Creating Terrorists Using Social Psychological Conditioning
Terrorism has been significantly on the rise over the past several years, making it one of the major concerns for governments and security organizations. The identity of terrorists and the activities perpetrated by them have been associated with certain races, religious affiliations and other geographical parameters, with little concern to understand the development of these characteristics among humanity. Most individuals have classified terrorists as being members of specific races and hence developed fallacious theories that associate terrorism with genetic makeup and other mental problems.
Terrorism is however not brought about by mental breakdown or genetic makeup of its perpetrators. Terrorism can be classified as a cult that develops gradually and instills different perceptions to the minds of its followers (Stahelski 1). Terrorism can be easily created using social psychological condition, one of the common processes in psychology for altering human reasoning and behavior.
Just like any cult, terrorism has several stages that a follower must undergo before becoming a fully established terrorist. Under the social psychological conditioning theory, there are five phases that a terrorist must go through before becoming a complete radical (Siegel 123). The phases in social psychological conditioning fit very well with the cultic condition present in terrorism.
Under the social psychological conditioning, the first phase entails depluralization, which is followed by self-deindividualization, then other-deindividualization, dehumanization and lastly demonization. These five phases are applicable to terrorism in the order they appear in social psychological condi...
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...egions and other communities are superior to others, or that other groups mistreat them. This creates disparity and tension among the younger generation who may decide to join terror groups to retaliate against the said oppression. Changing the basic teachings would eliminate the urge by younger individuals to join terrorism.
Works Cited
Aronson, Elliot, Timothy D. Wilson and Robin M. Akert. Social Psychology: The Heart and the Mind. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.
Siegel, Larry J. Criminology. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Stahelski, Anthony. “Terrorists Are Made, Not Born: Creating Terrorists Using Social Psychological Conditioning.” HomelandSecurity.org. Homeland Security, Mar. 2004. Web. 31 Dec. 2011.
Waller, James. Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.
What internally drives a terrorist’s motivation varies from subject to subject. While the average American citizen would likely be quick to point terrorists hate the western way of life and what it represents, the issue is far more complex. Simon Cottee’s article “What Motivates Terrorists?” (2015), looks at various levels of motivation. Prior definitions of terrorism looked at the defining cause as possibly psychological abnormalities within in the individual (Cottee, 2015). As studies have evolved, the focus has shifted to the environment in which the terrorist is surrounded. While certainly there is cases in which a person who is mentally unstable could be an ideal target for terrorist propaganda, the number of cases involving mental
(Chermak, 2006) The media is one of the leading causes of stereotypes, and what influences our beliefs today. When you think of a terrorist, you may think of either a middle-aged Muslim male or a middle-aged white male with some sort of mental or social disorder. This isn't always the case. A terrorist can be of any race, age, and social class.
Spangenburg, Ray, and Diane Moser. The Crime of Genocide: Terror against Humanity. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2000. Print.
...onson, E., Wilson, T.D., & Akert, R.M. (2013). Social Psychology (8th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
Over the past century, terrorism has advanced from random killings to enormous plans for terrorist groups. To understand terrorism, you must first define it. Terrorism as we all know it is hard to define and understand, and has many different definitions as it is used widely. The word "terrorism" stems from the word "terror", which means to instill fear in. People become terrorists when they take the actions towards instilling fear and terror upon people to prove a certain point or agenda.
... can all tie in together yet still be their separate types at the same time. State, religious, and international terrorism are probably the three most common types of terrorism the world experiences. When you look at where they are conducted, a lot happens in developing countries, you can start to see the big picture. Terrorism is everywhere, though it may be labeled different things in different areas. But in the end, it is a group fighting for a belief that they feel is just and true, and they will fight by any means necessary to protect that belief from any perceived threat, real or not. History has shown us that terrorism has always been around, though it has been labeled many things. It has also shown us that it is an evolving tactic, which proves that those groups who feel threatened can and will use any means to protect or fight for what they believe.
Myers, David G. “Chapter 14: Social Psychology.” Psychology. 10th ed. New York, NY US: Worth
Terrorism is used around the world to create fear and influence the public on political views (Siegel, 489). There are four views of terrorism including the psychological view, socialization view, ideological view, and the alienation view. A religious terrorist would most likely fit under the ideological view. In this view the terrorist feels the need to change a wrong opinion and believes that, because they are sacrificing themselves for something they believe so strongly in, it justifies the damage and harm done to innocent people (Siegel, 490). They use terror to create fear in anyone who opposes them and attract followers to their religion. In short, terrorism is widely used for political reasons but religion has been linked to the violence as well.
In January 2002 James Waller released the first edition of the book “Becoming Evil – How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killings.” Dr. James Waller is a professor at Keene State College in New Hampshire and is home to one of the nation’s oldest Holocaust resource centers, the Cohen Center for Genocide and Holocaust Studies. Becoming Evil uncovers the historical and modern day reasons to why people do evil and attempts to debunk common explanations for genocide and mass killings. Some of Waller’s other notable works include “Prejudice across America” and “Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism Across America.” Waller takes and in depth look at the societal, psychopathological and cultural reasons that would make a good person commit such heinous acts of evil. “What culture, society, or nation, what ideology, historical prejudice, or ethnic hatred, what psychological profile or cluster of personality traits, what unusual situation or special circumstance is to be deemed the cause of such aberrant human behavior?” (Browning/Waller) Why do humans commit genocide and mass killings?
The concept of terrorism is exceedingly difficult to define. Author Gerald Seymour first said in his book Harry’s Game that, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. Each individual may view terrorism in a different light. Because of this, there is currently no universal definition of terrorism. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly more important to form a definition of terrorism, especially while working in the media.
Crisp, R, J. Turner, R, N. (2007). Essential Social Psychology. Sage Publications Limited. London. (UK). First Edition.
This essay will study what social psychology actually is and the debates within the field as well as the history and origins of social psychology. In addition to this it will then continue and look at what they study within this field and what types of questions to ask and what results they gain from this.
Davis, Paul B. "The Terrorist Mentality." Cerebrum: The Dana Forum on Brain Science 3.3 (2001): 22-23. The Dana Press. Web. 23 May 2011. .
Terrorism has many forms, and many definitions. “Elements from the American definitional model define terrorism as a premeditated and unlawful act in which groups or agents of some principal engage in a threatened or actual use o...
Terrorism is one of the most extensively discussed issues of our time and at the same time it is also one of the least understood. The term itself “terrorism” means many different things to different people, cultures, and races. As a result, trying to define or classify terrorism with one universal definition is nearly impossible. The definition of terrorism used in this research is a reflection of much of the Western and American way of defining it. The definition of terrorism is,