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Is Suicide Terrorism Really the Product of an Evolved Sacrificial Tendency? A Review of Mammalian Research and Application of Evolutionary Theory
Abstract
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 ...
... Applying the kin selection model, engagement in suicide terrorism missions might be adaptive because the family of the suicide terrorist could reap rewards after the individual dies. Several scholars have examined the possibility that individuals engage in suicide terrorism due to kin selection (i.e., Lankford 2015;Liddle et al. 2011;Qirko 2009). Some scholars even suggest that suicide terrorism might in fact be adapted (Liddle et al. 2011;Qirko 2009), since in many cases the relatives of suicide terrorists receive both tangible and intangible rewards. ...
... In particular, the kin selection explanation of suicide terrorism has been criticized on several grounds. For example, Lankford (2015) argues that intentional self-sacrifice is maladaptive and would not have been selected for. To support his argument, Lankford argues that while some animals engage in costly and potentially risky behavior to save/benefit their kin, intentional selfsacrificewhere the animal dies as a direct result of the altruistic behaviordoes not appear to be common in the animal kingdom (see Lankford 2015). ...
... For example, Lankford (2015) argues that intentional self-sacrifice is maladaptive and would not have been selected for. To support his argument, Lankford argues that while some animals engage in costly and potentially risky behavior to save/benefit their kin, intentional selfsacrificewhere the animal dies as a direct result of the altruistic behaviordoes not appear to be common in the animal kingdom (see Lankford 2015). ...
... 6. May destabilize group's power and allegiance structures. (Daly and Wilson, 1988;Duntley, 2005;Duntley and Buss, 2004;Lankford, 2015) Suicide specifically: 7. Distancing and other special economic and social costs for offspring and other close kin: loss of status, resources, mating opportunities. 8. Special psychological and emotional problems for offspring and other close kin; increased risk of psychopathology and suicide. ...
... In extremis, when their own survival is endangered, they will kill even offspring or siblings to preserve the capacity to procreate (Hausfater and Hrdy, 1984;O'Connor, 1978). Iteroparity helps to explain why intentional self-killing is not found among other animals (Lankford, 2015): in the Darwinian competition to survive and reproduce, the organism's death spells genetic 'game over'. Item 2, death ends the organism's ability to invest in existing progeny. ...
... The proposal that low reproductive potential may drive or open the door to suicide has sparked interest among other theorists (Campbell, 2002;Saad, 2007), and it finds some empirical support (deCatanzaro, 1980(deCatanzaro, , 1981(deCatanzaro, , 1982(deCatanzaro, , 1986(deCatanzaro, , 1991Soper, 2018). But there are forceful objections (Bering, 2018;Lankford, 2015;Lester, 2014b;Rubinstein, 1986;Soper, 2018;Wright, 1994). We highlight three. ...
Reviews evolutionary ideas in suicide research. Outlines recent theoretical developments, and implications of hypothesized evolved antisuicide defenses.
... We are "survival machines" (Dawkins 1976). Survival increases our inclusive fitness because once we die, we lose the opportunity to propagate our genes or help our genetic kin (Dawkins 1976;Lankford 2015). But although it is indisputable that we have many evolved tendencies that keep us alive, it is unclear whether we have any that drive us to intentionally die. ...
... As I have shown in other research, however, these social bonds and commitments typically have a breaking point (Lankford 2015). Nonhuman mammals do not intentionally sacrifice their lives to protect their offspring or group. ...
... Nonhuman mammals do not intentionally sacrifice their lives to protect their offspring or group. Instead, they predictably flee to save themselves (Lankford 2015). Humans are prone to do the same, which is why for millennia, fighters had to be drafted, coerced, shamed, or bribed to appear on the battlefield if their likelihood of death was high, and then threatened with execution for desertion (Pinker 2012). ...
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.
... We are "survival machines" (Dawkins 1976). Survival increases our inclusive fitness because once we die, we lose the opportunity to propagate our genes or help our genetic kin (Dawkins 1976;Lankford 2015). But although it is indisputable that we have many evolved tendencies that keep us alive, it is unclear whether we have any that drive us to intentionally die. ...
... As I have shown in other research, however, these social bonds and commitments typically have a breaking point (Lankford 2015). Nonhuman mammals do not intentionally sacrifice their lives to protect their offspring or group. ...
... Nonhuman mammals do not intentionally sacrifice their lives to protect their offspring or group. Instead, they predictably flee to save themselves (Lankford 2015). Humans are prone to do the same, which is why for millennia, fighters had to be drafted, coerced, shamed, or bribed to appear on the battlefield if their likelihood of death was high, and then threatened with execution for desertion (Pinker 2012). ...
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.
... Second, the premise of zero reproductive potential seems to be at odds with the way humans, and mammals generally, are strategically geared to procreate (Lankford, 2015). Unlike Pacific salmon (semelparous -they breed only once), humans and virtually all other mammals are iteroparous -designed for multiple reproductive episodes (Cole, 1954). ...
