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Evidence that suicide terrorists are suicidal: Challenges and empirical predictions
Abstract
The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers proposes that suicide terrorists are psychologically and behaviorally similar to other people who commit suicide, due to a range of individual, social, and situational factors. Some commentators agree, while others are skeptical, given the lack of information about many attackers' lives. However, the book's position is not simply based on individual case studies; it is also supported by other independent assessments, the confirmation of empirical predictions, the paucity of contradictory evidence, and new applications of evolutionary theory. It is undisputed that human beings behave as the author suggests; it is unknown if they behave as the conventional wisdom suggests. Those who argue that suicide terrorists are psychologically normal and altruistically sacrificing their lives for an ideological cause should bear the burden of proof for those claims.
... For highly fused individuals, the boundary between personal and group identity is porous, and an attack on the group is taken personally. Identity fusion is highly correlated with an expressed willingness to fight and die to defend the group against external threats (Swann et al. 2010b;2014a;Whitehouse et al. 2014b). It is argued here that enduring fusion with the group results from perceptions of shared essence, established via at least two distinct pathways (see Fig. 1). ...
... The studies reported below have focused largely on measuring identity fusion and extreme self-sacrifice among currently serving members of armed groups, ranging from revolutionary insurgents to conventional military forces, especially those who, having witnessed the violent deaths of many of their fellow fighters, nevertheless voluntarily expose themselves to the same high risks. Much recent research also investigates the role of identity fusion among those who strongly endorse the use of violent selfsacrifice to accomplish group goals (Swann et al. 2010b;2014a). Despite the difficulties of conducting research into these topics, there is growing evidence that fusion can motivate extreme progroup action (Whitehouse et al. 2014b; and that this process could plausibly explain at least some, if not most, instances of suicide terrorism as well as other forms of violent extremism. ...
... Identification is a depersonalizing form of group alignment in which group members perceive themselves to be interchangeable (Swann et al. 2009) because they are merely the bearers of prototypical traits that have been socially acquired from others (Whitehouse & Lanman 2014). By contrast, fused individuals regard their group identities as grounded in personal experience (Whitehouse 2013), producing a "strong autonomous self" that is "merged with the group" and, therefore, capable of motivating extreme pro-group action in non-prototypical ways (Swann et al. 2009;2014a;Whitehouse & McQuinn 2012). In contrast, identification with a group motivates self-sacrificial behaviour only to the extent that it is endorsed by the group and that one's personal self does not become salient and trigger self-preservation motives that conflict with group values or interests (Whitehouse 2013). ...
Whitehouse adapts insights from evolutionary anthropology to interpret extreme self-sacrifice through the concept of identity fusion. The model neglects the role of normative systems in shaping behaviors, especially in relation to violent extremism. In peaceful groups, increasing fusion will actually decrease extremism. Groups collectively appraise threats and opportunities, actively debate action options, and rarely choose violence toward self or others.
... (3) Far from encouraging their children to sacrifi ce themselves, parents often forbid them from doing so, and are devastated if one of them disobeys and becomes a suicide bomber ( Atran, 2010 ;Lankford, 2013 ). (4) Suicide terrorists themselves rarely cite payments for their family as their primary motive ( Caplan, 2006 ;Lankford, 2014 ). (5) Suicide terrorists do not appear less likely to blow themselves up when fi nancial payments are reduced or become less certain, as would be expected if these payments were critical to their decision-making ( Krueger, 2003 ). ...
... They are in their prime reproductive years. Contrary to the proposed application of kin selection theory, these individuals are forfeiting many years of future earnings, support, and assistance for their families, along with all future reproductive opportunities ( Pedahzur, Perliger, & Weinberg, 2003 ;Lankford, 2014 ). For example, fi ve of the 9/11 hijackers were already married, at least one additional hijacker was engaged, and several others were actively seeking wives-and yet only two had reportedly sired a child ( National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, 2004 ;McDermott, 2005 ). ...
... The notion that suicide attackers are sacrifi cing themselves for "fi ctive-kin" also seems inconsistent with the evidence. Most volunteer suicide terrorists make the decision to blow themselves up before they enter the terrorist organization, not afterwards ( Pedahzur, 2005 ;Lankford, 2014 ). In fact, they rarely spend much time in the organization, and their suicide bombing is typically the fi rst and only terrorist attack that they ever participate in. ...
Academic debates persist about the psychology of suicide terrorists, with one view being that they are psychologically healthy individuals who primarily engage in altruistic self-sacrifice to serve their family, organization, or cause. Some proponents of this view now argue that suicide attackers are actually responding to their evolved sacrificial tendencies. However, the present review questions this hypothesis. For one thing, it appears inconsistent with the evidence on which individuals become suicide bombers and why. More broadly, research from the animal kingdom suggests that there is an important limit to “selfless” or “altruistic” behavior among non-human mammals, which appear to have been naturally selected to save themselves rather than deliberately give up their lives to protect offspring from predation, infanticide, or starvation. Furthermore, kin selection theory suggests that intentional self-sacrifice would be maladaptive for virtually all mammals, including human beings, and that ...
... However, beyond these labels, there is also the scientifi c question of whether suicide terrorists actually struggle with mental health problems or suicidal tendencies. This remains the subject of heated academic debate (see Lankford, 2014 ). ...
