Identity, Significance, Sensation or Justice? Different Motivations for Being Attracted to Radical Ideas

People have different motivations for feeling attracted to radical ideas. In the present study, we propose four such motivations, resulting in four types: the identity seeker, the significance seeker, the sensation seeker, and the justice seeker. To test this model, we conducted five narrative interviews with individuals who had disengaged during the early stages of radicalization (Study 1) and seven semi-structured expert interviews with employees of German deradicalization programmes (Study 2). Data were analysed using Thematic Analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006). In sum, the pro-posed typology could not be fully supported, but the individual motivations making up the types were all reflected in the data, the most important being the need to belong, personal uncertainty, and need for status. The key finding of this study is that, rather than generalise over types of radicalization or types of ideologies, it is beneficial to analyse individuals according to their personal combination of psychological needs and their saliency. We relate this to past research and discuss practical implications.