Molly Ellenberg
Biographic Data
| ID | 194277 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Molly Ellenberg |
| GIVEN NAMES | Molly |
| FAMILY NAME | Ellenberg |
| SIGNATURE | ELLENBERG M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Department of Psychology University of Maryland College Park Maryland USA |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6418-656X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 44 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 20 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
The effect of past experiences on affective reactions to outcome uncertainty
Facing the unknown with hope or fear
In both lay discourse and scientific analyses, uncertainty has been often portrayed as threatening, and “fear of the unknown” has been typically proclaimed as people’s natural reaction to unpredictability. Diverse research programs in psychology emphasised the human tendency to avoid uncertainty, seek cognitive closure, crave security, and compensate for self-uncertainty by self-affirmation. Yet there is also evidence that people may feel comfort…
Romantic Relationships as a Source of Significance
Drawing on significance quest theory and its derived model of romantic relationships, we demonstrated that perceiving romantic partners as having socially valued qualities (partners’ merit) and as admiring and caring (partners’ appreciation) enhanced actors’ significance gained through the romantic relationship which, in turn, increased the likelihood to enter (Studies 1A and 1B) and maintain (Study 2) romantic relationships. Further, Study 3 dem…
Psychologie der Rechtsradikalisierung
Wie radikalisieren sich Menschen und warum ist die Empfänglichkeit für rechte Radikalisierungsdynamiken aktuell besonders hoch? Dieses Buch bietet Einblicke in die psychologische Forschung zu diesen Fragen. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler stellen in prägnanter und verständlicher Weise Erkenntnisse und Forschungslücken dar. Die Beiträge diskutieren insbesondere die motivationale Bedeutung von Verlust- und Benachteiligungserfahrungen, das …
Need for cognitive closure and desire for cultural tightness mediate the effect of concern about ecological threats on the need for strong leadership
The present research utilizes an evolutionary framework to investigate the process underlying the recent rise of several populist, “strongmen” leaders. Specifically, we propose that when people experience contingent (i.e., impending) ecological threats, their need for cognitive closure is activated, making them desire strong rules (i.e., a tight society) and to be guided by a strong leader. Further, we hypothesize that desire for cultural tightne…
Power of the network and power from the network
The 3N model of radicalization posits that radicalization results from the confluence of the need for significance, the narrative, and the network. The network validates the narrative and rewards with significance those who adhere to it. Thus, it is critical to the radicalization process, leading scholars to suggest that no violent extremist truly acts alone. Similarly, understanding the role of the network is crucial to understanding and facilit…
Isis and the Allure of Traditional Gender Roles
As issues of repatriations of ISIS members and their families are hotly debated, exploring the factors that led over 40,000 men and women to leave their home countries to join ISIS is integral to rehabilitating and reintegrating these individuals. Understanding their experiences in ISIS is critical to deradicalization. This article uses primary data to explore vulnerabilities, motivations, influences, experiences, and sources of disillusionment a…
People act extremely toward their amorous partner when they feel insignificant
Drawing on significance quest theory, we hypothesized that when people in romantic relationships experience a general feeling of significance loss, they should develop an obsessive passion toward their partner, which in turn should enhance their willingness to act in an extreme manner to maintain their relationship (i.e., their remaining source of significance). To test this hypothesis, we ran two cross‐sectional studies and a longitudinal one. T…
Beyond violent extremism
At the roots of Allport’s “prejudice-prone personality”
In line with the seminal ideas on the “prejudice-prone personality” provided by Allport (1954) in the book The Nature of Prejudice, various studies have highlighted the association between individuals’ high need for cognitive closure (NCC) and prejudice towards various outgroups. Nonetheless, evidence on the invariance of individuals’ prejudice towards different outgroups is still missing. Study 1 and Study 2 aimed to provide evidence that indivi…
Frustration–aggression hypothesis reconsidered
One of the oldest scientific theories of human aggression is the frustration–aggression hypothesis, advanced in 1939. Although this theory has received considerable empirical support and is alive and well today, its underlying mechanisms have not been adequately explored. In this article, we examine major findings and concepts from extant psychological research on hostile aggression and offer an integrative conception: aggression is a primordial …
Ambition‐driven aggression in response to significance‐threatening frustration
Conceptualizing aggression as elicited by the significance‐reducing effects of frustration, and ambition as reflecting the quest for significance, we tested the role of ambition in the frustration–aggression relationship. Study 1 ( N = 249) found that ambitious individuals are more sensitive to significance‐threatening frustration. Study 2 ( N = 413) found that significance‐reducing (vs. non‐reducing) frustration leads to more aggressiveness thro…
Self-reported psychiatric disorder and perceived psychological symptom rates among involuntary celibates (incels) and their perceptions of mental health treatment
This study explores the prevalence of self-reported formal diagnoses and informally identified symptoms of psychological challenges among involuntary celibates (incels). Incels are increasingly becoming a topic of research, primarily focused on their potential for violence. However, there has not been a large study of the mental health antecedents to and results of inceldom, nor has there been extensive investigation of potential psychosocial int…
By all means necessary
This research investigated the motivational underpinnings of attitudes towards weapon ownership. We propose that people who have a strong need for closure (NFC) would be more likely to approve of weapon ownership, but that this relationship would be serially mediated by the endorsement of binding moral foundations and fear of immigrants. Specifically, heightened NFC would promote moral concerns for the safety of one's group (i.e., the binding fou…
Involuntary Celibates’ Experiences of and Grievance over Sexual Exclusion and the Potential Threat of Violence Among Those Active in an Online Incel Forum
This article represents the largest ever primary data-based study of involuntary celibates (incels), previously studied nearly exclusively through analysis of online postings. The incel movement has been characterized by some as a radical ideology, with mass murderers such as Elliot Rodger, Alek Minassian, and Chris Harper Mercer being portrayed as prototypical of the movement. However, there is a dearth of research through direct questioning of …
Breaking the Isis Brand Counter Narrative Facebook Campaigns in Europe
Despite the territorial demise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], the group’s cyberoperations, which once drew an unprecedented 45,000 foreign terrorist fighters [FTFs] to their so-called Caliphate, continue to entice supporters online. ISIS’s slick, high-quality content encourages supporters to hope for the return of the Caliphate and to seek revenge upon those who destroyed it by executing attacks at home. The European Union [EU] was on…
Isis in Their Own Words
Two hundred and twenty Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) defectors, returnees, and imprisoned ISIS cadres were in-depth interviewed by the author, a research psychologist working for the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) from 2015-2019. These interviews were conducted in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, the Balkans, Europe, and Central Asia with ISIS prisoners, returnees, and defectors. The purpose was to learn about their …
The effects of Assad’s atrocities and the call to foreign fighters to come to Syria on the rise and fall of the Isis Caliphate
The present study is a targeted analysis of in-depth interviews of ISIS defectors, returnees, and imprisoned cadres about the motivational effects of the Assad regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people and how they bolstered the calls to foreign fighters to come to Syria. This research question is examined within a larger study of 245 in-depth research interviews of male and female ISIS defectors, returnees, and imprisoned cadres. Many of the…
Hypertargeting Facebook Profiles Vulnerable to Isis Recruitment with “Breaking the Isis Brand Counter Narrative Video Clips” in Multiple Facebook Campaigns
Despite the territorial demise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], their cyberoperations continue to entice supporters. In an effort to disrupt ISIS’s appeal, the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism has produced over 150 short video clips featuring ISIS insiders denouncing the group, published in over 100 Facebook campaigns in multiple languages and regions. This article details 16 campaigns hyper-targeted at profiles t…
Loss and Grief among Persistently Delinquent Youth
Involuntary Celibates’ Experiences of and Grievance over Sexual Exclusion and the Potential Threat of Violence Among Those Active in an Online Incel Forum
This article represents the largest ever primary data-based study of involuntary celibates (incels), previously studied nearly exclusively through analysis of online postings. The incel movement has been characterized by some as a radical ideology, with mass murderers such as Elliot Rodger, Alek Minassian, and Chris Harper Mercer being portrayed as prototypical of the movement. However, there is a dearth of research through direct questioning of …
Isis in Their Own Words
Two hundred and twenty Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) defectors, returnees, and imprisoned ISIS cadres were in-depth interviewed by the author, a research psychologist working for the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) from 2015-2019. These interviews were conducted in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, the Balkans, Europe, and Central Asia with ISIS prisoners, returnees, and defectors. The purpose was to learn about their …
Frustration–aggression hypothesis reconsidered
One of the oldest scientific theories of human aggression is the frustration–aggression hypothesis, advanced in 1939. Although this theory has received considerable empirical support and is alive and well today, its underlying mechanisms have not been adequately explored. In this article, we examine major findings and concepts from extant psychological research on hostile aggression and offer an integrative conception: aggression is a primordial …
Self-reported psychiatric disorder and perceived psychological symptom rates among involuntary celibates (incels) and their perceptions of mental health treatment
This study explores the prevalence of self-reported formal diagnoses and informally identified symptoms of psychological challenges among involuntary celibates (incels). Incels are increasingly becoming a topic of research, primarily focused on their potential for violence. However, there has not been a large study of the mental health antecedents to and results of inceldom, nor has there been extensive investigation of potential psychosocial int…
Beyond violent extremism
At the roots of Allport’s “prejudice-prone personality”
In line with the seminal ideas on the “prejudice-prone personality” provided by Allport (1954) in the book The Nature of Prejudice, various studies have highlighted the association between individuals’ high need for cognitive closure (NCC) and prejudice towards various outgroups. Nonetheless, evidence on the invariance of individuals’ prejudice towards different outgroups is still missing. Study 1 and Study 2 aimed to provide evidence that indivi…
By all means necessary
This research investigated the motivational underpinnings of attitudes towards weapon ownership. We propose that people who have a strong need for closure (NFC) would be more likely to approve of weapon ownership, but that this relationship would be serially mediated by the endorsement of binding moral foundations and fear of immigrants. Specifically, heightened NFC would promote moral concerns for the safety of one's group (i.e., the binding fou…
The effects of Assad’s atrocities and the call to foreign fighters to come to Syria on the rise and fall of the Isis Caliphate
The present study is a targeted analysis of in-depth interviews of ISIS defectors, returnees, and imprisoned cadres about the motivational effects of the Assad regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people and how they bolstered the calls to foreign fighters to come to Syria. This research question is examined within a larger study of 245 in-depth research interviews of male and female ISIS defectors, returnees, and imprisoned cadres. Many of the…
Power of the network and power from the network
The 3N model of radicalization posits that radicalization results from the confluence of the need for significance, the narrative, and the network. The network validates the narrative and rewards with significance those who adhere to it. Thus, it is critical to the radicalization process, leading scholars to suggest that no violent extremist truly acts alone. Similarly, understanding the role of the network is crucial to understanding and facilit…
Ambition‐driven aggression in response to significance‐threatening frustration
Conceptualizing aggression as elicited by the significance‐reducing effects of frustration, and ambition as reflecting the quest for significance, we tested the role of ambition in the frustration–aggression relationship. Study 1 ( N = 249) found that ambitious individuals are more sensitive to significance‐threatening frustration. Study 2 ( N = 413) found that significance‐reducing (vs. non‐reducing) frustration leads to more aggressiveness thro…
Hypertargeting Facebook Profiles Vulnerable to Isis Recruitment with “Breaking the Isis Brand Counter Narrative Video Clips” in Multiple Facebook Campaigns
