Lecture 8 - Psychology Flashcards
Why look at an individual?
In order to understand what ‘causes’ terrorism, several macro-level factors have been proposed:
* Poverty (Piazza, 2011; Piazza, 2013)
* Conflict (O’Neill, 2005)
* Global warming (Fjelde et al. 2012; Miles-Novelo et al., 2019; Price & Elu, 2016)
However. If an entire group, nation, ethnicity or race all find themselves in comparable situations, not all will behave the same way.
The depth of motives for the perpetration of terrorism likely extends beyond precipitating factors alone.
Draw an short history of psychological pathology in Terrorism research
Inference of causality between personality disorders and terrorism -70s
Successive studes on members of IRA and ETA failed to support this link -80s
Profiles of terrorists discarded and the label of abnormality deemed unfair - 90s
No observations of abnormality. Terrorism becomes more plausibly explained through radicalisations pathways and mechanisms of change - 00s
Calls for more nuance particurally as ‘terrorism’ becomes disaggregated. 10s
Rates of mental health difficulties are not remarkebly higher than the general population, but a lurking, third variable may explain where the relationship is notably salient. 20s
What is Psychopathy?
- Psychopathy
o A dated, psychoanalytic terms referring to a behavior or group of behaviors not forbidden by an otherwise intact superego.
According to the DSM-II (APA, 1968), these persons were described as “grossly selfish, callous, irresponsible, impulsive, and unable to feel guilt or to learn from experience and punishment”.
Along with being “repeatedly into conflict with society”, having low frustration tolerance, and having a tendency to blame others for their problems. It is perhaps noteworthy that it was further specified that “a mere history of repeated legal or social offenses is not sufficient to justify this diagnosis” (p. 43).
o Today, the term refers to a specific variant of a personality disorder. Psychopaths are:
Social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life. . . . Completely lacking in Conscience and feeling for others, they selfishly take what the want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret.(Hare, 1993, p. xi)
Our modern assessment and conceptualization of psychopathy has been largely based on Cleckley’s (1941) classification.
Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist (PCL), now in its revised form (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) remains the most widely used psychopathy assessment tool for institutionalized samples.
o Throughout the 1980s, in a continuing attempt to identify fundamental psychological qualities of terrorists, researchers turned to psychoanalytical1 theories.
What is Narcissm?
- Narcissm
o Many studies in this paradigm highlighted various aspects of personality, with narcissism being the most common.
o Narcissists:
Possess an overinflated sense of self to the effect that they profess to be superior to others;
Have volatile self-esteem;
Interpersonal problems, and;
Are prone to aggression in response to ego threats (Hogg and Vaughan,2005).
o Narcissistic injuries, caused by early emotional injuries, lead to a damaged sense of self in adulthood
o Incapable of overcoming these early emotional experiences,the individual directs his/her anger toward other targets held to be responsible.
o Highlighted issues for narcist connection to terrorism
Parental Abuse.
Deviance within the family system.
The inability to identify with a father figure.
The experience of conflict with parents.
o For example, Crayton (1983; cited by Borum, 2004) explained that charismatic group leaders draw narcissistically vulnerable individuals to the group, and “narcissistic rage” prompts aggressive responses to perceived injustices during involvement.
o Silke (1998) likens the attempts to apply personality disorders such as psychopathy and narcissism to terrorists to the circular thinking of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
The Cat thinks that only mad people can inhabit Wonderland, so therefore anyone he meets in Wonderland must be mad
Why move away from mental pathology?
Throughout the 1980s, successive comparative studies failed to support the link between metal pathology and terrorism
(e.g., Elliot & Lockhart, 1980; Ferracuti & Bruno, 1981; Lyons and Harbinson, 1986)
Those involved in groups like the Provisional IRA and Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) seemed to be no different to the general population in terms of mental health difficulties
Why move away from psychological profiles?
In the years leading up to 9/11, the assertion that terrorism was the product of abnormality was ultimately abandoned by researchers and policy makers (Silke, 1998).
The field was beginning to move away from profiles.
In other words, moving into the 21st century, terrorism is becoming more plausibly explained through a multitude of interacting, psychosocial processes (e.g., Crenshaw, 1981; Heskin, 1984; Taylor & Horgan, 2006).
In the last number of years, the empirical study of radicalisation into violent extremism and terrorism has evolved substantially.
Why did psychopathology re-emerge?
But the debate on the role of mental disorder in the perpetration of terrorist violence has re-emerged.
Cohort studies of lone actors emerged that appeared to show high rates of mental disorder, with 37% of one sample of European lone actor terrorists having ‘some indication of mental-illness’, and 25% being clinically diagnosed with ‘a particular mental disorder’ (Liem et al., 2018, p. 60).
What is the Bradford Hill Criteria?
- In 1965, a British epidemiologist and statistician, Sir Austin Bradford Hill, delivered a speech to the Royal Society of Medicine in which he presented a list of what have become known as the Bradford Hill Criteria.
- These criteria allow researchers to infer causality between phenonema, allowing them to determine whether a particular variable or factor confers risk for a certain outcome.
X -> Y - Caffeine increases alertness (Smith, 2002)
- Brain Injury decrease Cognitive functions
- BRCA mutations causes ovarian cancer
What are the specific criteria for a bradford hill correlation?
- Strength of association
o Is there an observed relationship between X and Y - Temporality
o Did X happen before Y - Consistency
o Has this relationship been observed over sequential studies - Theoretical Plausibility
o Is there a plausible explanation for how x confers risk of y
Why should we move away from linear models?
Much of what we know about terrorism is informed by studies examining predictors and outcomes in linear way.
However, very little of human behaviour is linear.
How can we move away from linear models.
Mediator variables contribute to the ‘how’ question.
For instance, if gender (X) predicts running speed (Y), and we observe that height is associated with both variables, we can reason that height results from gender and could be a reason for that relationship, making it a mediator (Me).
A mediating variable (or mediator) explains the process through which two variables are related, while a moderating variable (or moderator) affects the strength and direction of that relationship.
Is there a relation between terrorism and mental health?
Findings do not support the assertion that there are remarkably high rates of mental health difficulties in the terrorist population.
The lifetime prevalence rate of diagnosed mental disorder in the general population is 29%.
We report that the lifetime prevalence rate of diagnosed mental disorder in terrorist samples was 17.4%.
Trends in the data, however, may point to higher rates among some terrorist samples than others.
What is John Horgan’s opinion on profiling of terrorists?
- The failure of profiling terrorists: The author argues that attempts to profile terrorists have been unsuccessful and misleading, and that psychology can offer more nuanced and useful insights into the terrorist behavior.
What is Horgan (2008)’s findings on radicalization?
- Radicalization is a complex process: Radicalization is a complex process that involves multiple factors, including social, political, and psychological factors.
- Radicalization is not a linear process: Radicalization is not a linear process, and there is no single path to radicalization. Instead, it is a dynamic process that involves multiple stages and pathways.
- Psychological factors play a key role in radicalization: Psychological factors such as identity, ideology, and social support play a key role in radicalization.
- Radicalization is not always violent: Not all individuals who become radicalized engage in violent behavior. Some individuals may become radicalized but never engage in violent behavior.