... Animals appear to know when they are trapped (Malkesman et al., 2009;Overmier & Seligman, 1967) -they respond by the loss of motivation to act, and they sometimes self-injure (Jones, 1982) -but even certain entrapment does not lead them deliberately to kill themselves (Goldney, 2000). Lankford (2015) reiterates a point made by Dawkins (1976) that animals are observed to be similarly accepting of nonreproductive status: in situations where a low-status male is denied opportunities to mate , its best bet is not self-destruction but self-preservation -biding its time on the chance, however slim, of a change for the better. Evolutionary logic would likewise suggest that the best fitness strategy for any human, aged bachelors included, is to soldier on (Bribiescas, 2006;Dawkins, 1980;Wright, 1994). ...
... Following the iteroparous reproductive strategy shared with virtually all other mammals, humans almost always have some direct or indirect reproductive potential to protect. As Lankford (2015) points out, the "ability to 'breed like rabbits' would be completely wasted by the rabbit who gives up its life to save four offspring, but loses out on producing eighty more." Hence other means of self-removal, if indeed self-removal is called for in the interests of inclusive fitness, would be expected to take precedence ahead of suicide. ...
The three broad classes of possible evolutionary explanations for suicide’s persistence in the human species are explored. Suicide is unlikely to result from random genetic noise, although mutation selection and other random processes in behavioral genetics may be relevant. Suicide is also unlikely to have come about as an adaptation, positively favored by natural selection for the inclusive fitness benefits it supposedly confers on those who take their own lives: theories proposed by deCatanzaro (Behav Brain Sci 3(02):265–272, 1980), including the alleged suicidogenic effect of low reproductive potential and burdensomeness, are critiqued. This chapter concludes that suicide most likely emerged as a noxious side effect of some other traits that were adaptive overall, despite the concomitant cost of intentional self-killing. A preliminary review points to some aspects of normal human cognition as responsible.
... Capability for suicide refers to "the reduction of the fear of death and increase in the tolerance for physical pain" (Smith et al., 2013, p. 98). As guided by evolution, humans have adapted to survive and are instinctively driven away from suicide, and this instinctual drive cannot be counteracted without becoming acclimated to certain powerful features of suicide (Lankford, 2015;Liddle et al., 2011). Those without an acquired capability for suicide will not enact suicidal behaviors as the thought of lethal self-harm may be too fear provoking or perceived as too painful to tolerate. ...
Although organizational scholars have long been interested in employees’ well‐being and occupational health, less work has focused specifically on suicide behaviors among employees. This dearth of research is concerning given that individuals spend a significant portion of their waking hours at work and suicide deaths among American workers are on the rise. To encourage the study of work and suicide with the intent of ultimately reducing mortality, we first provide a theoretical framework that incorporates two eminent theories of suicide: interpersonal‐psychological theory of suicide and psychache theory of suicide. We then report the findings of an interdisciplinary systematic literature review that offers an overview of current research related to work and suicide, including antecedent, mediating, and moderating effects. The results of our systematic literature review are presented via the lens of our theoretical framework, supporting that it is an appropriate perspective to understand the relation of work and suicide. Finally, we conclude by identifying avenues for continued research on the interplay between work and suicide, again incorporating these research directions into our theoretical framework. Together, our manuscript integrates multiple domains of research, while addressing a timely and critical public health crisis that stems, in part, from employees’ workplace experiences.
... And there may be a few rare types of suicide (e.g., suicide due to terminal disease, expectations of imminent death, or severe coercion or punishment), where mental illness plays a minimal role. Overall, however, as Dawkins (1976) summarizes, due to millions of years of natural selection, we became "survival machines" with deep-seated drives for self-preservation, because survival almost always serves the best interest of our genes (Lankford, 2015). If suicide is therefore not an evolved tendency, it may typically be a consequence of mental health problems (much like the body evolved for fitness and function, but nevertheless experiences physical health problems). ...
... The difficulty, of course, is that humans are not worker ants. For virtually all mammals, humans included, the weak and uncertain inclusive fitness benefit from self-killing that supposedly accrues to a suicide's kin would not expectably come close to compensating for the genetically disastrous, and certain, direct reproductive cost of being dead (Lankford 2015;Skinner 1969), let alone for the added societal and psychological penalties predictably imposed on families bereaved specifically by suicide. ...
Primarily a precis of the book The Evolution of Suicide (Soper 2018), this article argues that behaviorally modern humans are specifically adapted to survive in what the author calls the “suicidal niche,” an ecological arena characterized by the endemic fitness threat of deliberate self-killing. A “pain-and-brain” model of suicide’s evolution is proposed, which explains suicide as a noxious by-product of two adaptations combined: the aversiveness of pain, which demands that the organism act to end or escape it, and the cognitive sophistication of the mature human brain, which offers self-killing as an effective means to satisfy that demand for escape. These “pain” and “brain” primary adaptations are posited to be both sufficient conditions for suicide and universal among mature humans, which suggests that the fitness threat of suicide would have posed a predictable and severe adaptive problem in the evolution of our species. Adaptive solutions, which emerged to address the problem, are hypothesized to be psychological and sometimes culturally informed mechanisms that either dull the “pain” motivation for suicide or deny the “brain” means to conceive and enact suicide—or, most likely, a combination of the two strategies. Evolved antisuicide defenses may account for many otherwise puzzling aspects of human behavior and psychology, including susceptibilities to depression, addictions, self-harm, and certain other common psychiatric symptoms, which the author posits to be protective, autonomic responses to suicidogenic pain. The precision of human adaptation to the suicidal niche makes it unlikely that deliberate self-killings can, even in principle, be predicted with useful accuracy at the individual level.
