The ‘Average Person’ Thinking About Radicalization: A Mind Genomics Cartography

Abstract

A group of 227 respondents, about half Muslims, half non-Muslims, evaluated different sets of 24 vignettes about beliefs, intending to ‘predict’ whether the person described in each vignette would be or not radicalized. The respondent also selected the likely emotion to be felt. The results suggest a low basic belief in the radicalizability of the described person according to non-Muslim respondents and a firmer fundamental belief in radicalizability by the Muslim respondent. The non-Muslim respondent differentiated strongly among the different elements in terms of prospective radicalization indications and linked three emotions to the vignettes (belong, identify, master). The Muslim respondents did not differentiate among the different elements of perspective signals to radicalization and linked only one emotion to the vignettes (secure). Unlike the emergent mindsets from other Mind Genomics studies, there do not appear to be mindsets concerning radicalizability, only a degree of differentiation rather than pattern.