Jan Willem van Prooijen (J.W.)
Jan-Willem van Prooijen (1975) is Endowed Professor of Radicalization, Extremism, and Conspiracy Thinking at Maastricht University. He also works at the Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology of VU Amsterdam, and at the NSCR.
Prof. van Prooijen is broadly interested in the dark side of human beings, particularly in the context of politics, law, and society. From an interdisciplinary perspective (combining insights from psychology, criminology, and related fields) and through quantitative research methods, he investigates the causes and consequences of extremism and conspiracy thinking in contemporary society.
- Radicalization and extremism
- Conspiracy theories
- Unethical behavior
- Feelings of (in)justice
- Quantitative Research Methods
Jan-Willem van Prooijen received his PhD in 2002 from the Department of Social and Organizational Psychology at Leiden University, with a thesis about procedural justice. Before defending his PhD he started working at the Psychology Department of VU Amsterdam, and he currently still has a position at that department. In 2011 he started working at the NSCR for one day a week as Senior Researcher, and in 2021 he was appointed Endowed Professor of Radicalization, Extremism, and Conspiracy Thinking at Maastricht University. Prof. van Prooijen has published extensively on issues related to extremism, conspiracy theories, unethical behavior, and feelings of justice. He has been Associate Editor for various international scientific journals, and regularly appears in the Dutch and International media.