... In addition, Lankford (2013 ) conducted a quantitative analysis of suicide attackers and other perpetrators of mass murder-suicide, such as rampage shooters, that revealed many psychological and behavioral similarities between the various types of killers. More recently, Lankford (2014 ) off ered a number of empirical predic-tions about the behavior of suicide terrorists and the organizations that recruit and deploy them, which indicate that many suicide attackers are indeed struggling with mental health problems. ...
... Ironically, then, in this study it may actually be many of the least educated respondents whose opinions on the mental illness of suicide bombers most accurately correspond with the latest scientifi c fi ndings ( Merari, 2010 ;Lester, 2011 ;Lankford, 2013Lankford, , 2014. This seems largely attributable to luck; sometimes people are right for the wrong reasons. ...
... Moreover, the odds of violent acts increase with the availability and appeal for weapons or the proximity of firearms (Carlson et al., 1990;Killias and Haas, 2002;Newman et al., 2004;Newman and Fox, 2009;Monuteaux et al., 2015;Benjamin and Bushman, 2016;Benjamin et al., 2017;Emmert et al., 2018). In particular, additional evidence indicates a positive relationship between carrying weapons and school shootings (Dumitriu, 2013;Celis, 2015), homicides (Stroebe, 2013), and suicides (Burgess et al., 2006;Lankford, 2014Lankford, , 2015. ...
... Furthermore, the instrument here provided appears to possess acceptable psychometric properties. The presence of anger, in combination with feelings of revenge, can be motivators for assailants that wish to take justice into their own hands (McCauley and Moskalenko, 2008, 2014, which is parallel to those reported in this study. Anger, as much as the desire for revenge, expressed as the desire to take justice into one's own hands, shows a high correlation rate according to our data. ...
The objective of this study was to develop and determine the psychometric properties of an instrument designed to detect traits and behavior that are associated with predatory violent behavior, which is defined as a determined, planned, controlled, and proactive aggression. The sample was comprised of 564 students, mostly in their last year of high school, or in their first year of college. The initial instrument had 78 items, ultimately resulting in 13 with good internal consistency (α = 0.825). Factor analysis showed four factors: anger-in, appeal for weapons, suicidal ideation, and the tendency to take justice into one’s own hands. Said factors showed significant correlations of convergent validity. Data shown here allows inferring that the instrument is a novel and concise tool that evaluates and detects the potential of predatory violent behavior.
... I have done that research. Most volunteer suicide terrorists decide they want to die before they join the group: they were community members who barely knew other terrorists, let alone "fused" with them (Lankford 2013;2014a;2015). Groups like the 9/11 hijackers are the exception, but even if some of them bonded closely with each other, the notion that they were dying for the group makes no sense, because they all perished, so none of them benefited. ...
... Furthermore, many of Whitehouse's examples were actually responding to coercion (Lankford 2013;2014a;Merari 2010;Ohnuki-Tierney 2007). The United Nations has reported that ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups have kidnapped, sexually assaulted, beaten, and threatened victims before forcing them to commit suicide bombings. ...
We seek strength in numbers as a survival strategy, so it seems unlikely that social bonds would make us want to intentionally die. However, our deep desire to be protected may explain our attraction to exaggerated notions of intentional self-sacrifice – even though research on suicide terrorists, kamikaze pilots, and cult members suggests they were not actually dying for their group.
... Singly or together, these difficulties make it unlikely that most suicide terrorists or mass shooters will have a recognised history of diagnosed mental illness, regardless of their true psychological condition. Although most offenders will fall squarely in the 15-34 age range for whom suicide poses such a high risk, many will also share characteristics with those least likely to visit a medical provider: they are young, male, minorities and/or struggling financially (Newman et al., 2004;Pedahzur, 2005;Newman and Fox, 2009;Merari, 2010;Lankford, 2013Lankford, , 2014. In addition, those who claim to be motivated by radical Islamic ideologies may be particularly likely to be silenced by cultural stigmas against mental illness and suicide (Maris et al., 2000;Lankford, 2013), and where terrorist propaganda insists that suicide attackers are 'holy martyrs'not suicidal or mentally illperpetrators may be hesitant to provide contradictory information (Merari, 2010;Lankford, 2013). ...
... If so, this would provide further evidence that even if they had no prior history of mental illness, their psychology may have been pathologically altered by the weight of the crises they found themselves in. Anecdotal evidence from some coerced and escapist suicide terrorists who were stopped before they could kill themselves does suggest that they suffered with significant depression, anxiety, stress and trauma (Berko, 2007;Horgan, 2013;Lankford, 2013Lankford, , 2014. This possibility is also supported by research on both animal and human responses to defeat and entrapment. ...
Background:
For years, many scholars dismissed the possibility that terrorists - including suicide attackers - could be mentally ill or primarily suicidal. However, that view is gradually changing.
Aim:
Researchers continue to face significant challenges when attempting to detect mental health problems and suicidal motives among terrorists and mass shooters, because many offenders cannot easily be psychologically assessed. This article offers several specific recommendations for how researchers can better understand offenders' mental state by studying their life histories and behaviour.
Methods:
Research on detection of mental disorders and suicidal intent is reviewed and applied to specific challenges for assessing terrorists and mass shooters.
