Jocelyn J. Bélanger

Jocelyn J. Bélanger is a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University Qatar whose research centers on the psychological processes underlying radicalization, political violence, and ideological obsession. Bélanger has examined how obsessive passion and deliberate engagement contribute to violent extremism, and has investigated related phenomena including group relative deprivation, moral identity, and the conditions under which counternarratives succeed or fail. Much of this work draws on large-scale cross-national data, with studies spanning COVID-19 behavioral responses across dozens of countries, conspiracy theorizing, and trust in government. Bélanger has also contributed to debates about the science of peace-making and the methodology of extremism research more broadly.