Despite the territorial demise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], their cyberoperations continue to entice supporters. In an effort to disrupt ISIS’s appeal, the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism has produced over 150 short video clips featuring ISIS insiders denouncing the group, published in over 100 Facebook campaigns in multiple languages and regions. This article details 16 campaigns hyper-targeted at profiles t…
Loss and Grief among Persistently Delinquent Youth
Breaking the Isis Brand Counter Narrative Facebook Campaigns in Europe
Despite the territorial demise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], the group’s cyberoperations, which once drew an unprecedented 45,000 foreign terrorist fighters [FTFs] to their so-called Caliphate, continue to entice supporters online. ISIS’s slick, high-quality content encourages supporters to hope for the return of the Caliphate and to seek revenge upon those who destroyed it by executing attacks at home. The European Union [EU] was on…
Isis in Their Own Words
Two hundred and twenty Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) defectors, returnees, and imprisoned ISIS cadres were in-depth interviewed by the author, a research psychologist working for the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) from 2015-2019. These interviews were conducted in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, the Balkans, Europe, and Central Asia with ISIS prisoners, returnees, and defectors. The purpose was to learn about their …
The effects of Assad’s atrocities and the call to foreign fighters to come to Syria on the rise and fall of the Isis Caliphate
The present study is a targeted analysis of in-depth interviews of ISIS defectors, returnees, and imprisoned cadres about the motivational effects of the Assad regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people and how they bolstered the calls to foreign fighters to come to Syria. This research question is examined within a larger study of 245 in-depth research interviews of male and female ISIS defectors, returnees, and imprisoned cadres. Many of the…
Hypertargeting Facebook Profiles Vulnerable to Isis Recruitment with “Breaking the Isis Brand Counter Narrative Video Clips” in Multiple Facebook Campaigns
Despite the territorial demise of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS], their cyberoperations continue to entice supporters. In an effort to disrupt ISIS’s appeal, the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism has produced over 150 short video clips featuring ISIS insiders denouncing the group, published in over 100 Facebook campaigns in multiple languages and regions. This article details 16 campaigns hyper-targeted at profiles t…
Involuntary Celibates’ Experiences of and Grievance over Sexual Exclusion and the Potential Threat of Violence Among Those Active in an Online Incel Forum
This article represents the largest ever primary data-based study of involuntary celibates (incels), previously studied nearly exclusively through analysis of online postings. The incel movement has been characterized by some as a radical ideology, with mass murderers such as Elliot Rodger, Alek Minassian, and Chris Harper Mercer being portrayed as prototypical of the movement. However, there is a dearth of research through direct questioning of …
Self-reported psychiatric disorder and perceived psychological symptom rates among involuntary celibates (incels) and their perceptions of mental health treatment
This study explores the prevalence of self-reported formal diagnoses and informally identified symptoms of psychological challenges among involuntary celibates (incels). Incels are increasingly becoming a topic of research, primarily focused on their potential for violence. However, there has not been a large study of the mental health antecedents to and results of inceldom, nor has there been extensive investigation of potential psychosocial int…
By all means necessary
This research investigated the motivational underpinnings of attitudes towards weapon ownership. We propose that people who have a strong need for closure (NFC) would be more likely to approve of weapon ownership, but that this relationship would be serially mediated by the endorsement of binding moral foundations and fear of immigrants. Specifically, heightened NFC would promote moral concerns for the safety of one's group (i.e., the binding fou…
Isis and the Allure of Traditional Gender Roles
As issues of repatriations of ISIS members and their families are hotly debated, exploring the factors that led over 40,000 men and women to leave their home countries to join ISIS is integral to rehabilitating and reintegrating these individuals. Understanding their experiences in ISIS is critical to deradicalization. This article uses primary data to explore vulnerabilities, motivations, influences, experiences, and sources of disillusionment a…
People act extremely toward their amorous partner when they feel insignificant