Results:
It appears that researchers can improve the accuracy of their assessments by (1) recognising the likelihood of under-diagnosis of mental disorders, (2) prioritising in-depth evaluation and analysis of mental state and (3) considering the role of social and situational factors in suicidal ideation and motivation.
Conclusion:
More accurate detection of mental health problems and suicidal motives among terrorists and mass shooters could help advance scientific understandings of these individuals and even help prevent lethal attacks. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Our aim was to better understand the underlying psychiatric, psychosocial, and psychodynamic aspects of mass shootings in the United States (US). The Mother Jones database of 115 mass shootings from 1982–2019 was used to study retrospectively 55 shooters in the US. After developing a psychiatric-assessment questionnaire, psychiatric researchers gathered multiple psychosocial factors and determined diagnoses and treatment by evaluating the clinical evidence obtained by interviewing forensic psychiatrists, who had assessed the assailant, and/or by reviewing psychiatric evaluations conducted during the judicial proceedings. All 35 surviving-assailant cases were selected. Additionally, 20 cases where the assailant died at the time of the shootings were randomly selected from the remaining 80 cases. The majority of assailants (87.5%) had misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated or undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric illness. Most of the assailants also experienced profound estrangement not only from families, friends, and classmates but most importantly from themselves. Being marginalized and interpersonally shunned rendered them more vulnerable to their untreated psychiatric illness and to radicalization online, which fostered their violence. While there are complex reasons that a person is misdiagnosed or not diagnosed, there remains a vital need to decrease the stigma of mental illness to enable those with severe psychiatric illness to be more respected, less marginalized, and encouraged to receive effective psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic treatments.
Our aim was to better understand the underlying psychiatric, psychosocial, and psychodynamic aspects of mass shootings in the United States (US). The Mother Jones database of 115 mass shootings from 1982–20119 was used to study retrospectively 55 shooters in the US. After developing a psychiatric-assessment questionnaire, psychiatric researchers gathered multiple psychosocial factors and determined diagnoses and treatment by evaluating the clinical evidence obtained by interviewing forensic psychiatrists, who had assessed the assailant, and/or by reviewing psychiatric evaluations conducted during the judicial proceedings. All 35 surviving-assailant cases were selected. Additionally, 20 cases where the assailant died at the time of the shootings were randomly selected from the remaining 80 cases. The majority of assailants (87.5%) had misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated or undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric illness. Most of the assailants also experienced profound estrangement not only from families, friends, and classmates but most importantly from themselves. Being marginalized and interpersonally shunned rendered them more vulnerable to their untreated psychiatric illness and to radicalization online, which fostered their violence. While there are complex reasons that a person is misdiagnosed or not diagnosed, there remains a vital need to decrease the stigma of mental illness to enable those with severe psychiatric illness to be more respected, less marginalized, and encouraged to receive effective psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic treatments.
Background
The link between mental health difficulties and terrorist behaviour has been the subject of debate for the last 50 years. Studies that report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples or compare rates for those involved and not involved in terrorism, can inform this debate and the work of those responsible for countering violent extremism.
Objectives
To synthesise the prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples (Objective 1—Prevalence) and prevalence of mental health disorders pre‐dating involvement in terrorism (Objective 2—Temporality). The review also synthesises the extent to which mental health difficulties are associated with terrorist involvement compared to non‐terrorist samples (Objective 3—Risk Factor).
Search Methods
Searches were conducted between April and June 2022, capturing research until December 2021. We contacted expert networks, hand‐searched specialist journals, harvested records from published reviews, and examined references lists for included papers to identify additional studies.
Selection Criteria
Studies needed to empirically examine mental health difficulties and terrorism. To be included under Objective 1 (Prevalence) and Objective 2 (Temporality), studies had to adopt cross‐sectional, cohort, or case‐control design and report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples, with studies under Objective 2 also needing to report prevalence of difficulties before detection or involvement in terrorism. For Objective 3 (Risk Factor) studies where there was variability in terrorist behaviour (involved vs. not involved) were included.
Data Collection and Analysis
Captured records were screened in DisillterSR by two authors. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute checklists, and random‐effects meta‐analysis conducted in Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis software.
Results
Fifty‐six papers reporting on 73 different terrorist samples (i.e., studies) (n = 13,648) were identified. All were eligible for Objective 1. Of the 73 studies, 10 were eligible for Objective 2 (Temporality) and nine were eligible for Objective 3 (Risk Factor). For Objective 1, the life‐time prevalence rate of diagnosed mental disorder in terrorist samples (k = 18) was 17.4% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 11.1%–26.3%]. When collapsing all studies reporting psychological problems, disorder, and suspected disorder into one meta‐analyses (k = 37), the pooled prevalence rate was 25.5% (95% CI = 20.2%–31.6%). When isolating studies reporting data for any mental health difficulty that emerged before either engagement in terrorism or detection for terrorist offences (Objective 2: Temporality), the life‐time prevalence rate was 27.8% (95% CI = 20.9%–35.9%). For Objective 3 (Risk Factor), it was not appropriate to calculate a pooled effect size due the differences in comparison samples. Odds ratios for these studies ranged from 0.68 (95% CI = 0.38–1.22) to 3.13 (95% CI = 1.87–5.23). All studies were assessed as having high‐risk of bias which, in part, reflects challenges conducting terrorism research.
