Scott Atran
satran@umich.edu

Scott Atran is a Research Director at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, France. He is also a Research Scientist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and an Adjunct Professor in the U of M departments of Anthropology, Psychology and Natural Resources and Environment. Dr. Atran’s interdisciplinary approach to social, psychological and cultural issues and experience in both the Arab and Israeli Middle East provide his analysis of the roots of suicide terrorism with both intellectual and practical force. His books include the Cognitive Foundations of Natural History: Towards an Anthropology of Science, In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion, and The Native Mind: Cognition and Culture in Human Knowledge of Nature (co-authored with Douglas Medin and forthcoming from Oxford University Press). His articles on the religious roots of suicide terrorism have appeared in numerous scientific publications and have been featured by various international media outlets. Click here for additional information on Dr. Atran.

Jeremy Ginges
jginges@umich.edu

Jeremy Ginges is a Visiting Research Scientist at the Research Center for Group Dynamics. Dr. Ginges received his PhD in Psychology from Tel Aviv University and prior to his current position he held a field research fellowship from the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict, during which time he was a visiting scholar at the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research in Israel. Dr. Ginges investigates how people make decisions regarding whether to take part in or support acts of political violence (project 1 and project 2), the influence of popular opinion on the actions of terrorist groups, the relationship between socio-economic deprivation and support for terrorism, and the impact of prolonged exposure to political violence amongst both adults and children (project 1 and project 2). In addition to his research on political violence, Jeremy is studying determinants of popular support for diplomatic initiatives in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and causes of cooperative decision-making in interactions between Israelis and Palestinians.

Richard Gonzalez
gonzo@umich.edu

Richard Gonzalez is a Professor of Psychology, an Adjunct Professor of Statistics, and a Faculty Associate at Research Center for Group Dynamics. He studies judgment and decision making processes at both the basic and applied levels. His theoretical work includes developing a framework to organize the known heuristics and biases as well as formal models of decision making under risk and uncertainty. His applied work in decision making extends to eyewitness identification, jury decision making, and consumer behavior. He also conducts mathematical modeling of group processes and develops statistical techniques for data analytic problems in psychology. He has recently developed statistical models for the analysis of dyadic data. Click here for additional information on Dr. Gonzalez.

L. Rowell Huesmann
huesmann@umich.edu

L. Rowell Huesmann leads the U of M Aggression Research Program and has appointments as a Professor of Communications Studies and as Senior Research Scientist at the Research Center for Group Dynamics of the Institute for Social Research. His research interests include aggressive behavior and the development of aggressive behavior in children. Dr. Huesmann is a nationally known authority on the role of media violence in the development of aggressive, violent and criminal behavior, especially among children and young adults. He is also interested in social cognition and informational processing models of social behavior; multivariate statistics, structural modeling, growth curve analysis. Dr. Huesmann's books include Aggressive Behavior: Current Perspectives, Television and the Aggressive Child: A Cross-National Comparison, and Growing Up to Be Violent: A Longitudinal Study of the Development of Aggression. Click here for additional information on Dr. Huesmann.

James Jackson
jamessj@umich.edu

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Michael D. Kennedy
midake@umich.edu

Michael D. Kennedy is a Professor of Sociology and a Faculty Associate of the Center for European Studies and Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Michigan.

Lawrence Pintak
lpintak@umich.edu

Lawrence Pintak, the Howard R. Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism, is an award-winning veteran of 25 years in journalism on four continents. Professor Pintak covered the birth of modern Islamic terrorism as CBS News Middle East correspondent in the 1980s and more recently reported on Indonesia’s reformasi. He is the author of the recently-published Seeds of Hate: How America’s Failed Middle East Policy Ignited the Jihad. Research interests include the perception gap between the U.S. and the world’s Muslims; how U.S. government policies and rhetoric polarize Muslim attitudes; and the political competition between the Muslim mainstream and the literalists, with a particular focus on Indonesia. Click here for additional information on Professor Pintak.

Mark Tessler
tessler@umich.edu

Mark Tessler is a Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Center for Political Studies at ISR. Dr. Tessler’s research and publications have focused on the nature, determinants, and implications of political attitudes held by ordinary citizens the Middle East; the characteristics, policies, and strategies of governments and political leaders in the Middle East; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has collected and/or analyzed survey data in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Israel, Algeria, Morocco, and a number of other Middle Eastern countries. His work includes attention to the role of religion and also to issues of governance and international relations. Click here for additional information on Dr. Tessler.

David Winter
dgwinter@umich.edu

David G. Winter is Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. Within personality and social psychology, his research interests focus especially on power and power motivation, the motivational bases of leadership, the psychological aspects of conflict escalation and war, and the role of authoritarianism in politics.  Dr. Winter’s recent publications include "Asymmetrical perceptions of power in crises: A comparison of 1914 and the Cuban Missile Crisis (Journal of Peace Research, 2003), "Personality and political behavior" (Handbook of Political Psychology, Oxford University Press, 2003), and "Assessing leaders' personalities: A historical survey of academic research studies" (The Psychological Assessment of Political Leaders: With profiles of Saddam Hussein and Bill Clinton, University of Michigan Press, 2003).  He is a past president of the International Society of Political Psychology.