Combating Terrorism with Science

Seven enlightening studies from social psychology hold vital lessons for policy makers—and the rest of us

Five experts share recent studies, classical research and professional experiences that shed light on defusing the threat of extremism

Memories and emotions—not reason—hold the key to reclaiming young fanatics, according to an expert team in France

The psychology of group dynamics goes a long way toward explaining what drives ordinary people toward radicalism

An old feud rekindles in the wake of the Paris attack

Giving governments backdoor access to private communications would do more harm than good, security analysts warn

Whether in Chattanooga or Afghanistan, the attacks are driven more by psychological problems than ideology—which hints at a solution

The moralistic motivations of ISIS

For years, I’ve been getting e-mails from people who praise my brilliant research on terrorism and then ask me tough questions about the topic

Erratic human behavior and incomplete information plague efforts to model this risk

In spite of massive challenges, Scott Atran has managed to conduct extensive field interviews with would-be and convicted terrorists

Why terror doesn't work

What have we learned about the way children understand and process major events--even if they, themselves were not alive to have experienced them?

Scientists enlist physics, math and evolutionary biology to tackle the seemingly impossible challenge of finding patterns in the chaos of modern war

A toolkit used to identify Osama bin Laden in his hideout was probably a lot like the handheld devices used by U.S. soldiers

A new study says the benefits don't add up

How we characterize an issue affects how we think about it. Replacing the "war on terror" metaphor with other ways of framing counterterrorism might help us curtail the violence more effectively

Introduction to SciAm's issue on Privacy. Our jittery state since 9/11, coupled with the Internet revolution, is shifting the boundaries between public interest and "the right to be let alone"

Protesters, terrorists and warmongers have found the Internet to be a useful tool to achieve their goals. Who will bring law and order to cyberspace?

Scientists are probing the psyches of terrorists to reveal what motivates their monstrous acts. Far from being crazed killers, terrorists are gunning for the greater good-as they see it

Many civilian research reactors contain highly enriched uranium that terrorists could use to build nuclear bombs

The psychological damage caused by the attacks of September 11 mirrored the physical destruction and showed that protecting the public’s mental health must be a component of the national defense