Author's Conclusions
This review does not support the assertion that terrorist samples are characterised by higher rates of mental health difficulties than would be expected in the general population. Findings have implications for future research in terms of design and reporting. There are also implications for practice with regards the inclusion of mental health difficulties as indicators of risk.
Our aim was to better understand the underlying psychiatric, psychosocial, and psychodynamic aspects of mass shootings in the United States (US). The Mother Jones database of 115 mass shootings from 1982–2019 was used to study retrospectively 55 shooters in the US. After developing a psychiatric-assessment questionnaire, psychiatric researchers gathered multiple psychosocial factors and determined diagnoses and treatment by evaluating the clinical evidence obtained by interviewing forensic psychiatrists, who had assessed the assailant, and/or by reviewing psychiatric evaluations conducted during the judicial proceedings. All 35 surviving-assailant cases were selected. Additionally, 20 cases where the assailant died at the time of the shootings were randomly selected from the remaining 80 cases. The majority of assailants (87.5%) had misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated or undiagnosed and untreated psychiatric illness. Most of the assailants also experienced profound estrangement not only from families, friends, and classmates but most importantly from themselves. Being marginalized and interpersonally shunned rendered them more vulnerable to their untreated psychiatric illness and to radicalization online, which fostered their violence. While there are complex reasons that a person is misdiagnosed or not diagnosed, there remains a vital need to decrease the stigma of mental illness to enable those with severe psychiatric illness to be more respected, less marginalized, and encouraged to receive effective psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic treatments.
More than 15 years have passed since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and a comprehensive re-examination of the 9/11 attackers is now warranted. Research on the psychology of terrorists has evolved dramatically, and there is also new information on some offenders. The present study provides the available psychological and psychiatric evidence on each of the 9/11 pilots, muscle hijackers, and thwarted hijackers who intended to participate in the “planes operation.” Overall, findings suggest that the 9/11 terrorists may have had significantly more mental health problems than previously assumed, and the leaders who planned 9/11 personally approved suicide attackers with prior histories of mental illness. By widely publicizing this information, security officials may be able to more effectively delegitimize suicide terrorism and reduce the number of individuals who would consider funding, supporting, or committing these deadly attacks.
Much of the research on suicidal behavior in Muslim countries has been simple descriptive studies of samples of completed and attempted suicides. Despite this, and despite the possible under-reporting of suicidal behavior in countries where such behavior is illegal, suicide rates do appear to be lower in Muslims than in those of other religions, even in countries which have populations belonging to several religious groups. Rates of attempted suicide, on the other hand, do not appear to be lower in Muslims as compared to non-Muslims. Research into this topic has been quite poor, failing to take into account the ethnic background and the Islamic sect to which the suicidal subjects belonged. Reasons for the low rate of completed suicide in Muslims are reviewed, including differences in values and socio-economic status.
Research on the characteristics of suicide bombers is reviewed. Contrary to previous commentary, it is suggested that suicide bombers may share personality traits (such as the "authoritarian personality") that psychological profiles of suicide bombers might be feasible, and that the suicide bombers may be characterized by the risk factors that increase the probability of suicide.‐
In the United States, it seems unlikely that a foreign terrorist group would be able to assemble and maintain the required infrastructure within our borders that would provide a platform for a sustained campaign of suicide bombings. However, a strategy of infrequent suicide bombings supplemented by psychologically manipulative rhetoric during the intervals between attacks is plausible and could amplify the fear level. Attacks against high-value targets, use of weapons of mass destruction, or maintenance of an infrastructure on foreign soil with an operational capability for suicide attacks within our borders, would further amplify the psychological fallout. In either case, the potential psychological effects on society - including pervasive insecurity, reduced travel, commerce, and long-term investment, and foreign policy shifts in acquiescence to terrorist pressures - easily dwarf the potential physical effect of suicide terror on American soil. Therefore, identifying strategies to counter the psychological effects of suicide terror and promote resilience is an indispensable aspect of taking away its potential value to terrorist organizations around the world. Who becomes a suicidal terrorist and why is, perhaps obviously, a multifactorial "etiology" including significant developmental, psychodynamic, social, cultural, biological, temperamental, situational, and tactical-instrumental determinants. In other words, multiple "ingredients" often are needed in the manufacture and delivery of a suicide terrorist, or "human bomb" (Table 1, see page 706). For direct victims of terrorism and mass disasters, the principles of psychological support are relatively well developed. For the wider, societal target of the suicide bomber, psychological response is less well defined. Focusing on the intended effects of suicidal terror provides empowering insights to potential victims, enabling them to identify the boundary between rational and irrational fear and to neutralize the primary weapon of the suicide bombers (Table 2, see page 705).
