Psychology of the Terrorist (From Terrorism and Beyond, P 119-124, 1982 - See NCJ-91780)

• NCJ Number: 91781
• Author(s): R Fried
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Rand Corporation; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Psychology's task is to consider how political, historical, familial, group dynamic, organic, and even accidental factors affect and are reflected in a terrorist's awareness and behavior.

Abstract

The terrorist is more likely than the nonterrorist to be an individual who sees politics as highly relevant. This motivation is easily understood in a homeless displaced person, but more difficult to comprehend if an individual comes from a peaceful, democratic country. In the last situation, the terrorist often identifies with a small beleaguered country or a group of displaced persons. Even terrorists who are clearly psychotic may have political motives understandable in their own frames of reference, and their behavior may be affected by awareness of political realities. Terrorist acts are designed to attract attention. For the individual with highly personal motivations, this audience may be a particular person, whereas an organized political group may want to pressure a government. Terrorists must be willing to risk their lives, but there is a continuum along which terrorists can be ranged. Death-seeking behavior suggests a depressive component in the terrorist's personality. This individual may feel empty, anhedonic, and incapable of forming interpersonal relationships. The terrorist's interpersonal world is likely to consist of three groups: idealized heroes and a small set of comrades, the enemies, and a large world of shadow figures. These may reflect the terrorist's own personality: the ego ideal, the despised parts of the self, and the not-quite-alive everyday self. Professionals have described Palestinians as having a Samson complex, being willing to die if in doing so they attract attention, win admiration, and inflict damage on the enemy. However, some terrorists may not exhibit this complex, but appear clinically normal. Random incidents, such as profound disillusionment or killing of a comrade, may push a potential terrorist into violence. Finally, the aging process may turn a terrorist into a law-abiding citizen.