Drawing on significance quest theory, we hypothesized that when people in romantic relationships experience a general feeling of significance loss, they should develop an obsessive passion toward their partner, which in turn should enhance their willingness to act in an extreme manner to maintain their relationship (i.e., their remaining source of significance). To test this hypothesis, we ran two cross‐sectional studies and a longitudinal one. T…
Beyond violent extremism
At the roots of Allport’s “prejudice-prone personality”
In line with the seminal ideas on the “prejudice-prone personality” provided by Allport (1954) in the book The Nature of Prejudice, various studies have highlighted the association between individuals’ high need for cognitive closure (NCC) and prejudice towards various outgroups. Nonetheless, evidence on the invariance of individuals’ prejudice towards different outgroups is still missing. Study 1 and Study 2 aimed to provide evidence that indivi…
Frustration–aggression hypothesis reconsidered
One of the oldest scientific theories of human aggression is the frustration–aggression hypothesis, advanced in 1939. Although this theory has received considerable empirical support and is alive and well today, its underlying mechanisms have not been adequately explored. In this article, we examine major findings and concepts from extant psychological research on hostile aggression and offer an integrative conception: aggression is a primordial …
Ambition‐driven aggression in response to significance‐threatening frustration
Conceptualizing aggression as elicited by the significance‐reducing effects of frustration, and ambition as reflecting the quest for significance, we tested the role of ambition in the frustration–aggression relationship. Study 1 ( N = 249) found that ambitious individuals are more sensitive to significance‐threatening frustration. Study 2 ( N = 413) found that significance‐reducing (vs. non‐reducing) frustration leads to more aggressiveness thro…
Psychologie der Rechtsradikalisierung
Wie radikalisieren sich Menschen und warum ist die Empfänglichkeit für rechte Radikalisierungsdynamiken aktuell besonders hoch? Dieses Buch bietet Einblicke in die psychologische Forschung zu diesen Fragen. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler stellen in prägnanter und verständlicher Weise Erkenntnisse und Forschungslücken dar. Die Beiträge diskutieren insbesondere die motivationale Bedeutung von Verlust- und Benachteiligungserfahrungen, das …
Need for cognitive closure and desire for cultural tightness mediate the effect of concern about ecological threats on the need for strong leadership
The present research utilizes an evolutionary framework to investigate the process underlying the recent rise of several populist, “strongmen” leaders. Specifically, we propose that when people experience contingent (i.e., impending) ecological threats, their need for cognitive closure is activated, making them desire strong rules (i.e., a tight society) and to be guided by a strong leader. Further, we hypothesize that desire for cultural tightne…
Power of the network and power from the network
The 3N model of radicalization posits that radicalization results from the confluence of the need for significance, the narrative, and the network. The network validates the narrative and rewards with significance those who adhere to it. Thus, it is critical to the radicalization process, leading scholars to suggest that no violent extremist truly acts alone. Similarly, understanding the role of the network is crucial to understanding and facilit…
Facing the unknown with hope or fear
In both lay discourse and scientific analyses, uncertainty has been often portrayed as threatening, and “fear of the unknown” has been typically proclaimed as people’s natural reaction to unpredictability. Diverse research programs in psychology emphasised the human tendency to avoid uncertainty, seek cognitive closure, crave security, and compensate for self-uncertainty by self-affirmation. Yet there is also evidence that people may feel comfort…
Romantic Relationships as a Source of Significance
Drawing on significance quest theory and its derived model of romantic relationships, we demonstrated that perceiving romantic partners as having socially valued qualities (partners’ merit) and as admiring and caring (partners’ appreciation) enhanced actors’ significance gained through the romantic relationship which, in turn, increased the likelihood to enter (Studies 1A and 1B) and maintain (Study 2) romantic relationships. Further, Study 3 dem…
The effect of past experiences on affective reactions to outcome uncertainty
Psychology (15 works) · Political science (10 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence (10 works) · Law (9 works) · Law (6 works) · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion (5 works) · Medicine (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Terrorism (5 works)