researchers have identified two subtypes of aggression. reactive aggression is characterized by impulsive angry retaliation and has been associated with narcis-sism while proactive aggression is calculated and linked to psychopathy. how-ever, these aggression subtypes commonly co-occur and little is known about fac-tors that underlie each subtype or their overlap. the present study examined the relationship of psychophysiological factors, psychopathic, and narcissistic traits to proactive and reactive aggression during an experimental paradigm. among men, proactive aggression was predicted by low physiological reactivity to anxi-ety/punishment. Conversely, reactive aggression was associated with narcissistic traits and poor decision making under risk and rewards conditions for both sexes. Manipulative and egocentric features of psychopathy were related to proactive physical aggression among men but to reactive indirect aggression among wom-en. these data point to factors that uniquely influence each aggression subtype and their co-occurrence, and highlight the role of gender in the expression of aggression. Increasingly, research suggests that aggression is best conceived as a continuum with adaptive correlates such as social status and goal attainment in its normative range, and maladaptive outcomes at
Many people judge suicide to be immoral. We have found evidence that these moral judgments are primarily predicted by people’s belief that suicide taints the soul and by independent concerns about purity. This finding is inconsistent with accounts that define morality as fundamentally based upon harm considerations. In this commentary, we respond to a critique of our finding, and we provide further support for our original conclusions. Even when applying new exclusion criteria to our data, an examination of effect sizes demonstrates that concerns about purity robustly and meaningfully explain variance in moral judgments of suicide. While harm concerns sometimes predict moral judgments of suicide alongside purity concerns, they reliably explain a much smaller proportion of the variance than do purity concerns. Therefore, data from six studies continue to suggest that the relevance of harm concerns for moral judgments of suicide is substantially overshadowed by the contribution of purity concerns.
Moral violations are typically defined as actions that harm others. However, suicide is considered immoral even though the perpetrator is also the victim. To determine whether concerns about purity rather than harm predict moral condemnation of suicide, we presented American adults with obituaries describing suicide or homicide victims. While harm was the only variable predicting moral judgments of homicide, perceived harm (toward others, the self, or God) did not significantly account for variance in moral judgments of suicide. Instead, regardless of political and religious views and contrary to explicit beliefs about their own moral judgments, participants were more likely to morally condemn suicide if they (i) believed suicide tainted the victims' souls, (ii) reported greater concerns about purity in an independent questionnaire, (iii) experienced more disgust in response to the obituaries, or (iv) reported greater trait disgust. Thus, suicide is deemed immoral to the extent that it is considered impure.
Evil is a difficult topic to explore from an analytic, let alone scientific, perspective because the concept of evil is primarily emotive and moralistic. Like the perception of risk (Sandman, 1989; Slovic, 1987), the perception of evil is often accompanied by feelings of outrage and dread, even terror. Alford (1997) found that people tend to describe evil mainly in terms of a sense of impending doom, suggesting that the phenomenology of evil is closely tied to emotional responses to perceived actors and events—namely, to people's "gut feelings." Evil, though, is also clearly related to attributions of extreme moral wrongdoing (Darley, 1992), suggesting that its phenomenology (again like risk perception) may be one that we would characterize as "hot
The research examines whether anger rather than disgust is more likely to be responsible for changes in moral judgment, after individuals consider potential circumstances. Participants first read a scenario that described a moral violation (harm or fairness vs. purity) and then gave their initial moral judgment and emotions toward the act. They were then asked to list things that could change their opinion and were provided with an opportunity to fill out the measures again, re-evaluating the scenario with these changes in mind. It was found that ratings of disgust did not change after generating potential circumstances; however, anger changed in differential ways for the two violation types. It was also found that anger but not disgust predicted change in moral judgment. These findings suggest that moral anger is a more flexible emotion than moral disgust because anger is more likely to respond to changes in circumstances.
The CAD model posits a mapping of contempt, anger, and disgust onto the moral codes of community, autonomy, and divinity, respectively. A recent study by Hutcherson and Gross posited moral disgust as the dominant other-condemning emotion across all three moral codes. However, the methodology used may have incidentally increased the relevance of disgust. In the current experiment, one condition repeated Hutcherson and Gross’s procedure, while in another condition, the authors added the word moral to three other emotions. Consistent with CAD, anger had the highest intensity ratings in response to autonomy violations, whereas “grossed out” was the dominant response to divinity violations. Furthermore, the adjective “moral” increased the relevance of anger, contempt, and fear in irrelevant domains, which suggests that the adjective moral increases any emotion’s moral relevance.
Suicide bombers are often compared to smart bombs. From the point of view of their dispatchers, they are highly effective, inexpensive forms of weaponry, and there is no need to invest in their technological development. Suicide bombers are in fact smarter than smart bombs because they can choose their own target—and they can react to circumstances on the ground, changing their target, or their timing, in an instant, to ensure the maximum damage, destruction, and death. Of course, unlike smart bombs, suicide bombers think and feel, they have histories, stories, beliefs, desires—in short, they have an inner world. Exploring the inner world of suicide bombers has been the focus of Anat Berko's research for years. She has worked to understand the thought processes of a people who can choose to place explosives on their bodies and kill themselves, taking as many other people with them as they can.
Do male bombers really believe that death will transport them to a paradise where they will be greeted by virgins? Are they victims of unbearable pressure to commit this act of terror? What are female bombers promised in the hereafter? Is there something that links all suicide bombers? Berko also explores the world of those who drop the smart bomb—the dispatchers: who are these people who persuade others to go calmly to their horrific deaths?
Self-deception occurs because we often see the world the way we would like it to be, rather than the way it is. Our brains so long for things the way we want them, we might not even be aware we are fooling ourselves, explains author Harry Triandis, a widely known Professor Emeritus of Psychology. Across cultures and around the world, self-deception is a phenomenon that has subtle and profound effects on everyday life, explains Triandis, also former president of the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology. In this work, he not only explains how and why self-deceptions occur in three areas - politics, religion, and terrorism - but also how to recognize and reduce the frequency of fooling ourselves.
