Faculty spotlight #2

James N. Breckenridge, Ph.D.

James N. Breckenridge is Professor of Psychology and Co-Director of Clinical Training for the PGSP-Stanford Consortium. After twenty-five years of service, Dr. Breckenridge retired from his position as Chief of the Psychology Service at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System in August 2005. He is a Consulting Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of MediciFellow of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Breckenridge’s current research focuses on psychological factors that underlie political violence. Dr. Breckenridge is the Associate Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Policy, Education, and Research on Terrorism (CIPERT) and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA.

He is the Principal Investigator on several funded research projects investigating psychological aspects of terrorism and homeland security, including a grant from the National Science Foundation to evaluate psychological measures for detecting deception and improving national security evaluations. This grant was part of a broader effort intended to guide Congressional priorities for the relevant future research agenda.

Together with Philip G. Zimbardo, Dr. Breckenridge is the author and editor of forthcoming texts on aspects of psychology and homeland security.