... Although evolution was relevant for decades to comparative psychology and ethology (Greenberg, 1985;Beach, 1950;Schneirla, 1952), "evolutionary psychology" is a relatively recent discipline within the overall field of psychology (Buss, 1995). It attempts to understand human behavior in terms of evolution's adaptive underpinnings, i.e., if any physical trait or a behavior is present in an organism, then it is due to it rendering that organism some adaptive advantage over the environment, or its conspecifics (Apostolou, 2008;Duchaine, Cosmides, & Tooby, 2001;Fowler & Schreiber, 2008;Holden, 2010;Jonason, Jones, & Lyons, 2013;Lankford, 2015;Noller, 1986;Robinson, Fernald, & Clayton, 2008;Scott-Phillips, Dickins, & West, 2011). Almost always the emphasis of evolutionary psychology is on humans, not animals. ...
Evolutionary psychology has as its foundation the classical Darwinian-Wallace theory of evolution. Using this theory as a guideline, evolutionary psychologists have interpreted human behaviors from an adaptationist outlook using a circular logic wherein no matter what the behavior is being looked at it is always given an evolutionary rationale. Additionally, there is much speculation as to evolutionary effects in the past and these speculations are seen as factual. Furthermore, there is evidence that the classical theory is flawed in that the emphasis on adaptation as the basis for evolution is incorrect. In that there is no actual evidence that Natural Selection (i.e., adaptation) has led to speciation. Previous scientists who have criticized the classical theory are cited, who made the case for speciation having occurred through a sudden “saltationist” process rather than the classical gradual process. As such, the author predicts that evolutionary psychology may ultimately become extinct as a subdiscipline.
... The difficulty, of course, is that humans are not worker ants. For virtually all mammals, humans included, the weak and uncertain inclusive fitness benefit from self-killing that supposedly accrues to a suicide's kin would not expectably come close to compensating for the genetically disastrous, and certain, direct reproductive cost of being dead (Lankford 2015;Skinner 1969), let alone for the added societal and psychological penalties predictably imposed on families bereaved specifically by suicide. ...
Suicidality most likely evolved as an unfortunate side effect of two important primary adaptations in the human species, “pain and brain”: the aversive emotional experience of pain, which is biologically designed to aid self-preservation by motivating adaptive escape action, combined with a cognitive sophistication that offers most mature humans the means to escape pain maladaptively by self-killing. Suicide may thus be categorized alongside other major fitness costs of human cognition and encephalization, such as obstetric complications arising from the parturition of large-skulled infants and the necessity for human young to remain dependent on carers for many years while the brain develops, adaptive problems of such severity that they drove the natural selection of complex physiological and behavioral solutions to control their costs. Equally, the notion of suicidality as a costly by-product implies that countermeasures would expectably have evolved to prevent mature humans from using self-extinction to escape from pain. Inferences are made concerning the likely timing of the emergence of these countermeasures during human prehistory.
... Human suicide has been considered an example of a behavior that evolved by kin selection [29] and is considered by Joiner et al. [73] to be an example of deranged human eusociality. Lankford [80] presents a weak argument trying to refute a relationship between human suicide and eusociality. ...
Eusociality is the most successful animal social system on earth. It is found in many social insects, a few crustacean species, and only three vertebrates: two African naked mole rats and human beings. Eusociality, so unusual for a vertebrate, is one of main factors leading to human beings becoming the most successful land vertebrate on earth by almost any measure. We are also unique in being the only land vertebrate with religions. Could the two be related? This article will present evidence, illustrated primarily with Judaism and Christianity, that these two seemingly unrelated social systems – eusociality and religion – that correlate temporally in our evolution, are possibly related. Evidence will also be presented that a (mostly) non-reproducing exemplar caste of celibate clergy was a eusocial-facilitating aspect of religion in western social evolution.
"THE MOST IMPORTANT THEORY OF SUICIDE IN THE CURRENT LITERATURE" [Review by Riadh Abed, FRCPsych, Former (Founding) Chair of the Evolutionary Psychiatry Special Interest Group at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK)].
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"This is an important book setting out ground-breaking ideas about the roots of suicide. I have read Cas Soper’s new book as well as his previous book, both of which are based on his PhD thesis proposing a new evolutionary theory of suicide. In my view Cas’ ‘Pain and Brain’ theory of suicide is the best explanation for suicide in the current literature, evolutionary or otherwise. His new book is aimed at the general public and goes further in developing the consequences and implications of his theory that provides a theory to explain the origins of happiness, love and religion as well as functional mental disorders (this bit, some psychiatrists may find controversial).