Insights here include consideration of personal and societal self-deceptions, as well as extensive understanding of how politics, ideologies, and religions can frame reality for each of us in such a way that it is, in our minds, warped so the stage is well-set for self-deception. This text will be of special interest to general readers drawn to politics and religion, as well as scholars of psychology, anthropology, and sociology.
Inside Al Qaeda examines the leadership, ideology, structure, strategies, and tactics of the most violent politico-religious organization the world has ever seen. The definitive work on Al Qaeda, this book is based on five years of research, including extensive interviews with its members; field research in Al Qaeda-supported conflict zones in Central, South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East; and monitoring Al Qaeda infiltration of diaspora and migrant communities in North America and Europe.
Although founded in 1988, Al Qaeda merged with and still works with several other extremist groups. Hence Al Qaeda rank and file draw on nearly three decades of terrorist expertise. Moreover, it inherited a full-fledged training and operational infrastructure funded by the United States, European, Saudi Arabian and other governments for use in the anti-Soviet Jihad.
This book sheds light on Al Qaeda's financial infrastructure and how they train combat soldiers and vanguard fighters for multiple guerrilla, terrorist and semi-conventional campaigns in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, the Caucuses, and the Balkans. In addition, the author covers the clandestine Al Qaeda operational network in the West.
Gunaratna reveals:
how Osama bin Laden had his mentor and Al Qaeda founder, "Azzam", assassinated in order to take over the organization and that other Al Qaeda officers who stood in his way were murdered,
Al Qaeda's long-range, deep-penetration agent handling system in Western Europe and North America for setting up safe houses, procuring weapons, and conducting operations,
how the O55 Brigade, Al Qaeda's guerrilla organization, integrated into the Taliban,
how the arrest of Zacarias Moussaoui forced Al Qaeda to move forward on September 11,
how a plan to destroy British Parliament on 9/11 and to use nerve gas on the European Union Parliament were thwarted,
how the Iran--Hezbollah--Al Qaeda link provided the knowledge to conduct coordinated, simultaneous attacks on multiple targets, including failed plans to destroy Los Angeles International Airport, the USS Sullivan, the Radisson Hotel in Jordan, and eleven US commercial airliners over the Pacific ocean,
that one-fifth of international Islamic charities and NGOs are infiltrated by Al Qaeda,
how the US response is effective militarily in the short term, but insufficient to counter Al Qaeda's ideology in the long-term.
Finally, to destroy Al Qaeda, Gunaratna shows there needs to be a multipronged, multiagency, and multidimensional response by the international community.
Antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders are forms of persistent maladaptive personality styles that interfere with a person's functioning. Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a disregard for the rights of others often exemplified by criminal behavior and a lack of remorse. Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by a grandiose sense of self and pathological self-centeredness. Antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders often co-occur with one another and with other personality disorders and substance use disorders. The causes of antisocial and NPDs include both genetic and environmental influences. Success in treating these disorders often proves difficult.
Some Thoughts on Human Extinction, Kin Recognition, and the Impact of Patriotism on Inclusive Fitness - Volume 4 Issue 2 - Gary R. Johnson
The Role of Kin Recognition Mechanisms in Patriotic Socialization: Further Reflections1 - Volume 8 Issue 1 - Gary R. Johnson
We address leadership emergence and the possibility that there is a partially innate predisposition to occupy a leadership role. Employing twin design methods on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we estimate the heritability of leadership role occupancy at 24%. Twin studies do not point to specific genes or neurological processes that might be involved. We therefore also conduct association analysis on the available genetic markers. The results show that leadership role occupancy is associated with rs4950, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) residing on a neuronal acetylcholine receptor gene (CHRNB3). We replicate this family-based genetic association result on an independent sample in the Framingham Heart Study. This is the first study to identify a specific genotype associated with the tendency to occupy a leadership position. The results suggest that what determines whether an individual occupies a leadership position is the complex product of genetic and environmental influences, with a particular role for rs4950.
Evidence is reviewed which suggests that there may be little or no direct introspective access to higher order cognitive processes. Subjects are sometimes (a) unaware of the existence of a stimulus that importantly influenced a response, (b) unaware of the existence of the response, and (c) unaware that the stimulus has affected the response. It is proposed that when people attempt to report on their cognitive processes, that is, on the processes mediating the effects of a stimulus on a response, they do not do so on the basis of any true introspection. Instead, their reports are based on a priori, implicit causal theories, or judgments about the extent to which a particular stimulus is a plausible cause of a given response. This suggests that though people may not be able to observe directly their cognitive processes, they will sometimes be able to report accurately about them. Accurate reports will occur when influential stimuli are salient and are plausible causes of the responses they produce, and will not occur when stimuli are not salient or are not plausible causes.
