One psychological theory that explains why a person becomes a terrorist is the frustration-aggression hypothesis. The frustration-aggression hypothesis suggests that terrorist behavior arises because of the frustration related to political and economic situations. The political and economic climates that foster such frustration are actually years of alienation and marginalization that lead to a need to enact change in a radical way.
Another explanation for terrorism is a sub-cultural theory. The sub-cultural theory proposes that terrorists occupy their own sub-culture with their own value system. That value system is the terrorist ideology and belief system which is usually a hybridization of a religious-sociocultural worldview. Closely associated with a terrorist sub-culture is the negative identity hypothesis. The negative identity hypothesis asserts that failure to attain a respectful role leads to the assumption of a negative identity (i.e., a terrorist identity).
An appropriate hypothesis for terrorism is one that focuses on psychopathology or abnormal development. Within this school of thought is the narcissistic rage hypothesis. This theory asserts that terrorists had developmentally ineffective experiences and suffer from narcissistic injuries and experiences throughout life which produces narcissistic rage. There are a host of other theories of psychopathology to account for terrorist behavior.
The terrorist mind can likely be explained by the above psychological hypotheses. However, no single theory can account for all terrorists. As a result, it is reasonable to presume that terrorists can be understood through the lens of some or all of the hypotheses. It is those psychological dynamics that interface with the political, economic, and religious factors that eventually lead to terrorism.
Indeed, those who join terrorist groups are often unemployed, socially alienated people who have dropped out of society. Those individuals likely join out of boredom or a need for adventure, not to mention economic incentives. The terrorists who are educated likely gravitate towards their organization out of real political or religious convictions.
The student of the behavioral or social sciences may notice a similarity between the conditions that foster terrorism and the conditions which lead to crime. For instance, it is well known that "opportunity" leads to crime. Socially alienated people who have no real means for upward mobility may find that criminal behavior is a way to accrue some sort of capital. This observation ties in with the data that suggests that poverty is a major risk factor for crime. Perhaps the economic situation that leads to crime in the U.S. is but a microcosm of what leads to terrorism in other regions.
And, similar to the psychopathology theory of terrorism, family instability is a major risk factor for crime. It is possible that those who turn to crime have had negative experiences in their development that derailed any chance for the development of healthy attitudes and behaviors. With such a distorted worldview or value system crime may not be an unreasonable option. Lastly, low educational achievement is a risk factor for crime. Perhaps the person who did not achieve the most basic of education moves towards crime for a host of reasons and that may be true of the person who moves towards terrorism.
The above discussion supports the need to study terrorism. Terrorism is a complicated psychological, cultural, and religious phenomenon that is often counterintuitive. As such, counter terrorism training may benefit from a formal education component. This is particularly true for the growing domestic terror threat. There is a growing need to study terrorism as it relates to crime because crime can serve as a vessel for terrorists. Thus, to study terrorism from a behavioral science perspective allows those in counter terrorism training and related areas to better understand the threat. Counter terrorism training will be better equipped to prepare people to address the terrorist threat.
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Dan Sommer works for Henley-Putnam University, a leading educational institution in the field of Strategic Security. For more info on Henley-Putnam University, study terrorism, counter terrorism training, call 888-852-8746 or visit us online at http://www.Henley-Putnam.edu
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