"The theory Cas presents is rigorously argued and he meticulously references research findings and other relevant literature. The book should be of interest to evolutionists from diverse fields including psychology and psychiatry, suicidologists, mental health professionals as well as anyone interested in understanding the human condition.
It is unfortunate that the hardback of his first book was priced out of reach of many potential readers but this one should hopefully get the attention it deserves."
(February 2021)
We discuss a disconnect between the predictions of Whitehouse's model regarding the accumulative nature of fusion and real-world data regarding the age at which people generally engage in self-sacrifice. We argue that incorporating the link between age and identity development into Whitehouse's theoretical framework is central to understanding when and why people engage in self-sacrifice on behalf of the group.
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.‐
Kin terms such as "brothers," "sisters," and "motherland" are frequently used in both political and patriotic speech. Johnson (1986, 1987) has argued that this use of kin terms in patriotic or rhetorical speech can be predicted on the basis of evolutionary psychology. He has suggested that the human inclination toward nepotistic behavior can be called forth by the successful manipulation of kin terminology. In this study, two hypotheses were examined concerning the evocativeness of kin terminology in political speech and the influence of birth order on the effectiveness of such terminology. The first hypothesis was that kin terms would be more effective than more distant relationship terms (like "friend") in evoking a positive response. Kin terms elevated agreement with the views expressed in the speech that the subjects heard. The second hypothesis, that middleborns would be less likely to respond to such kin term usage than first or lastborns, was based on previous work on birth order and family relations (Salmon and Daly, in press). And in fact, middleborns were less likely to be influenced by the use of kin terms than first or lastborns in this study.
All animals face the possibility of food limitation and ultimately starvation-induced mortality. This book summarizes state of the art of starvation biology from the ecological causes of food limitation to the physiological and evolutionary consequences of prolonged fasting. It is written for an audience with an understanding of general principles in animal physiology, yet offers a level of analysis and interpretation that will engage seasoned scientists. Each chapter is written by active researchers in the field of comparative physiology and draws on the primary literature of starvation both in nature and the laboratory. The chapters are organized among broad taxonomic categories, such as protists, arthropods, fishes, reptiles, birds, and flying, aquatic, and terrestrial mammals including humans; particularly well-studied animal models, e.g. endotherms are further organized by experimental approaches, such as analyses of blood metabolites, stable isotopes, thermobiology, and modeling of body composition. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights are reserved.
Suicide attacks and terrorism are characterized by cognitive simplicity, which is related to self-deception. In justifying violence in pursuit of ideologically and/or politically driven commitment, people with high religious commitment may be particularly prone to mechanisms of self-deception. Related megalomania and glorious self-perception are typical of self-deception, and are thus crucial in the emergence and expression of (suicide) terrorism.
Some 29 interactions between chimpanzees Pan troglodytes and leopards Panthera pardus were observed or inferred in the tropical rainforest of the Tai National Park, Cote d'Ivoire. Chimpanzees chased away leopards in nine cases, rescued alarm calling chimpanzees in 11 cases, nine times leopards attacked chimpanzees, injuring six of them and killing four. Predation by leopards is estimated to be the first cause of mortality in the Tai chimpanzees and individual chimpanzees may experience a risk of predatory attack of 0.30 per year and a mortality risk of 0.055 per year. Tai chimpanzees adapt specifically their grouping patterns to food availability and to predation: with abundant food and low predation, party size increases and mixed parties are more frequent, whereas with the same food condition but with high predation, party size decreased and all-male party types increase. -from Author
When parent-offspring relations in sexually reproducing species are viewed from the standpoint of the offspring as well as the parent, conflict is seen to be an expected feature of such relations. In particular, parent and offspring are expected to disagree over how long the period of parental investment should last, over the amount of parental investment that should be given, and over the altruistic and egoistic tendencies of the offspring as these tendencies affect other relatives. In addition, under certain conditions parents and offspring are expected to disagree over the preferred sex of the potential offspring. In general, parent-offspring conflict is expected to increase during the period of parental care, and offspring are expected to employ psychological weapons in order to compete with their parents. Detailed data on mother-offspring relations in mammals are consistent with the arguments presented. Conflict in some species, including the human species, is expected to extend to the adult reproductive role of the offspring: under certain conditions parents are expected to attempt to mold an offspring, against its better interests, into a permanent nonreproductive.
Suicide bombing has become the most potent weapon in the arsenal of terrorist groups in the Middle East, South Asia, and elsewhere. This analysis traces the weapon’s history, both ancient and modern to the present day. It includes commentary on the benefits and costs of suicide attacks as well as the motives of the ‘martyrs’ themselves and the organizations that send them on their way. Finally, the analysis pays attention to countermeasures, policies at the disposal of the authorities to stop or at least inhibit so-called ‘martyrdom operations.’
Over the last decade, the suicide method became one of the most prevalent tactics of Palestinian Terrorism in Israel. Who are these people, willing to sacrifice their lives in such an act, and what drives them to do such things? In our present analysis, we answer these questions, while relying on the concepts of altruistic and fatalistic suicide from Durkheim's typology of suicide behavior. Based on a newly established database compiled for this purpose m which includes information based on suicide, as well as non-suicide--Palestinian suicide terrorists from 1993 until the beginning of 2002, fit the "altruistic" type as well as some elements from the "fatalistic" and represent a combination of both types; thus they can be labeled under a new category of "fatalistic altruistic" suicide.