Suicidal attacks are a warfare tactic rooted in lethal altruism, a highly damaging drift away from people's more generous tendencies. Martyrs who commit these acts are extreme altruists by definition: They offer their lives as a supreme investment for others' interests. Individual differences in altruism have been measured using scales and economic games that have led to a growing understanding of their genetic and neurohormonal basis. Analyzing that in relation to suicide martyrdom leads to a question: Are there pockets of individuals among all populations who are willing to make high-cost investments of trust/sacrifice in nonkin others, particularly at war? Disentangling the neurocognitive attributes of altruism and its relationship to other traits mediating martyrdom proneness is a vital task to understand the genesis of suicidal attacks. A temperamental workspace for warriors encompassing the trait dimensions of dominance- submission, Machiavellianism-gullibility, and selfishness-altruism is outlined to frame the main clusters mediating violent martyrdom.
We cannot explain why people kill themselves. There are no necessary or sufficient causes for suicide, so rather than explaining suicide (looking for causes), perhaps we can understand suicide, at least in one individual, a phenomenological approach. This book begins by examining the diaries from eight individuals who killed themselves. Using qualitative analyses, supplemented in some cases by quantitative analyses, Lester seeks to uncover the unique thoughts and feelings that led these individuals to take their own lives. Lester has also studied suicide notes, the poems of those who died by suicide (both famous poets and unpublished poets), the letters written by suicides, blogs and twitter feeds, and one tape recording of a young man who killed himself just an hour or so after he recorded the tape. This book will give you insights into the "I" of the storm, the suicidal mind.
This book attempts to shed light on suicide missions and provide answers to the questions we all ask. Are these the actions of aggressive religious zealots and unbridled, irrational radicals or is there a logic driving those behind them? Are their motivations religious or has Islam provided a language to express essentially political causes? How can the perpetrators remain so lucidly effective in the face of certain death? And do these disparate attacks have something like a common cause? It focuses on four main instances: the Kamikaze, missions carried out by the Tamil Tigers in the civil war in Sri Lanka, the Lebanese and Palestinian groups in the Middle East, and the al-Qaeda 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. For more than two years, the authors have pursued an unprejudiced inquiry, investigating organizers and perpetrators alike of this extraordinary social phenomenon. Close comparisons between a whole range of cases raise challenging further questions: If suicide missions are so effective, why are they not more common? If killing is what matters, why not stick to 'ordinary' violent means? Or, if dying is what matters, why kill in the process?
The Third Reich met its end in the spring of 1945 in an unparalleled wave of suicides. Hitler, Goebbels, Bormann, Himmler and later Göring all killed themselves. These deaths represent only the tip of an iceberg of a massive wave of suicides that also touched upon ordinary lives. As this suicide epidemic has no historical precedent or parallel, it can tell us much about the Third Reich's peculiar self-destructiveness and the depths of Nazi fanaticism. The book looks at the suicides of both Nazis and ordinary people in Germany between 1918 and 1945, from the end of World War I until the end of World War II, including the mass suicides of German Jews during the Holocaust. It shows how suicides among different population groups, including supporters, opponents, and victims of the regime, responded to the social, cultural, economic and, political context of the time. The book also analyses changes and continuities in individual and societal responses to suicide over time, especially with regard to the Weimar Republic and the post-1945 era.
This book takes a hard-science look at the possibility that we humans have the capacity to care for others for their sakes (altruism) rather than simply for our own (egoism). The look is based not on armchair speculation, dramatic cases, or after-the-fact interviews, but on an extensive series of theory-testing laboratory experiments conducted over the past 35 years. Part I details the theory of altruistic motivation that has been the focus of this experimental research. The theory centers on the empathy-altruism hypothesis, which claims that other-oriented feelings of sympathy and compassion for a person in need (empathic concern) produce motivation with the ultimate goal of having that need removed. Antecedents and consequences of empathy-induced altruistic motivation are specified, making the theory empirically testable. Part II offers a comprehensive summary of the research designed to test the empathy-altruism hypothesis, giving particular attention to recent challenges. Overall, the research provides remarkably strong and consistent support for this hypothesis, forcing a tentative conclusion that empathy-induced altruism is within the human repertoire. Part III considers the theoretical and practical implications of this conclusion, suggesting that empathy-induced altruism is a far more pervasive and powerful force in human affairs than has been recognized. Failure to appreciate its importance has handicapped attempts to understand why we humans act as we do and wherein our happiness lies. This failure has also handicapped efforts to promote better interpersonal relations and create a more caring, humane society.
When it comes to explaining, predicting, and preventing suicide terrorism, there is a lot more important work to be done. This paper draws on the most recent evidence about where suicide terrorism occurs and why to propose a basic explanatory framework. Taking a bottom-up approach, it first identifies the minimum requirements for a suicide terrorism attack, and then outlines additional facilitators for the deadliest attacks and most prolonged suicide terrorism campaigns. Next, it applies these variables to clarify popular misunderstandings about foreign occupation as the primary cause of suicide terrorism. Finally, it shows how security officials can use this framework to develop a series of short term and long term countermeasures and begin to reduce the prevalence of suicide terrorism worldwide.
