Terrorism Flashcards
Why are terrorists terrorists?
- See themselves as fighting for the rights of themselves and their others
- Use violence to get what they want and what they think they deserve
- Violence is large scale and public in order to frighten people
- Use fear to get what they want
- Use violence to send a message
Theories of aggression
- Biological
- Psychodynamic
- Ethology
- Evolutionary - Social
- Frustration aggression
- Excitation aggression
- Learnt aggressio - Individual differences
- Personality
- Hormones
- Gender and socialisation
- Deindividuation, dehumanisation, disinhibition - Situational variables
- Disadvantaged groups
- Sub-culture of aggression
Psychodynamic explanations of terrorism
- Would consider terrorism a death instinct; direct towards own self-destruction
- Takes out on others, aggression goes from inwards to outwards
Ethological explanations of terrorism
- Humans have nothing useful to attack with (e.g. claws, sharp teeth) which makes it difficult to know when to stop aggression and also means they need weapons to attack with
- Use of weapons reduces responsibility
Evolutionary explanations of terrorism
- Aggression may be adaptive for us
- Aggression gene?
Limitations to biological explanations of terrorism
- Hard to accept a deterministic view; means no such thing as freewill
- Makes sense if it is biological; based on instinct
- Difficult to prevent/control if biological basis
Frustration explanations of terrorism
- People don’t go straight to bombing; usually a last resort for social change
- Frustration is not well defined ; hard to predict what kind of frustration can lead to terrorism
Learnt explanations of terrorism
- Bandura’s Bobo doll; aggression can be learnt through imitation
- Social learning theory; if they observe someone being praised for a behaviour then they will imitate (esp. if they identity wit the person)
Personality explanations of terrorism
- Narcissistic
- Believes they are better than others and more deserving
- Become aggressive if they don’t get what they think they deserve
Hormone explanations of terrorism
- Aggression linked to testosterone
- High levels lead to violence and aggression
Gender explanations of terrorism
- Men believed to be more aggressive due to high levels of testosterone
- Gender is nothing more than a social construct
- Boys often taught to act tough and play aggressively but girls are taught opposite
- Girls taught to be more wary and take responsibility for their actions whereas boys aren’t
- Girls taught to be more controlled and tactile in their use of aggression
Deindividuation, dehumanisation and disinhibition explanations of terrorism
Dehumanisation - stripping others of their humanity
Deindividuation - our identity is taken away, don’t see ourselves as ourselves
Disadvantaged groups explanations of terrorism
- Frustration of being unable to have what others have
- Proximity is key; must be able to see what others have which leads to aggression
Sub-culture explanations of terrorism
- Certain cultures where aggression and violence is expected e.g. gangs
- Must use aggression and violence to protect self, fit in, be equal
Criminological explanations of terrorism
- Political violence
- Violence is a way of communicating
- Inequality of power