This article introduces evolutionary psychology to a general readership, with the purpose of applying evolutionary psychology to suicide terrorism. Some of the key concepts related to evolutionary psychology are discussed, as well as several misconceptions associated with this approach to psychology. We argue that one of the primary, but insufficient, motivating factors for suicide terrorism is strong religious belief. Evolutionary psychological theories related to religious belief, and supporting empirical work, are described, laying a foundation for examining suicide terrorism. Several promising directions for future research on suicide terrorism from an evolutionary psychological perspective are highlighted, particularly within the theoretical framework of kin selection, and the implications of applying evolutionary psychology to suicide terrorism are discussed.
Inclusive fitness theory and kin selection theory are among the most recognizable theories associated with evolutionary biology and psychology--they are also among the most widely misunderstood. The problem begins early, in undergraduate psychology textbooks. Here, ten social psychology textbooks were reviewed, and they were all found to contain at least one form of misunderstanding. Because these misunderstandings appear to result partly from people's intuitions about kinship and adaptive behavior (which are not necessarily in line with the scientific theories), writers must be especially vigilant in order to combat the misunderstandings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Despite considerable attention to chimpanzee intergroup violence, the number of observed cases remains small. We report 4 cases of intergroup violence that occurred in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, between 1993 and 2002. We observed (3 cases) or inferred (1 case) males from the Kasekela community to attack members of their 2 neighboring communities: Mitumba and Kalande. In 1993, Kasekela males killed and ate a female infant from Mitumba. In 1998, Kasekela males captured 2 infants (sex unknown) from Kalande, one of which escaped and the other was killed and eaten. Also in 1998, Kasekela males attacked an adolescent male from Kalande. The victim was alive but severely injured by the end of the attack. The intensity and duration of the attack are comparable to other attacks that resulted in fatal injuries. In 2002, observers found the body of an adolescent male from Mitumba following an incursion by Kasekela males into the area. The injuries inflicted on the Mitumba male together with circumstantial evidence suggest that Kasekela males killed him. The attacks support the view that intergroup violence is a persistent feature of chimpanzee societies and that the primary benefit attackers gain from them is reduced competition for resources.
Although terror management theory's proponents claim that it is an evolutionary theory of human behavior, its major tenets are implausible when examined carefully from a modern evolutionary perspective. We explain why it is unlikely that natural selection would have designed a "survival instinct" or innate "fear of death," nor an anxiety-reduction system in general, or worldview-defense system in particular, to ameliorate such fears. We argue that results of mortality-salience experiments are better explained as by-products of a psychological system of coalitional computation that evolved for a variety of functions, including defense against other humans, that is activated by certain kinds of death-related thoughts.
Conflict is basic to all creatures that reproduce sexually, because the genotypes, and hence self interests, of consorts are necessarily non identical. Infanticide among langurs illustrates an extreme form of this conflict.
The commonly accepted interpretation is that a religious motive—the desire to please God—is the principal reason why people volunteer for suicide missions. American political scientist Robert A. Pape rejects this view. For him the common thread linking suicide bombers is a political objective— driving out an occupier from one’s homeland, which they see as furthering the common good of their society. In arriving at this theory, Pape relied on the concept of “altruistic suicide,” developed by French sociologist Emile Durkheim in his pioneering work Suicide (1897). These ideas are discussed in Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (2005), from which the passage below is taken.
Lankford claims that suicide terrorists are suicidal, but that their suicidal tendencies are often frustrated by injunctive social norms. Martyrdom represents a solution, and terrorist organizations exploit this. In this commentary, we claim that this argument has not been fully made and that such ideation in itself does not explain a willingness to engage in punitive actions against an enemy. We suggest the psychology of kinship as a possible missing factor.
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@article{BBS:9335732,author = {Gray,Jacqueline M. and Dickins,Thomas E.},title = {Suicide terrorism and post-mortem benefits},journal = {Behavioral and Brain Sciences},volume = {37},issue = {04},month = {8},year = {2014},issn = {1469-1825},pages = {369--370},numpages = {2},doi = {10.1017/S0140525X13003403},URL = {http://journals.cambridge.org/article_S0140525X13003403},}
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Suicide terrorism and post-mortem benefits
Jacqueline M. Gray and Thomas E. Dickins (2014).
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue04 , August 2014 pp 369-370
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Suicide terrorism and post-mortem benefits
Jacqueline M. Gray
and Thomas E. Dickins
(2014)
Behavioral and Brain Sciences,
,
Volume 37,
Issue04,
August 2014 pp 369-370
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0140525X13003403
Jacqueline M. Gray
and Thomas E. Dickins
(2014).
Suicide terrorism and post-mortem benefits.
