Inside Terrorism: Psychological and Behavioral Factors Terrorism is a difficult issue to understand and grasp for many people. What is even more difficult to understand is what drives an individual to become radicalized to the point of joining a terrorist organization and committing terrorist acts. While there is not specific criteria or a “cookie cutter” approach to understanding what motivates and radicalizes an individual to participate in such atrocities, there are however, several psychological and behavioral factors that have been common among these individuals. The following paper will outline some of the psychological and behavioral factors that attribute to an individual’s radicalization and eventual willingness and even perhaps …show more content…
“Stairs narrow toward the top. It becomes harder to turn back with each step” (Kershaw, 2010). As said before, there is not a “cookie cutter” definition of what creates a terrorist. One thing is very evident, the radicalization process of an individual is complex, diverse, and is often comprised of idiosyncratic characteristics. The first factor is that of victimization. Victimization is when an individual feels as though he or she has fallen victim to something, such as a physical, psychological, or financial harm. Individuals who are victimized feel as though they are missing something and are eager to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and terrorist organizations can fill those needs. An example of how victimization can attribute to the radicalization of an individual is if an individual lost family or friends in a drone strike conducted by the United States of America. The family and friends killed in the drone strike leaves the individual feeling scared, angry, and sad with a hunger for revenge. A terrorist organization such as Al Qaeda could be very intriguing to that individual because of their mission to wage war against and destroy the United States of America. Victimization is a dangerous factor because it can easily feed into other factors and victims can easily be manipulated into believing certain things, one of those things being religion. Religion is a very important factor that plays a key role in the radicalization of an
The use of terrorism started in 1795 relating to the reign of terror leaded by the French Government. The reason people become terrorist is because they see it as their only choice or is a sign for defending their religion. “The personal pathway model suggests that terrorists came from a selected, at risk population, who have suffered from early damage to their self-esteem,” (psychologist Eric D. Shaw). This explains how young adults are becoming terrorist to find themselves, also because they are not happy with who they are. Terrorist technology has changed over the course.
We are all individuals. As individuals, we do not all live the same lives and share the same interests. It is greatly because of this, there are many psychological and behavioral factors that can impact the radicalization of an individual. Not everyone is going to be as receptive to certain things as other people may be. We must understand what the factors are that can increase the likelihood of someone turning to a life of terror in order to have a more significant chance at countering them. It is important to know why someone joins an organization such as al Qaeda or a white supremacist group in order to know which
The following is a brief explanation of the motivation of the Islamic Jihad Group. Included is a response to how the knowledge of the Islamic Jihad Group’s motivation might assist in planning counter terrorist strategy. Included are explanations as to how the motivations of terrorists differ from the motivations of other violent criminals and how cultural, socioeconomic, or political factors could lead a person to become a terrorist or criminal.
The purpose of this paper is to annotate four sources that I will analyze for my final research paper. These sources focus on the following items: (a) Comparing Muslim converts and non-converts in the United States, (b) the psychology of radicalization, (c) the risk of radicalization and terrorism, and (d) how we can combat homegrown radicalization and terrorism. By analyzing these sources, I will be able to develop in-depth reasoning on this topic and complete the research paper.
This paper will seek to understand what really motivates terrorists to commit the acts that make them so infamous. We are assuming that the chief motivating factor behind the decisions of terrorist organizations is the political outcome of their acts balanced against the risk and collateral damage inflicted to achieve this end. We will also weigh in the appeal of terrorism on potential recruits in weak states and determine how the motivations of the group become the motivation of the individual and how this benefits the decentralized organization of terrorist organizations like al Qaeda.
A multitude of factors contribute to any type of reasoning or psychological makeup of an individual; whether it is a person’s history of behavioral problems, inability to maintain a functional relationship, or in this case becoming part of a terrorist organization. In Sarah Kershaw’s “The Terrorist Mind: An Update”, we are able to see what drives a person to commit acts of terror where it is praised in a given community.
