Mark Dechesne
Associate professor
- Name
- Dr. M. Dechesne
- Telephone
- +31 70 800 9589
- m.dechesne@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0001-5929-7855
Mark Dechesne's research is primarily focused on developing basic knowledge regarding human judgment, decision making, and beliefs, and the study of various societal questions in which these processes play an important role. The combination of basic principles of decision making and engaged social research, a combination that can be put under the header of decision making in context, can be used for instance to understand the decision of terrorists to use violence to advance their cause.
Dr. Mark Dechesne obtained his doctorate in 2001 for an experimental psychological analysis of the effects of fear of death on social behavior. He combined insights from existentialist philosophy and principles of social cognition and decision making.
He was awarded the praemium erasmianum studiorum (2002) for an exceptional dissertation in the social sciences and humanities, and a VENI innovational incentive grant from NWO (2003) to expand his research.
His research is primarily focused on developing basic knowledge regarding human judgment, decision making, and beliefs, and the study of various societal questions in which these processes play an important role. The combination of basic principles of decision making and engaged social research, a combination that can be put under the header of decision making in context, can be used for instance to understand the decision of terrorists to use violence to advance their cause. Mark explored this theme while working at the DHS Center of Excellence NC-START (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism) from 2006 - 2008, and at various NATO Centers of Excellence.
His involvement in Leiden University Dual PhD Centre since 2011 raised his awareness of the broad applicability of decision making principles for understanding societal and organizational processes. He hopes to contribute to a further development of methods to conduct research on judgment and decision making in these various domains.
Mark has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the European Journal of Social Psychology, and Group Processes and Interpersonal Relations.
Selected publications
- Dechesne, M., & De Roon, C. (2013). Perspectives on social knowledge. In R. Vitz, & J. Matheson (Eds.). The Ethics of Belief. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780199686520
- Kosloff, S., Greenberg, J., Schmader, T., Dechesne, M., Weise, D. (2010). Smearing the opposition: Implicit and explicit stigmatization of the 2008 U.S. presidential candidates. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 139, 383-398.
doi: 10.1037/a0018809
- Oudesluys-Murphy, A.M, Diderich, H.M., Dechesne, M., Buitendijk, S.E. (2015). Violence against women: do not forget their children! Lancet, 385, 1505. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60744-9
- Kruglanski, A.,& Dechesne, M. (2006). Are propositional and associative processes qualitatively distinct? Pychological Bulletin, 132, 736-739. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.132.5.736
- Dechesne, M., Janssen, J., & Van Knippenberg, A (2000). Derogation and distancing as terror management strategies: The moderating role of need for closure and permeability of group boundaries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 923-932. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.79.6.923
- Dechesne, M. (2015). Radicalization and mass violence from a Beckerian Perspective: Conceptual and Empirical Considerations. Journal for Deradicalization, 3, 149-177.
Associate professor
- Faculty Governance and Global Affairs
- Dual PhD Centre
- Dieperink J.P., Adriaanse J.A.A. & Dechesne M. (2025), Predicting viability of small businesses on the edge of failure, Journal of Small Business Management : 1-33.
- Kapetanovic T., Dechesne M. & Leun J.P. van der (2024), Transplantation theory in terrorism: an exploratory analysis of organised crime and terrorist group expansion, Global Crime 25(1): 1-25.
- Palani K., Khidir J., Dechesne M. & Bakker E. (2020), De facto states engagement with parent states: Kurdistan’s engagement with the Iraqi Government, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies : 1-19.
- Boom W.H. van, Rest J.I. van der, Bos K. van den & Dechesne M. (2020), Consumers Beware: Online Personalized Pricing in Action! How the Framing of a Mandated Discriminatory Pricing Disclosure Influences Intention to Purchase, Social Justice Research 33(3): 331-351.
- Palani K., Khidir J., Dechesne M. & Bakker E. (2019), The development of Kurdistan’s de facto statehood: Kurdistan’s September 2017 referendum for independence, Third World Quarterly : .
- Palani K., Khidir J., Dechesne M. & Bakker E. (2019), Strategies to Gain International Recognition: Iraqi Kurdistan's September 2017 Referendum for Independence, Ethnopolitics : .
- Roon C.J. de & Dechesne M. (2018), De kwetsbaarheden van de promovendus, LoopbaanVisie 9(2): 56-61.
- Boom W.H. van, Rest J.I van der, Bos C. van den & Dechesne M. (2016), Buyers Beware: Online Pricing in Operation! How the Framing of Mandated Behavioral Pricing Disclosure Influences Intention to Purchase. First conference on Empirical Legal Studies in Europe (CELSE) 21 June 2016 - 22 June 2016. Amsterdam: First conference on Empirical Legal Studies in Europe (CELSE), June 2016.
- Dechesne M. & Roon C.J. de (2014), Perspectives on Social Knowledge. In: Matheson J. & Vitz R. (Eds.), The Ethics of Belief. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Dechesne M. & Roon C. de (2013), Coming home: Deradicalization for returning Syria Jihadis, Journal EXIT-Deutschland 3/2013: .
- Dechesne M. (2013), Psychological factors contributing to terrorism and radicalization in Afghanistan. NATO NRDC-T.
- Dechesne M. (2013), The Many Faces of Resilience. International Conference on Extremism and Terrorism in Pakistan: Challenges and Sustainable Solutions.
- Dechesne M. (2013), Measurable Indicators of Peoples Attitude towards NATO: Progress Report. NATO HAOE Workshop.
- Dechesne M. (2013), Measurable indicators of the population's attitude towards NATO: Final Report. NATO COE-HAOE.
- Dechesne M. (2013), The social psychology of terrorism. NATO COE-DAT.
- Dechesne M. (2013), The many faces of resilience in the context of terrorism and counterterrorism. Colloquium at RSIS, Nanyang Tech University.
- Dechesne M. (2013), The many faces of resilience in the context of counterterrorism. International Society for Political Psychology.
- Dechesne M. & et al (2013), Human Aspects of the Operational Environment: Final Report. Oradea, Romania: NATO HUMINT Centre of Excellence.
- Dechesne M. (2013), Terror management in wetenschap en samenleving. .
- Dechesne M. & Roon C.J. de (2013), Coming home: Deradicalization for returning Syria Jihadis, Journal EXIT-Deutschland : .
- Dechesne M. (2013) Alison G. Smith (Ed.), The Relationship between Rhetoric and Terrorist Violence London:Routledge, 2013. Review of: Smith A. (2013), The Relationship between Rhetoric and Terrorist Violence. London: Routledge, 2013 7(5).
- Dechesne M. & Donselaar J.G. van (2010), Islamitisch extremisme in de politiepraktijk. In: Rodrigues P.R. & Donselaar J.G. van (Eds.), Monitor Racisme & Extremisme. Negende Rapportage. Amsterdam: Anne Frank Stichting / Amsterdam University Press. 109-129.