Behavioral and Brain Sciences,
37,
pp 369-370
doi:10.1017/S0140525X13003403
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This is the first article to analyze a large sample of terrorist groups in terms of their policy effectiveness. It includes every foreign terrorist organization (FTO) designated by the U.S. Department of State since 2001. The key variable for FTO success is a tactical one: target selection. Terrorist groups whose attacks on civilian targets outnumber attacks on military targets do not tend to achieve their policy objectives, regardless of their nature. Contrary to the prevailing view that terrorism is an effective means of political coercion, the universe of cases suggests that, first, contemporary terrorist groups rarely achieve their policy objectives and, second, the poor success rate is inherent to the tactic of terrorism itself. The bulk of the article develops a theory for why countries are reluctant to make policy concessions when their civilian populations are the primary target.
The paper summarizes seven years of records of the reproductive history of two wild prides of lions (Panthera leo L.) in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. These records are analyzed to demonstrate ways in which lion reproduction is influenced by their social group and by changes in that group.
Females gave birth at any time of year; they did so sooner if their previous litter died. Females synchronized births with other pride members. Takeover of the pride by new males resulted in a drop in the birth rate. Most cubs died, before two years old. Birth synchrony resulted in better cub survival. The arrival of new males resulted in an increase in cub mortality. Females came into oestrus synchronously with other pride members. Males had a much longer effective reproductive life if they had male companions.
The proximate causes of these features of lion reproduction are considered, and the evolution of aspects of the organization of reproduction in lions is discussed.
Summary • We derived a functional response function that accounted for both predator and prey size. Laboratory experiments were then performed to investigate the size relationships of the functional response of the benthic isopod Saduria entomon (L.) feeding on Monoporeia affinis (Lindström) amphipods. • The S. entomon predators, in general, showed sigmoid (type III) functional responses. The attack rate of S. entomon was a bent ridge-shaped function of predator and prey size. The maximum attack rates of small predators were found on small prey, and then attack rate declined rapidly as prey size increased. In large predators attack rate increased slowly up to a maximum for large prey. The shape of the attack rate was dependent on the size scaling of predator and prey body mass in the attack rate function. We suggest that the ridge-shaped attack rate function found in our study is likely to be general for predators that feed on prey with a large size range. The handling time of small S. entomon increased rapidly as prey size increased. In contrast, we found only small differences in handling time of large predators. The complete functional response may provide size-refuges for very small and large M. affinis depending on the size-structure of S. entomon. • To investigate the realism in our functional response estimates, we incorporated the functional response in a consumption model based on the densities and size-structures of the predator and the prey in the field (Bothnian Sea). We adjusted the attack rate using a correction factor to predict the observed survival of the different age-classes of M. affinis from field samples. The field data-based consumption model accounted for 1 year of size-dependent predation by the size-structured population of S. entomon on M. affinis. In addition, using a growth model for S. entomon we checked that the predicted consumption by the predator gave realistic growth curves. We found that the experimentally derived attack rates may have been over-estimated by a factor of 400. Journal of Animal Ecology (2004) 73, 239–252
Data on six cases of infanticide, one infanticide attempt, and one suspected infanticide in mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) are presented here for the first time. These and previously reported cases in the same population are analyzed in order to assess the circumstances and consequences of infanticide.
Most infanticides occur when infants' mothers are not accompanied by their group's mature male (usually because he has died). Infants in this situation are almost certain to be killed by unfamiliar males unless they are nearly weaned. Active defense of infants by females is ineffective, and females cannot avoid unfamiliar males for prolonged periods. In contrast, infanticide is rare — yet has been observed — in encounters between mature males. It is not associated with group takeovers and male eviction by extra-group males, unlike the case in many other mammals. Demographic constraints and reproductive competition limit the occurrence of defensive coalitions between males. These factors, plus the high risks associated with male/male aggression, inhibit the occurrence of group takeovers by male coalitions. Infanticide shortens interbirth intervals and results in a high probability that a female will mate with the infanticidal male.
These findings support the sexual-selection hypothesis for the evolution of infanticide and strongly support the argument that intersexual mutualism and intraspecific aggression have been central factors in gorillas' social evolution.
Explanations for suicide attacks abound. Yet the literature remains conceptually fragmented, with different authors focusing on different attitudes, incentive structures, values, psychological processes, strategic imperatives, and cultural, historical, and personal circumstances. Curiously, however, there have been few efforts to cast suicide bombing within the extensive evolutionary literature on human altruism—in which it clearly belongs. Neither have there been more than occasional efforts to mobilize the distinction between “proximate” and “ultimate” explanations, with most proposed explanations being proximate. Here we draw on content analyses from materials written by Japanese Kamikaze pilots to propose an evolvable cognitive algorithm—by hypothesis, species typical—that (1) specifies environmental circumstances under which such “heroic” behavior is likely; (2) is consistent at the proximate level with the Japanese data; and (3) that is not inconsistent with many of the diverse proximate attitudes, values, and psychological mechanisms that dominate discussions of contemporary suicide campaigns. The evolutionary perspective is not an alternative to most of the proximate explanations offered in discussions of contemporary cases but is, rather, a paradigm around which diverse proximate explanations can be organized.
