Michaela Pfundmair
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 689772 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Michaela Pfundmair |
| PRENOMES | Michaela |
| SOBRENOME | Pfundmair |
| ASSINATURA | PFUNDMAIR M |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3361-4258 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 18 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 21 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 17 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 1 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2014 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 3 |
Social exclusion in the lives of terrorists
Anecdotal evidence and experimental studies have suggested that social exclusion might play a major role in the process of becoming a terrorist. However, there is a lack of systematic empirical data to support this claim. Therefore, in this work, we investigated whether exclusion is an incidence which occurs more frequently in the lives of terrorists. To provide an in-depth examination of this question, we performed three studies. We conducted in…
The Pathway Model of Radicalization 2.0
Cross-cultural differences in radicalism
Incidences of radicalism and terrorism have gained momentum in most parts of the world. However, while cultural differences in the occurrence of terrorism have been studied, there is a lack of such research on radicalism. We therefore investigated cross-cultural differences in people's readiness to engage in illegal and violent political action. We hypothesized that people in the United States would show stronger radicalism intentions than people…
Exclusion and Extremism
The question of how people develop extreme, radical or even terrorist ideas and behaviors is one which is attracting more and more scientific attention. There are many factors that contribute to such extremist attitudes. This book focuses on one specific contributor which has received only little attention in the past: social exclusion. Recent research shows that being kept apart from others, physically or emotionally, is a powerful event in peop…
Ostracism and suggestibility
Interrogative suggestibility has been suggested to grow in situations of isolation. The current study aimed to test this assumption for the first time in an experimental approach. We hypothesized that ostracism increases suggestibility, and assumed this relationship to be mediated by cognitive impairments or social uncertainty. To test these hypotheses, we conducted two studies. We manipulated the state of ostracism (vs. inclusion) using the O-Ca…
How social exclusion makes radicalism flourish
In recent years, researchers of various disciplines have developed many theories to understand the radicalization process. One key factor that may promote radicalization is social exclusion, the state of being kept apart from others. Indeed, experimental studies have provided initial evidence for a relation between exclusion and radicalism. The current review outlines and builds upon these research programs, arguing that social exclusion has been…
When ostracism is mandated
Social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19 poses a unique psychological challenge, especially in light of evidence for the importance of even minimal cues of inclusion. In a German (N = 546) and a US (N = 199) sample, we examined the impact of work-related social distancing on the outcomes of ostracism, measuring need fulfillment in self-esteem, belonging, control, and meaning. Overall, social distancing was associated with decreased need …
How group processes push excluded people into a radical mindset
Social exclusion is a condition that seems to allow terrorism to flourish. Since radicalization is argued to occur mostly in the context of group identification and accompanying processes, we hypothesized that these may contribute to pushing excluded individuals toward radicalism. To investigate this, we performed four studies. In Studies 1 to 3, we conducted experiments in which we manipulated exclusion (vs. inclusion), created new in-groups, an…
Psychologie bei Gericht
Pathways toward Jihadism in Western Europe
Islamist terror is one of the most terrifying threats worldwide. However, there is no common model about the mechanisms underlying the complex process of radicalization and research is usually undermined by a lack of empirical data. Therefore, we aimed to compose a comprehensive model of radicalization, and test it empirically collecting and analyzing data on Islamist radicals in Western Europe. In Study 1, police professionals assessed seventy-f…
Effects of a companion dog on associations of danger and threat with oriental‐looking targets
In the current study we extend previous findings on the shooter bias toward targets with Arab ethnicity. In an adapted shooter task, we presented stereotypically oriental‐looking targets without explicit symbols of Islam (e.g., a turban) and additionally tested if presenting a “harmless” companion dog, together with Arab versus White targets, would affect the shooter bias. Participants responded faster and made fewer errors for armed Arab than fo…
Ostracism promotes a terroristic mindset
Biographical data of terrorists and overlapping theories indicate that ostracism has the power to promote a terroristic mindset. This effect, however, has not been investigated empirically so far. The current studies aimed to fill this research gap and test this relationship experimentally. Inclusionary status was manipulated in an online and a lab study. To assess how far participants would go on behalf of a terrorist group, participants were in…
Safety in Beauty
Individuals regularly exhibit antisocial responses after social exclusion. In four unregistered studies (1a, 1b, 2, and 3) and one preregistered experiment (Study 4), we tested the hypothesis that the excluder’s physical attractiveness reduces the relationship between social exclusion and negative responding. Results showed that exclusion by a highly attractive source caused less aggressive and more prosocial responses than exclusion by a less at…
Glucose Increases Risky Behavior and Attitudes in People Low in Self-Control
People low in self-control have a strong proclivity toward risk-taking. Risk-taking behavior provides an opportunity to obtain some form of reward. Glucose, on the other hand, seems to facilitate reward and goal-directed behavior. In a pilot study executed in the laboratory, we investigated whether consuming a glucose drink would increase risky behavior and attitudes in people low in self-control. Our findings revealed that a dose of glucose comp…