Rachel Yehuda and Steven Hyman, in their journal, “The Impact of Terrorism on Brain, and Behavior: What We Know and What We Need to Know” (2005), the two analyze the effect terrorism can have on the brain. They supported this by providing factual evidence when they state,"It has now become clear that psychological responses following terrifying events have wide-ranging implications on both mental and physical health." Their purpose is to inform about the mental effects that terrorism as on people in order to prevent any future problems this could cause and to help others struggling with this. Using these facts, they create a more trusted bond between the reader and themselves to insure the reader knows they are a credible source. The article
Terrorism has become a key topic in light of the Paris attack and just recently the Brussels attack. Listening to Yvan Mayeur, the mayor of Brussels speaks on CNN, on the issue of how do people born in Europe and educated in Europe become radicalistic, he mentioned that, that is something that cannot be solved. Looking at the religious
In spite of the fact that the distinctive types of terrorism may emerge for various arrangement of reasons however a portion of the real causes might be recorded as political disappointment, financial hardship, local incongruities and intercession into religious, social; and individual opportunity of the general population . Any or these may on occasion make circumstance where worldwide personal stakes discover t simple to mediate and to animate the propensities towards terrorism for further their own particular targets at the expense of honest individuals .
Just as there is no uniform consensus regarding the definition of terrorism, the same issue also applies to the statistics regarding de-radicalization and disengaging of terrorists from their groups. In the case of the home-grown terrorist, unless it was an incarcerated terrorist, how could this information even be tracked? Although similarities to other types of group-based crime have been attempted, the difference lies within the motivations of terror groups. Other types of criminal groups arise from the issues of low socio-economic capital; in contrast, terror groups are based upon an ideology. Of course, poverty and low opportunities may encourage the formation of a terrorist mentality but it is not the driving force. Extremism in religion is usually the root cause of
There are many things can be seen in the psychology of terrorism. Unfortunately there is not good science on psychological factors of terrorism; there are theories and educated opinions (DeAngelis, 2009). The one overarching factor is the fear with which terrorism is based. By definition, terrorism is acts that cause terror by one group on to another, usually for political goals (“Terrorism”, n.d.). Why people suffer from these fears is related to their psychological behavior. Terrorist activity can be described as “fostering a sense of helplessness and hopelessness, in demonstrating the incompetence of the authorities, destroying a sense of security and safety, and in provoking inappropriate reactions from individuals and authorities.” (Alexander & Klein, 2005). Terrorists themselves are affected by psychological behavior; their own and that of others around them. They may even be affected by the behavior of victims and potential victims. Osama Bin Laden has even been known to admit that in the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, his
Lester Holt there was a deadly terrorist attack in Paris. A gunman opened fire on police officers killing one and leaving the other two injured. The gunman was using a military grade gun. After the terror attack ISIS claimed that they sent the gunman. A few days earlier two men were arrested upon suspicion of an attack to disrupt the election, another gunman was shot and killed outside of the louvre. Sociology and terrorism go hand in hand. When an act of terrorism occurs sociologists study how the nation responds to the event. We are currently on high alert due to North Korea testing nuclear bombs. The U.S. currently has spy planes that are monitoring any move made by the country. President Trump claims that we are in good terms with North Korea
There has also been long time assumption among professionals and average citizens that terrorists are ‘mentally ill’ individuals. However, there is yet again no evidence that supports that theory. As a matter of fact, there is countless examples in history that counters that said theory of being ‘mentally ill’ and this article provides those examples; as well as, providing the avenue in which an individual can and has been radicalized. Moreover, this article articulates and lays out a method in which could be used to counter the radicalization
There are key behavioral and psychological factors that facilitate the identification and recruitment of vulnerable people into terrorist activities and organizations. On completion of the reasons of how and why individuals join terrorist organizations, will then provide examples of programs of disengagement that are used for de-radicalizing imprisoned or individuals wanting to leave terrorist organizations. Nevertheless, the discussion will then turn to possible deterrents or methods to counter terrorist recruitment efforts.
In both examples mentioned above, there are exact motivating factors. In both cases the motivating factors are ideology and religion. But there are also many other factors which make people become terrorists and take guns in their hands or blow themselves