We all want to feel significant. This drive for significance ultimately fuels our cognition, emotions, and actions. Distinguished psychologist Arie Kruglanski discusses motivation, cognition, goal systems, radicalization, and his recent work on the ubiquitous quest for significance.
Dr. Arie W. Kruglanski PhD is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Maryland. He directs a lab that studies human motivation as it affects thinking, feeling, and behavior. He is one of the leading voices in social psychology, being instrumental in understanding the motivation of uncertainty, goals, radicalization and most recently on our quest for significance. Arie has over 500 research papers and articles and has won numerous awards for his work.
Arie explains to us that all human behavior is propelled by motivation, with motivation being the driving force behind cognition, emotions, and actions. He discusses how goals are represented cognitively but serve motivational needs. The conversation also touches on how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are not truly distinct, with all motivation coming from within but having different relationships to means and ends.
A fascinating part of Arie’s work is his research on radicalization. Having devised The 3 N Model of Radicalization, he expertly illustrates how our quest for significance can be misdirected into violent or suicidal behavior. But there is optimism in addressing radicalization through education and alternative significance pathways.
Topics
(4:34) Welcome to Arie and speed round questions.
(6:06) The underlying thread through all of Arie’s work.
(12:21) Why people seek significance through violence.
(15:51) How can individuals be radicalized to become suicide bombers?
(19:40) The difference between basic needs and psychological needs.
(25:30) All our goals go back to addressing our basic needs.
(27:17) Why money is tied to significance (sometimes).
(30:45) The means to the end is more important than the goal.
(32:26) So does extrinsic motivation even exist?
(34:13) The dichotomy between motivation and cognition.
(37:23) The false assumption that attitudes predict behavior.
(41:45) The 3 N Model of Radicalization.
(45:08) How the internet has facilitated radicalization.
(49:04) So how can people attain significance through positive means.
(51:05) What music would Arie take to a desert island?
(55:04) Grooving Session on the quest for significance.
© 2023 Behavioral Grooves
Links
Arie Kruglanski: https://www.kruglanskiarie.com/
Arie Kruglanski’s books:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Susan T. Fiske, “Social Beings: Core Motives in Social Psychology”: https://amzn.to/3EuQlLn
Sir Angus Deaton’s book, “Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism”: https://amzn.to/3sDXV3C
Episode 276, How To Stay Motivated So You Exceed Your Goals | Ayelet Fishbach PhD: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/motivation-to-exceed-your-goals/
Scott Atran, “Talking to the Enemy: Violent Extremism, Sacred Values, and What It Means to Be Human”: https://amzn.to/3Pn5VPs
Baumeister, R. F., Wotman, S. R., & Stillwell, A. M. (1993). Unrequited love: On heartbreak, anger, guilt, scriptlessness, and humiliation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.3.377
Dumb and Dumber clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX5jNnDMfxA
Steven Pinker, “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined”: https://amzn.to/47Wl0ir
Episode 287, “Why Talking To Strangers Is Actually Good For Your Wellbeing | Nick Epley”: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/talking-to-strangers/
Robert Sapolsky, “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst”: https://amzn.to/3L6lvN3
Behavioral Grooves Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves
Musical Links
Bach “Air on G String”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMkmQlfOJDk
Miles Davis “So What”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c
Make It Scale: How To Drive Behavior Change Initiatives | Neela Saldanha PhD
The Best Behavioral Science Books Of 2022 (According to Kurt and Tim!)
How the Right Journal Can Help You Reach Your Goals in 2023
How Game Theory Can Be Used To Explain Human Behavior | Erez Yoeli
Do One Small Thing Every Day That Scares You | Scott Simon
Want To Join A Secret Club? With Michael F. Schein
How To Redesign Social Media Better So That It’s Actually Sociable
Groove Track | Tale of Two Markets: Do We Help People Only For Money Or Candy?
Why Do Good People Let Bad Things Happen? With Max Bazerman
A Proven Way Expectations Can Unlock A More Positive Life | David Robson
Grooving on Cheating: Kurt, Tim, Christian Hunt, and Koen Smets
Can You Unlearn History And Still Love Your Country? With Dolly Chugh
How To Get Comfortable With Uncertainty: The Ambiguity Mindset with Debbie Sutherland
Quit: Why We Do It Too Late and How To Get Better At It with Annie Duke
Four Steps To More Effective Conversations | Chuck Wisner
How To Have A Conversation About Racism | Robert Livingston
Visualize A Horse...But What If You Actually Can’t? Aphantasia Explained With Dr Adam Zeman
Want to Know How Priming Works? It Starts With Your Conscious, Not Your Unconscious | John Bargh PhD
Rory Sutherland: The Opposite of a Good Idea is a Good Idea [Republish]
How Good People Fight Bias | Dolly Chugh [Republish]
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Poetry of Science
Hidden Brain
Choiceology with Katy Milkman
The Psychology Podcast
The Science of Happiness