Human altruism in non-kin, unreciprocated contexts is difficult to understand in evolutionary terms. However, neo-Darwinian theories remain a potentially useful means of illuminating this behavior. In particular, induced altruism, wherein cues of genetic relatedness are manipulated to elicit costly behaviors for the benefit of non-kin, appears highly relevant. This article reviews cross-cultural data on several examples of extremely costly altruism-vows of celibacy, suicide bombings, and combat suicide-as exhibited in organizational and institutional contexts. Two predictions are used to test the relevance of induced altruism to the reinforcement of altruistic commitment to these behaviors. First, different organizations requiring costly sacrifice by their members should employ similar practices involving patterns of association, phenotypic similarity, and kinship terminology that are associated with kin cue-manipulation. Second, these organizational practices should be adopted as a consequence of recruit pools growing increasingly larger and, thus, less genetically related. There appears to be support for both predictions, suggesting that cross-cultural analyses could provide an effective avenue through which to test this and other evolutionary theories related to human unreciprocated altruism in non-kin contexts.
This article proposes that there are four primary types of suicide terrorist: (1) conventional suicide terrorists, who become suicidal owing to classic risk factors, (2) coerced suicide terrorists, who become suicidal because they fear the organizational consequences of not carrying out attacks, (3) escapist suicide terrorists, who become suicidal because they fear being captured by the enemy, and (4) indirect suicide terrorists, who become suicidal at an unconscious level and orchestrate their deaths in ways that disguise their desire to die. It then outlines behavioral expectations for each type, in terms of warning signs, tactical experience and attack styles, and concludes with recommendations for security countermeasures and future research.
For years, scholars have claimed that suicide terrorists are not suicidal, but rather psychologically normal individuals inspired to sacrifice their lives for an ideological cause, due to a range of social and situational factors. I agree that suicide terrorists are shaped by their contexts, as we all are. However, I argue that these scholars went too far. In The Myth of Martyrdom: What Really Drives Suicide Bombers, Rampage Shooters, and Other Self-Destructive Killers, I take the opposing view, based on my in-depth analyses of suicide attackers from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America; attackers who were male, female, young, old, Islamic, and Christian; attackers who carried out the most deadly and the least deadly strikes. I present evidence that in terms of their behavior and psychology, suicide terrorists are much like others who commit conventional suicides, murder-suicides, or unconventional suicides where mental health problems, personal crises, coercion, fear of an approaching enemy, or hidden self-destructive urges play a major role. I also identify critical differences between suicide terrorists and those who have genuinely sacrificed their lives for a greater good. By better understanding suicide terrorists, experts in the brain and behavioral sciences may be able to pioneer exciting new breakthroughs in security countermeasures and suicide prevention. And even more ambitiously, by examining these profound extremes of the human condition, perhaps we can more accurately grasp the power of the human survival instinct among those who are actually psychologically healthy.
Two studies investigated children's reasoning about their mental and bodily states during the time prior to biological conception-"prelife." By exploring prelife beliefs in 5- to 12-year-olds (N = 283) from two distinct cultures (urban Ecuadorians, rural indigenous Shuar), the studies aimed to uncover children's untutored intuitions about the essential features of persons. Results showed that with age, children judged fewer mental and bodily states to be functional during prelife. However, children from both cultures continued to privilege the functionality of certain mental states (i.e., emotions, desires) relative to bodily states (i.e., biological, psychobiological, perceptual states). Results converge with afterlife research and suggest that there is an unlearned cognitive tendency to view emotions and desires as the eternal core of personhood.
Using social dominance theory and structural balance theory to analyze the political and psychological perspectives of subordinated peoples, we argue that struggles between dominant and subordinated polities are embedded in layered power structures. In such contexts, it is important to examine publics' political desires and interests in relation to their political elites' positions or choices of political tactics and allegiances. To illustrate these arguments, we used random urban samples surveyed in March 2010 to examine Lebanese and Syrian citizens' favorability toward their governments and Hezbollah (a quasi-government faction with significant relations to the governments of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and the United States). As theorized, citizens' favorability depended on (i) how much they view their government as providing services for them, (ii) opposition to general group dominance, (iii) opposition to US oppression, and (iv) their governments' alignments vis-à-vis the US. Implications for political psychology and international relations theory are discussed.
For centuries, philosophers, theologians, and scientists have used the idea of the Great Chain of Being to rank all beings, from demons to animals, humans, and gods, along a vertical dimension of morality. Although the idea of a chain of being has largely fallen out of academic favor, we propose that people still use an embodied vertical moral hierarchy to understand their moral world. This social cognitive chain of being (SCCB) encapsulates a range of research on moral perception including dehumanization (the perception of people as lower on the SCCB), anthropomorphism (the perception of animals as higher and the perceptions of gods as lower on the SCCB), and sanctification (the perception of people as higher on the SCCB). Moral emotions provide affective evidence that guide the perception of social targets as moral (e.g., elevation) or immoral (e.g., disgust). Perceptions of social targets along the SCCB enable people to fulfill group and self-serving, effectance, and existential motivations. The SCCB serves as a unifying theoretical framework that organizes research on moral perception, highlights unique interconnections, and provides a roadmap for future research.
© Association for Psychological Science 2011.
This study presents results from the first combined quantitative assessment and comparative analysis of suicide terrorists and rampage, workplace, and school shooters who attempt suicide. Findings suggest that in the United States from 1990 to 2010, the differences between these offenders (N = 81) were largely superficial. Prior to their attacks, they struggled with many of the same personal problems, including social marginalization, family problems, work or school problems, and precipitating crisis events. Ultimately, patterns among all four types of offenders can assist those developing security policy, conducting threat assessments, and attempting to intervene in the lives of at-risk individuals.