My research seeks to understand the social and psychological mechanisms underlying different forms of societal conflict and violence. What drives some individuals to commit acts of societal violence? What purpose(s) does such violence serve, and which deeper societal conflicts is it related to? My primary area of research is societal violence committed by individuals (so-called “lone actors”), but I also conduct research (to varying degrees) on related topics such as radicalization and violent extremism, political violence and protest, as well as polarization and marginalization.

I am currently working on the AUFF Nova-funded project A New Psychology of Authoritarianism led by Oluf Gøtzsche-Astrup. In this project, we examine why people across the political ideological spectrum align with and support anti-democratic leaders. In addition, I am involved in other projects on narrative identity processes in radicalization, hybrid extremism, and grievance-based political violence. Methodologically, these projects span a wide range – from quantitative survey experiments and statistical analyses to in-depth interpretive case studies. 

Teaching and supervision hold a very special place in my heart! My primary teaching and supervisory areas are within social and personality psychology, research methods (quantitative and qualitative), and aspects of educational psychology (societal trends and broader sociological theories). Within these areas, I particularly teach and supervise topics such as:

• Lone-actor grievance-fueled violence (lone-actor terrorism, school shootings)
• Radicalization, violent extremism, and political violence
• Incels and “toxic masculinity”
• Conspiracy theory beliefs
• Social pathologies

I teach and supervise both conceptual, theoretical, and empirical issues (including quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods).

My office hours are every Monday from 14:00–16:00, and all students are more than welcome to stop by for an academic discussion. Please feel free to send an email in advance so I am aware that you are coming.