James N. Breckenridge

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Biography

James N. Breckenridge, Ph.D. 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 Medicine and a Fellow 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 Stanford 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, California. He is the principal investigator on a variety of 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. Dr. Breckenridge is the Principal Investigator on a Medical Response Corps grant funded by the Department of Health and Human Services to develop an evidenced-based psychological early response to acts of terror. He also leads a national study supported by the Department of Homeland Security on psychological criticality, exploring emotional responses to terrorist threats and related aspects of risk communication. Dr. Breckenridge directs additional security-related psychological research projects in conjunction with various national security organizations. Recently, Dr. Breckenridge, along with nineteen other academics and twenty Government personnel from various intelligence agencies, participated in the Summer Hard Problem Program (SHARP) sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. In a classified setting, SHARP explored intelligence implications of factors that cause individuals or communities to coalesce into terrorist movements. Together with his colleague, Philip G. Zimbardo, Dr. Breckenridge is an author and editor of forthcoming texts on aspects of psychology and homeland security.