The adaptive value of matriphagy, the consumption of the mother by her offspring, in the sub-social spider Amaurobius ferox (Araneae, Amaurobiidae) was experimentally evaluated in terms of the benefits to the offspring and the costs to the mother. Matriphagy resulted in a 2.5-fold weight gain in the offspring over their initial weight, advancement of their moulting time, and larger body mass at dispersal in comparison with clutches deprived of matriphagy, but otherwise well provisioned with prey. Matriphagous offspring were also more successful at capturing large prey items, had a more extended social period, and a higher survival rate at dispersal. Mothers separated from their broods just prior to matriphagy were able to produce second clutches, effectively producing 33% more viable offspring (compared with the first clutches). However, the estimated reproductive outputs of the alternative maternal strategies (being devoted to the first clutch vs. deserting the first and producing a second one) suggest that mothers of A. ferox that are cannibalized by their broods enjoy greater reproductive success than those that escape cannibalism and produce second clutches.
Ten cases of infant killings and 2 cases of juvenile killings were observed in two troops of Hanuman langurs, (Presbytis entellus) around Jodhpur, India. Fatal attacks on infants and juveniles are classified into four categories. The process of infanticide
was observed from start to end and is described in detail for 3 cases. The age of the victims ranged from 0.2 to 48 months.
The interbirth interval among females whose infants were killed is significantly shorter compared to females whose infants
survived. In ourt study, 7 cases support the reproductive advantage hypothesis, that infanticide is an adaptive behaviour
to increase male reproductive success. The remaining 5 cases do not fit into the reproductive advantage hypothesis. In these
cases, victims are over 8 months old, and as such their deaths could not shorten the interbirth interval. It appears that
by killing older infants and juveniles the males obtain an advantage in resource competition for their offspring. An alternative
is that new males chase or peripheralise the older infants and juveniles, which leads to 97% predominant uni-male troop structure
in Jodhpur.
Researchers have documented infanticide by adult males in four wild chimpanzee populations. Males in three of these have killed
infants from outside of their own communities, but most infanticides, including one from Kanyawara, in Kibale National Park,
Uganda, took place within communities. Here we report two new cases of infanticide by male chimpanzees at a second Kibale
site, Ngogo, where the recently habituated chimpanzee community is the largest yet known. Both infanticides happended during
boundary patrols, which occur at a high frequency there. Patrolling males attacked solitary females who were unable to defend
their infants successfully. The victims were almost certainly not members of the Ngogo community. Males cannibalized both
infants and completely consumed their carcasses. These observations show that infanticide by males is widespread in the Kibale
population and that between-community infanticide also happens there. We discuss our observations in the context of the sexual
selection hypothesis and other proposed explanations for infanticide by male chimpanzees. The observations support the arguments
that infanticide has been an important selective force in chimpanzee social evolution and that females with dependent infants
can be at great risk near range boundaries, but why male chimpanzees kill infants is still uncertain.
Young of the Japanese foliage spider, Chiracanthium japonicum, show matriphagy, whereby they consume their own mothers before dispersal. By removing mothers in the laboratory, I examined
the importance of this sacrificial habit for offspring survival and dispersal behavior. Spiderlings that cannibalized their
mothers gained weight more than threefold and dispersed from their breeding nests after molting into the third instar. The
third-instar spiderlings had relatively longer legs than the previous instars and appeared to be more adapted to a solitary
hunting life style. On the other hand, most spiderlings separated from their mothers could not molt into the third instar
and dispersed significantly earlier than those with matriphagy. Furthermore, the lack of matriphagy decreased the survival
rate of predispersal spiderlings. These results showed that matriphagy of C. japonicum has a great advantage in allowing offspring to disperse at a more developed and active instar.
A prolonged attack on a mother and 2-year-old infant that resulted in the death of the infant was observed in the Kanyawara
study group in Kibale National Park. The mother was a border-area resident who was first observed associating with unit-group
males six years previously. The attackers were an adult male and an adult female with a 6-week-old infant clinging ventrally
to her. The attack was unusual in several respects: it is the first time a male and a female chimpanzee have been observed
cooperating closely in an infanticidal attack; the adult female initially attempted to intervene in the victim's behalf, but
later joined in the attack after receiving aggression from the male; and the episode was longer in duration than other reported
cases. In the year following the incident, the mother did not increase her association with community males, but was seen
with the male who killed her infant. The relevance of these observations to sexual selection-based explanations for infanticide
in chimpanzees is discussed.
Considerable disagreement characterizes the debate concerning frequency, causation, and function of infanticide in connection
with adult male replacements in bisexual one-male troops of hanuman langurs (Presbytis entellus). Detailed observations are presented about two noninfanticidal and three infanticidal male changes including six eye-witness
and five presumed cases of infanticide within three langur troops during a long-term study at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The
results do not support any explanatory hypotheses focussing on social crowding, regulation of population density, social stress,
sexual frustration, incest avoidance, or social bonding, but are in general though not total agreement with the reproductive
advantage hypothesis: mainly unrelated infants were killed (one possible exception), the infanticidal male generally sired
the subsequent offspring (one exception), and the mean interbirth interval subsequent to infanticide is by 2.1 months shortened.
