, 2006; Van den Bos, 2009)? In this article, I describe one particular account of the psychological rela- tionship between uncertainty and extremism: uncer- tainty-identity theory (Hogg, 2007b, 2012). Uncertainty, Identity, and Group Behavior Uncertainty-identity theory describes the motivational role played by uncertainty in causing people to identify with social groups, ranging from small, interactive, task- oriented groups, such