Rejection Via Video
This study introduces an easy-to-implement, controlled, vivid, and functional rejection paradigm. Participants empathized with the protagonist of a video who was rejected or accepted individually or as part of a group. In the rejection condition, more perceived exclusion and lower basic need fulfillment were reported. The paradigm also induced nuance in situational factors: Observing somebody being rejected as part of a group led to less pronounc…
Sugar or spice
Social rejection can increase aggression, especially among people high in rejection sensitivity. Rejection impairs self-control, and deficits in self-control often result in aggression. A dose of glucose can counteract the effect of situational factors that undermine self-control. But no research has integrated these literatures to understand why rejection increases aggression, and how to reduce it. Using the I(3) model of aggression, we proposed…
Exclude Me If You Can
We examined how individualistic versus collectivistic cultural backgrounds affected the psychological experience of social exclusion. We found that Turkish, Chinese, and Indian participants (collectivistic background) differed in their experience of social exclusion from German participants (individualistic background): German participants experienced lower fulfillment of psychological needs in response to social exclusion, whereas Turkish, Chine…
The interplay of oxytocin and collectivistic orientation shields against negative effects of ostracism
Ostracism promotes a terroristic mindset
Biographical data of terrorists and overlapping theories indicate that ostracism has the power to promote a terroristic mindset. This effect, however, has not been investigated empirically so far. The current studies aimed to fill this research gap and test this relationship experimentally. Inclusionary status was manipulated in an online and a lab study. To assess how far participants would go on behalf of a terrorist group, participants were in…
Exclude Me If You Can
We examined how individualistic versus collectivistic cultural backgrounds affected the psychological experience of social exclusion. We found that Turkish, Chinese, and Indian participants (collectivistic background) differed in their experience of social exclusion from German participants (individualistic background): German participants experienced lower fulfillment of psychological needs in response to social exclusion, whereas Turkish, Chine…
Pathways toward Jihadism in Western Europe
Islamist terror is one of the most terrifying threats worldwide. However, there is no common model about the mechanisms underlying the complex process of radicalization and research is usually undermined by a lack of empirical data. Therefore, we aimed to compose a comprehensive model of radicalization, and test it empirically collecting and analyzing data on Islamist radicals in Western Europe. In Study 1, police professionals assessed seventy-f…
Sugar or spice
Social rejection can increase aggression, especially among people high in rejection sensitivity. Rejection impairs self-control, and deficits in self-control often result in aggression. A dose of glucose can counteract the effect of situational factors that undermine self-control. But no research has integrated these literatures to understand why rejection increases aggression, and how to reduce it. Using the I(3) model of aggression, we proposed…
How group processes push excluded people into a radical mindset
Social exclusion is a condition that seems to allow terrorism to flourish. Since radicalization is argued to occur mostly in the context of group identification and accompanying processes, we hypothesized that these may contribute to pushing excluded individuals toward radicalism. To investigate this, we performed four studies. In Studies 1 to 3, we conducted experiments in which we manipulated exclusion (vs. inclusion), created new in-groups, an…
Safety in Beauty
Individuals regularly exhibit antisocial responses after social exclusion. In four unregistered studies (1a, 1b, 2, and 3) and one preregistered experiment (Study 4), we tested the hypothesis that the excluder’s physical attractiveness reduces the relationship between social exclusion and negative responding. Results showed that exclusion by a highly attractive source caused less aggressive and more prosocial responses than exclusion by a less at…
Glucose Increases Risky Behavior and Attitudes in People Low in Self-Control
People low in self-control have a strong proclivity toward risk-taking. Risk-taking behavior provides an opportunity to obtain some form of reward. Glucose, on the other hand, seems to facilitate reward and goal-directed behavior. In a pilot study executed in the laboratory, we investigated whether consuming a glucose drink would increase risky behavior and attitudes in people low in self-control. Our findings revealed that a dose of glucose comp…
Rejection Via Video
This study introduces an easy-to-implement, controlled, vivid, and functional rejection paradigm. Participants empathized with the protagonist of a video who was rejected or accepted individually or as part of a group. In the rejection condition, more perceived exclusion and lower basic need fulfillment were reported. The paradigm also induced nuance in situational factors: Observing somebody being rejected as part of a group led to less pronounc…
The interplay of oxytocin and collectivistic orientation shields against negative effects of ostracism
Sugar or spice
Social rejection can increase aggression, especially among people high in rejection sensitivity. Rejection impairs self-control, and deficits in self-control often result in aggression. A dose of glucose can counteract the effect of situational factors that undermine self-control. But no research has integrated these literatures to understand why rejection increases aggression, and how to reduce it. Using the I(3) model of aggression, we proposed…
Exclude Me If You Can
We examined how individualistic versus collectivistic cultural backgrounds affected the psychological experience of social exclusion. We found that Turkish, Chinese, and Indian participants (collectivistic background) differed in their experience of social exclusion from German participants (individualistic background): German participants experienced lower fulfillment of psychological needs in response to social exclusion, whereas Turkish, Chine…
Rejection Via Video
