Approved for Public Release THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE: NEW TOOLS, NEW INSIGHTS A Strategic Multilayer Assessment Workshop 1-2 December 2010 Prepared for: JS/J-3/DDGO STRATCOM J9 OSD/DDRE/RRTO & DARPA, NIH, CJCS, DRDC, UK MOD, DOJ NIJ, NSF, OSTP Prepared by: NSI Tessa Baker & Sarah Canna 301.466.2265 [email protected] 1 Approved for Public Release CONTENTS Contents ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Executive Summary (Ms. Abigail Chapman & LtCol William Casebeer) ........................................................... 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Welcome and Conference Introductions (Ms. Abigail Chapman & Dr. Hriar Cabayan) ............................. 9 Introductory Briefings (Ms. Abigail Chapman, Moderator) ................................................................................... 9 Understanding Political Violence Within the Context of the Decade of the Mind Project (Dr. James Olds) ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Stories, Neurobiology and Political Violence: Exploring the Neural Mechanisms of Narrative Psychology to Develop War Fighting Tools (LtCol William Casebeer) ....................................................... 12 Remarks on the Prediction of Violence (Dr. Michael Gazzaniga) ................................................................. 14 Panel Discussion: Basics of the Science (LtCol William Casebeer, Moderator) ........................................... 16 Dr. Amy Zalman, SAIC ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 Dr. Arie Kruglanski, University of Maryland ......................................................................................................... 18 Dr. Joan Chiao, Northwestern University ................................................................................................................ 21 Dr. Emile Bruneau, Massachusetts Institute of Technology............................................................................ 24 Panel Discussion: Research I (Dr. Thomas Feucht, Moderator) ......................................................................... 27 Dr. John Hibbing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln .............................................................................................. 28 Dr. Rene Weber, University of California-Santa Barbara ................................................................................. 29 Dr. Oshin Vartanian, Defense Research & Development Canada .................................................................. 31 Dr. Victoria Romero, Defense Research Consultant, Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences ................... 33 Dr. Mark Hamm, Indiana State University .............................................................................................................. 34 General Discussion ........................................................................................................................................................... 35 Panel Discussion: Research II (Dr. Amber Story, Moderator) ............................................................................. 36 Dr. Gregory Berns, Emory University ....................................................................................................................... 36 Dr. Peter Hatemi, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney ....................................................... 38 Dr. Read Montague, Baylor College of Medicine .................................................................................................. 42 Dr. Tom Pyszczynski, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs .............................................................. 44 Dr. Paul Zak, Claremont Graduate University ....................................................................................................... 46 Panel Discussion: Research III (Dr. Debra Babcock, Moderator) ...................................................................... 48 Dr. Lasana Harris, Duke University ........................................................................................................................... 48 Dr. David Matsumoto, San Francisco State University ...................................................................................... 50 Dr. Peter Suedfeld, University of British Columbia ............................................................................................. 51 Dr. Rose McDermott, Brown University .................................................................................................................. 53 Group Discussion .............................................................................................................................................................. 55 2 Approved for Public Release Panel Discussion: Putting It All Together—What Does This Mean? (Dr. Diane DiEuliis, Moderator) 57 LtCol William Casebeer, DARPA ................................................................................................................................. 57 Dr. Jonathan Moreno, University of Pennsylvania .............................................................................................. 58 Dr. Steve Kornguth, University of Texas-Austin .................................................................................................. 59 Dr. Ronald Schouten, Harvard Medical School ..................................................................................................... 59 Col. Troy Thomas, Office of the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff ...................................................................... 61 Dr. Susanna Berry, Foreign and Commonwealth Office ................................................................................... 61 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................................................ 63 Appendix A: Agenda ............................................................................................................................................................. 66 Appendix B: Participants .................................................................................................................................................... 68 Appendix C: Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................................ 71 3 Approved for Public Release This report represents the views and opinions of the workshop participants. The report does not represent official administration policy or position. 4 Approved for Public Release EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (MS. ABIGAIL CHAPMAN & LTCOL WILLIAM CASEBEER) The Neurobiology of Political Violence: New Tools, New Techniques workshop hosted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM), the Joint Staff, and the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Office (OSD) brought together nearly 80 representatives of government, academia, and industry in Bethesda, MD from 1-2 December 2010. The workshop facilitated a broad discussion of the current state of the art within the related fields of neuroscience, neurobiology, and social psychology as it relates to deterring political violence. While most panelists emphasized the prematurity of applying current research to real world problems within the national security and homeland defense space, they all agreed that the tools of neuroscience and related fields would serve to better inform current deterrence and messaging strategies. The workshop was organized as a series of panel discussions and individual discussion sessions. This executive summary is organized by session for ease of reading and use. Opening Remarks Ms. Abigail Chapman, Senior Research Scientist at NSI, welcomed the workshop participants to the Neurobiology of Political Violence workshop with a discussion on the design and intent of the workshop. She noted that researchers have always been fascinated by the complexities of the human brain and, in particular, investigating the relationship between mind and body. In order to develop a deeper understanding of individuals who are involved in violent extremist activities, it is essential to use a multi-method, multi-disciplinary approach that specifically focuses on the complex relationships between attitude and intent formation and, ultimately, behavior manifestation. Thus, panelists were purposely selected from diverse disciplines and backgrounds. Although the conference is entitled, The Neurobiology of Political Violence: New Tools, New Insights, the Steering Committee sought to encourage open discussion of pertinent findings and to allow for the cross-pollination of ideas, identification of areas for collaboration, and topics upon which other findings can inform and augment the dialogue. Additionally, she sought to emphasize that the conference served as an invaluable launching point for previously unknown research and proliferation of