Likewise, several cases of stress induced abortions occurred. It is demonstrated that postconception estrous behaviour is
by no means a female counterstrategy to infanticide in order to confuse males concerning the issue of paternity, since an
infanticidal male did not spare the subsequent offspring of mothers who copulated with him during pregnancy and pregnant females
did not discriminate between fathers and non-fathers.
A simple mathematical formula can be derived, on the basis of inclusive fitness theory and notions of reproductive value, to represent the residual capacity of an individual to influence his inclusive fitness. This formula involves the individual's remaining reproductive potential in his expected natural lifetime, plus the summated impacts of his continued existence on the remaining reproductive potentials of each of his kin, each weighted by the coefficient of relationship. In theory, this quantity should predict the extent to which self-preservation is optimally expressed in that individual. For asocial species, the value will vary from zero up to the maximal reproductive value observable, and the logic of the Medawar-Williams theory of senescence should apply directly. However, for highly social species like our own, it can be demonstrated that negative values can also obtain, given the conjunction of low residual reproductive potential and burdensomeness toward kin. Much empirical evidence suggests that outright self-destructiveness is often found in circumstances of such conjunction.
Chimpanzee and hunter-gatherer intergroup aggression differ in important ways, including humans having the ability to form peaceful relationships and alliances among groups. This paper nevertheless evaluates the hypothesis that intergroup aggression evolved according to the same functional principles in the two species-selection favoring a tendency to kill members of neighboring groups when killing could be carried out safely. According to this idea chimpanzees and humans are equally risk-averse when fighting. When self-sacrificial war practices are found in humans, therefore, they result from cultural systems of reward, punishment, and coercion rather than evolved adaptations to greater risk-taking. To test this "chimpanzee model," we review intergroup fighting in chimpanzees and nomadic hunter-gatherers living with other nomadic hunter-gatherers as neighbors. Whether humans have evolved specific psychological adaptations for war is unknown, but current evidence suggests that the chimpanzee model is an appropriate starting point for analyzing the biological and cultural evolution of warfare.
Based on the cases of infanticide by male mountain gorillas reported from the Virunga volcanic region, the socioecological and life history features of gorillas satisfy the conditions for which infanticide may be expected. However, there are considerable variations in the occurrence of infanticide between habitats. We analyze the recent reports of infanticides that were directly observed or are suspected based on field evidence in two populations of eastern and western lowland gorillas (Kahuzi and Mbeli Bai, respectively) along with previous reports on mountain gorillas, and consider which social features are linked with and which factors influence the occurrence of infanticide in the gorilla populations. All victims were suckling infants and most of them were killed by males who seemed unrelated to them. Dependent infants are most vulnerable to infanticide when the protector male (its putative father in most cases) is absent, and so male protection ability seems to be important in determining female transfer decisions. Two cases observed in Kahuzi suggest that the infanticidal male may discriminate between infants to accept and those to kill according to his previous interactions with their mothers. Mating for a prolonged period prior to parturition is necessary for immigrant females to avoid infanticide by the new male of the group that they join. Infanticide was usually associated with female transfer, and the patterns of female association at transfer may shape variations in social structure between populations. Female mountain gorillas prefer large groups with multiple males and tend to transfer alone in order to seek more protection against infanticide in Virunga. By contrast, female eastern and western lowland gorillas tend to transfer with other females to small groups or solitary males, and maturing silverbacks take females to establish new groups through group fission in Kahuzi and Mbeli Bai. These differences may result in more multi-male and larger groups in the Virungas than in Kahuzi and Mbeli Bai. Rapid changes in density of gorilla social units and their relations following drastic environmental changes caused by recent human disturbances may also increase the probability of infanticide.
This paper reviews current understandings of the psychology of suicide terrorism for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to help them better understand this terrifying phenomenon. After discussing key concepts and definitions, the paper reviews both group and individual models for explaining the development of suicide terrorists, with an emphasis on "collective identity." Stressing the importance of social psychology, it emphasizes the "normality" and absence of individual psychopathology of the suicide bombers. It will discuss the broad range of terrorisms, but will particularly emphasize terrorism associated with militant Islam. The article emphasizes that comprehending suicide terrorism requires a multidisciplinary approach that includes anthropological, economic, historical, and political factors as well as psychological ones. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for research, policy, and prevention, reviewing the manner in which social psychiatric knowledge and understandings applied to this phenomenon in an interdisciplinary framework can assist in developing approaches to counter this deadly strategy.
Homicide is an extreme manifestation of interpersonal conflict with minimal reporting bias and can thus be used as a conflict "assay." Evolutionary models of social motives predict that genetic relationship will be associated with mitigation of conflict, and various analyses of homicide data support this prediction. Most "family" homicides are spousal homicides, fueled by male sexual proprietariness. In the case of parent-offspring conflict, an evolutionary model predicts variations in the risk of violence as a function of the ages, sexes, and other characteristics of protagonists, and these predictions are upheld in tests with data on infanticides, parricides, and filicides.