This study introduces an easy-to-implement, controlled, vivid, and functional rejection paradigm. Participants empathized with the protagonist of a video who was rejected or accepted individually or as part of a group. In the rejection condition, more perceived exclusion and lower basic need fulfillment were reported. The paradigm also induced nuance in situational factors: Observing somebody being rejected as part of a group led to less pronounc…
Safety in Beauty
Individuals regularly exhibit antisocial responses after social exclusion. In four unregistered studies (1a, 1b, 2, and 3) and one preregistered experiment (Study 4), we tested the hypothesis that the excluder’s physical attractiveness reduces the relationship between social exclusion and negative responding. Results showed that exclusion by a highly attractive source caused less aggressive and more prosocial responses than exclusion by a less at…
Glucose Increases Risky Behavior and Attitudes in People Low in Self-Control
People low in self-control have a strong proclivity toward risk-taking. Risk-taking behavior provides an opportunity to obtain some form of reward. Glucose, on the other hand, seems to facilitate reward and goal-directed behavior. In a pilot study executed in the laboratory, we investigated whether consuming a glucose drink would increase risky behavior and attitudes in people low in self-control. Our findings revealed that a dose of glucose comp…
Ostracism promotes a terroristic mindset
Biographical data of terrorists and overlapping theories indicate that ostracism has the power to promote a terroristic mindset. This effect, however, has not been investigated empirically so far. The current studies aimed to fill this research gap and test this relationship experimentally. Inclusionary status was manipulated in an online and a lab study. To assess how far participants would go on behalf of a terrorist group, participants were in…
Pathways toward Jihadism in Western Europe
Islamist terror is one of the most terrifying threats worldwide. However, there is no common model about the mechanisms underlying the complex process of radicalization and research is usually undermined by a lack of empirical data. Therefore, we aimed to compose a comprehensive model of radicalization, and test it empirically collecting and analyzing data on Islamist radicals in Western Europe. In Study 1, police professionals assessed seventy-f…
Effects of a companion dog on associations of danger and threat with oriental‐looking targets
In the current study we extend previous findings on the shooter bias toward targets with Arab ethnicity. In an adapted shooter task, we presented stereotypically oriental‐looking targets without explicit symbols of Islam (e.g., a turban) and additionally tested if presenting a “harmless” companion dog, together with Arab versus White targets, would affect the shooter bias. Participants responded faster and made fewer errors for armed Arab than fo…
Psychologie bei Gericht
How group processes push excluded people into a radical mindset
Social exclusion is a condition that seems to allow terrorism to flourish. Since radicalization is argued to occur mostly in the context of group identification and accompanying processes, we hypothesized that these may contribute to pushing excluded individuals toward radicalism. To investigate this, we performed four studies. In Studies 1 to 3, we conducted experiments in which we manipulated exclusion (vs. inclusion), created new in-groups, an…
When ostracism is mandated
Social distancing to limit the spread of COVID-19 poses a unique psychological challenge, especially in light of evidence for the importance of even minimal cues of inclusion. In a German (N = 546) and a US (N = 199) sample, we examined the impact of work-related social distancing on the outcomes of ostracism, measuring need fulfillment in self-esteem, belonging, control, and meaning. Overall, social distancing was associated with decreased need …
Exclusion and Extremism
The question of how people develop extreme, radical or even terrorist ideas and behaviors is one which is attracting more and more scientific attention. There are many factors that contribute to such extremist attitudes. This book focuses on one specific contributor which has received only little attention in the past: social exclusion. Recent research shows that being kept apart from others, physically or emotionally, is a powerful event in peop…
Ostracism and suggestibility
Interrogative suggestibility has been suggested to grow in situations of isolation. The current study aimed to test this assumption for the first time in an experimental approach. We hypothesized that ostracism increases suggestibility, and assumed this relationship to be mediated by cognitive impairments or social uncertainty. To test these hypotheses, we conducted two studies. We manipulated the state of ostracism (vs. inclusion) using the O-Ca…
How social exclusion makes radicalism flourish
In recent years, researchers of various disciplines have developed many theories to understand the radicalization process. One key factor that may promote radicalization is social exclusion, the state of being kept apart from others. Indeed, experimental studies have provided initial evidence for a relation between exclusion and radicalism. The current review outlines and builds upon these research programs, arguing that social exclusion has been…
Cross-cultural differences in radicalism
Incidences of radicalism and terrorism have gained momentum in most parts of the world. However, while cultural differences in the occurrence of terrorism have been studied, there is a lack of such research on radicalism. We therefore investigated cross-cultural differences in people's readiness to engage in illegal and violent political action. We hypothesized that people in the United States would show stronger radicalism intentions than people…
Social exclusion in the lives of terrorists
Anecdotal evidence and experimental studies have suggested that social exclusion might play a major role in the process of becoming a terrorist. However, there is a lack of systematic empirical data to support this claim. Therefore, in this work, we investigated whether exclusion is an incidence which occurs more frequently in the lives of terrorists. To provide an in-depth examination of this question, we performed three studies. We conducted in…
The Pathway Model of Radicalization 2.0
Psychology (13 obras) · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion (11 obras) · Social Psychology (10 obras) · Social Psychology (9 obras) · Political science (7 obras) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (7 obras) · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence (7 obras) · Law (5 obras) · Radicalization (5 obras) · Social exclusion (5 obras)