A cognitive opening is a concept in social movement theory defined as a moment in which a catalytic event, sometimes a personal crisis or socioeconomic pressure, makes a person receptive to new ways of thinking because life changes challenge previously accepted beliefs, prompting a re-assessment of world views.
It is described as a potential stage towards radicalization. The catalytic event can be personal, such as a death in the family or a crime, or broader, such as being confronted by discrimination, socioeconomic crisis, or political repression directly as an individual or as a member of a group.
The origin of the concept is credited to Quintan Wiktorowicz's 2005 book, Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West.
References
- Trip, Simona; Bora, Carmen Hortensia; Marian, Mihai; Halmajan, Angelica; Drugas, Marius Ioan (6 March 2019). "Psychological Mechanisms Involved in Radicalization and Extremism. A Rational Emotive Behavioral Conceptualization". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 437. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00437. PMC 6414414. PMID 30894828.
- McCauley, Clark; Moskalenko, Sophia (April 2017). "Understanding political radicalization: The two-pyramids model". American Psychologist. 72 (3): 205–216. doi:10.1037/amp0000062. PMID 28383974.
- Bergen, Peter (14 June 2016). "Opinion | Why Do Terrorists Commit Terrorism?". The New York Times.
- Trip, Simona; Bora, Carmen Hortensia; Marian, Mihai; Halmajan, Angelica; Drugas, Marius Ioan (6 March 2019). "Psychological Mechanisms Involved in Radicalization and Extremism. A Rational Emotive Behavioral Conceptualization". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 437. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00437. PMC 6414414. PMID 30894828.
- Bergen, Peter (14 June 2016). "Opinion | Why Do Terrorists Commit Terrorism?". The New York Times.
- Muro, Diego (December 2016). "What does Radicalisation Look Like? Four Visualisations of Socialisation into Violent Extremism". CIDOB: Notes Internacionals. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- Trip, Simona; Bora, Carmen Hortensia; Marian, Mihai; Halmajan, Angelica; Drugas, Marius Ioan (6 March 2019). "Psychological Mechanisms Involved in Radicalization and Extremism. A Rational Emotive Behavioral Conceptualization". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 437. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00437. PMC 6414414. PMID 30894828.