Terrorism and Terrorist Leaders
Insights from Developmental and Ecological Psychology
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12407403 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alice Locicero (0000-0002-2320-7026, Endicott College, corresponding author), Samuel Justin Sinclair (0009-0002-4056-1913, Massachusetts General Hospital) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 227-250 |
| Publication date | 2008-02-21 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Conflict and Terrorism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1057-610X • E-ISSN: 1521-0731 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10576100701879638 |
| OpenAlex | W2002483063 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 8 |
A recent increase in terrorist actions where the terrorist's death is planned and intentional has raised interest in the psychological functioning, motivation, and reasoning of those who engage in terrorism and those who support it. No consensus exists among Western 1 1. That is, American or European. psychologists regarding terrorists who plan to die in their attack, and no Western psychological perspective has thus far contributed substantively to explaining or predicting it. Although most agree that groups engaging in such actions typically have a wider network of support, the psychology of supporters is also unexplained. This article proposes a developmental psychological model of the conditions that favor focused terrorist actions that have publicly discernible goals ascribed to a political or religious cause. The article describes a common pattern of cognitive complexity among terrorist leaders, using Osama bin Laden as a model, where entrenched cognitive simplicity in one key ideological domain (religious or political) is coupled with behavior reflecting the capacity for far greater complexity in other domains (organizational skills, planning, problem-solving.) This pattern, in specifiable historical and ecological context, makes terrorist tactics, including those in which the attacker intentionally dies, more likely, and increases the challenges associated with attempts at diplomacy or negotiated peace
Cognition · Context (archaeology · Criminology · Diplomacy · Ideology · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Politics · Terrorism · History · Law · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
Genesis of Suicide Terrorism
Talking to Terrorists
Hierarchical Complexity of Tasks Shows the Existence of Developmental Stages
A Failure of Imagination (Intelligence, WMDs, and “Virtual Jihad”)
Rethinking Terrorism and Counterterrorism Since 9/11
Evolution of Destructive Aggression
The Protean Enemy
The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2010 - 2012 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |