Psychology of Terrorism

Bruce A. Sorkin, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh

Please answer the following:

n  Would you administer a lethal electrical shock to an unwilling victim if I asked you to do so (and did not threaten you)?

n  What percentage of normal people would? n  What percentage of normal people would

if two of the three people they worked with said they would?

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D.O.J. Definition of Terrorism

n  The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives

UN General Assembly Definition

n  "Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them."

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Succinct definitions of terrorism

n  “Terrorists want a lot of people watching, not a lot of people dead.” – Brian Jenkins

n  Terrorism is Psychological Warfare – Clark McCauley

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Total Deaths 4.1B

Small Pox 300M

All Wars and Conflicts 148M Terrorism .5 M

Terrorism in Perspective: Death in the 20th Century

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Explosions and Injuries: The English Gunpowder Plot 1605

n  English Catholics plot to blow up Parliament to incite a war

n  2.5 tons of gunpowder in cellar

n  Guy Fawkes (right) identified leader

n  Stopped by anonymous letter

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Sept 16, 1920 Wall Street is Bombed

n  100 lbs. of dynamite and 500 lbs. of steel explodes in front of the offices of JP Morgan.

n  40 dead and 300 injured n  Panic sets in because of

rumors of more bombs in NYC

n  Anarchists are suspected but never convicted

n  This occurred less than a mile from Ground Zero

Terrorism in the US Mainland

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•  Between 2001 and 2009 there were 91 domestic terrorist incidents on US soil

•  Most terrorist attacks against US targets occurs on foreign soil (attacks on businesses and personnel).

•  Tragically, I have to update this to include the April 15 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing with 3 dead and 264 wounded

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Suicide Bombing

n  Suicide bombers wearing belt or vest loaded with explosives and shrapnel ../../../Videos/RealPlayer%20Downloads/msnbc%20video%20%20Web%20video%20teaches%20terrorists.flv

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Car and Truck Bombs

Lethal Blast Radius Surrounding Cathedral of Learning

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Mechanism of Injury in Explosions

n  Primary Blast Injury: n  Direct effect of overpressurization n  Rupture and hemorrhage in gas-filled organs (ear,

lung, stomach) n  Secondary Blast Injury:

n  Flying debris and bomb fragments cause lacerations, amputation, blunt force injury, infection by “human shrapnel.”

n  Tertiary Blast Injury: n  Result of being thrown by the blast wind resulting in

laceration/blunt force trauma

Chemical Terrorism

n  The use of chemical agents including Nerve agents, blister agents, blood agents and choking agents to further terrorist agendas.

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Chemical agents: Nerve Agents

n  Nerve Agents n  Example: Sarin (GB) n  Lethal within one minute at low doses n  Action: Inhibit acetylcholinesterase and bring on loss

of consciousness, seizures, rigid paralysis and apnea (breathing ceases).

n  Treatment: Atropine at high doses n  Believed to be agent used by Syria 2013 resulting in

1,729 deaths

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Chemical Agents: Vesicants (Blister Agents)

n  Examples n  Mustard Gas n  Phosphine

n  Actions: n  Cause burning and blistering n  Extreme pain n  Pulmonary edema and thrombosis n  Incapacitation is primary – death by infection or

choking secondary aim

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Chemical Agents: Blood Agents

n  Examples: n  Cyanide n  Arsine

n  Action n  Inhibit blood’s ability to absorb and transfer

oxygen leading to suffocation

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Chemical Agents: Choking Agents

n  Examples: n  Chlorine gas n  Phosphine

n  Actions n  Injury to respiratory tract leading to pulmonary

edema and respiratory failure

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Bioterrorism

n  The use of biological weapons including viruses, bacteria and toxins to further terrorist goals

n  Examples n  1984- In Dalles Oregon, followers of cult

leader Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh attempt to influence local election by infecting salad bar with salmonella bacteria. 751 people infected, none dead.

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Examples of Bioterrorism

n  14th Century. Invading armies catapult corpses of plague victim over city walls

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Examples of Bioterrorism

n  2001 Anthrax Attacks n  Anthrax is sent through the mail beginning

9-28-05 and for the next several weeks. n  Five people die n  Case remains unsolved

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Smallpox

n  Variola virus was eradicated in 1980, but stockpiles of virus at CDC, WHO and in Moscow.

n  Death from toxemia (poisoning) in about 30% of cases. n  Though the lethality rate is low, the danger with

Smallpox is how rapidly and easily it spreads. n  Smallpox estimated to have killed ¾ of the Incan Empire n  Vaccination in U.S. discontinued in 1972 n  U.S. stockpiles enough vaccine for every U.S. citizen in

undisclosed locations that can be deployed thru the U.S. within 12H

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Anthrax

n  Caused by spore-forming bacterium Bacillus antracis

n  Subtypes n  Inhalational n  Cutaneous n  Gastrointestinal

n  Mortality Rate of Inhalational Anthrax is 85% untreated, ~50% treated

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Plague

n  Caused by coccobacillus Yersina pestis n  Severe fever n  Mortality rate of 57% and worst if

treatment is delayed.

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Botulism

n  Paralytic illness caused by neurotoxin produced by Clostridium botulinum. Has been developed as a biological weapon

n  Botulinium toxin is the most lethal toxin known (.001 micrograms/kg is lethal dose).

n  Triad of symptoms n  Afebrile n  Symmetrical descending flaccid paralysis n  Clear sensorium

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Tularemia

n  Caused by Francisella tularensis bacteria n  Spread by contact or inhalation n  Has been developed as a biological

weapon n  Mortality is 60% if untreated n  Fever, pneumonia

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Hemorrhagic Fever Virus

n  Several RNA viruses n  Ebola n  Marburg

n  Fever, encephalitis, hemorrhagic symptoms

n  Mortality ranges from 1% for Rift Valley Fever to 90% for Ebola and Marburg.

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Aggression: Emotional and Instrumental

n  Emotional n  Reaction in anger n  The reward is the infliction of

suffering on those you hate, envy or fear.

n  Instrumental (Terrorism as a tool) n  inflict long-term costs n  create fear & uncertainty n  decrease the enemy’s capacity

to produce, organize or defend

n  force a military response & galvanize support for the terrorist group.

n  force the enemy to spend time and money on security

Instrumental Terrorism: Economic Warfare

n  This is the cover of “Inspire” reportedly published by AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula)

n  Agents planted two bombs with PETN Explosive (not detectible with metal scanners) in vacuum packed envelopes (not bomb-dog sniffable)

n  This cost them 4200 dollars n  Cost of countermeasures and

increased cost of business in excess of 10 million dollars

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Varieties of Terrorism Council on Foreign Relations

n  Nationalist n  Religious – cited as the most dangerous

because of lack of limits n  State-sponsored n  Left-wing n  Right-wing n  Anarchist n  Affiliation/Cause

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Are Terrorists Psychologically Ill?

n  “Thirty years of terrorism research has found psychopathology and personality disorder no more likely among terrorists than among non-terrorists from the same back ground”

Clark McCauley Co-director of the Solomon Asch Center for Ethnopolitical Conflict

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Is there a “terrorist personality”?

“The idea of a ’terrorist personality’ rests on unsteady empirical, theoretical and conceptual foundations.”

-John Horgan in Terrorists, Victims and Society: Psychological Perspectives on Terrorism and Its Consequences, 2003.

From “The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism” (Library of Congress, 1999)

The appended case study of Ahmed Ramzi Yousef, mastermind of the World Trade Center (WTC) bombing on February 26, 1993, reported here does not suggest that he is schizophrenic or sociopathic. On the contrary, he appears to be a well educated, highly intelligent Islamic terrorist.

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Suicide attacks and terrorism

n  Zealots in first century, A.D. n  Kamikaze pilots n  1981 Iraqi embassy bombing n  1983 truck bomb in Lebanon kills 300

American and French soldiers n  1993 Suicide attacks begin in Israel n  2001 Suicide attack on WTC

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Are Suicide Terrorists Psychologically Ill?

n  “What is frightening is not the abnormality of those who carry out the suicide attacks, but their sheer normality” - Nasra Hassan (2002)

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Motivation of Suicide Terrorists

n  Perceived injustice/revenge n  Commitment to a cause n  NOT

n  Because of depression n  Because driven to self-destruction per se (no

reports of suicide in prison by suicide bombers that failed their missions).

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How do normal people become terrorists?

n  Psychology of the cause: Some things are considered more important than life itself n  Increased importance when mortality is faced n  Most commonly cited causes include

n  Nationality n  Religion n  Ethnicity n  Family

n  Be mindful of differences between individual-based and group-based cultures

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Psychology of Comrades

n  Attachment to group n  Isolation to the group excludes contact

with outside groups and their moderating influences

n  This leads to adoption and adherence to extreme “in-group” beliefs.

Milgram Experiment

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Milgram Experiment

n  Experimenter tells Subject (S) to deliver shocks to Actor (A) who is not actually being shocked.

n  Actor n  asks to stop n  screams with pain n  pleads to stop n  Says has heart condition n  Stops responding

altogether

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Results of Milgram

n  Psychologists wrongly predicted that few would deliver the maximum shock

n  65% of subjects administered 450 volts n  No participant delivered fewer than 300 volts n  Compliance was

n  Decreased when actors “administering shocks” refused to comply (compliance of 4/40)

n  Increased when actors complied (37/40 complied)

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Stanley Milgram comments:

n  “Stark authority was pitted against the subjects’ strongest moral imperatives against hurting others, and, with the subjects’ ears ringing with the screams of the victims, authority won more often than not. The extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority constitutes the chief finding of the study and the fact most urgently demanding explanation.”

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Stanford Prison Experiment

n  Zimbardo n  Subjects randomly

chosen to be prisoners or guards

n  Guards told they must not use physical force, but were otherwise free to run the prison

n  Two-week experiment

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Results of Stanford Prison Experiment

n  Guards were cruel and sadistic to prisoners

n  Prisoners became depressed and passive with some displaying such emotional distress they had to be removed

n  The experiment was terminated after 6 days because of appalling conditions.

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Conclusions from the Stanford Prison Experiment

n  Cruel and even sadistic behavior can be displayed rapidly in certain conditions by apparently normal people.

n  Parallels made to Abu Gharib n  Parallels made with indoctrination of terrorists: It

is not the person but the indoctrination method and the environment that elicits behaviors.

n  Most people refuse to believe that this applies to them.

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Immediate Reactions to Terrorism

n  Panic – not usually n  Tyhurst 1951

n  Impact n  Recoil n  Post-trauma

n  Mass Psychogenic Illness n  249/125,800 were exposed to radiation in Brazil n  1/450 needed medical attention after the Sarin

attacks in Japan

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Reactions to Terrorist Scenarios: Before and After and Long After 9-11-2001

n  Alice Healy – University of Colorado n  Experimental Paradigm:

n  Undergraduate men and women read scenarios of terrorist attacks on US at both military and civilian sites.

n  After each scenario, subjects recommend levels of reaction from ignore it to nuclear attack

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Reactions to Terrorist Scenarios: Before and After 9-11

n  Results (Both before and after 9-11) n  Both men and women endorse more aggressive

responses with each subsequent attack (Think: Syria 2013)

n  Both men and women endorse more aggressive response after attack on military versus civilian target

n  Men endorse more aggressive responses than women

n  Subjects high on masculinity in the Bem SRI endorse more aggressive responses.

n  Subjects high on masculinity react to terrorism with anger while those low on masculinity respond with fear.

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Reactions to Terrorist Scenarios: Before and After 9-11

n  Changes over time n  One year after 9-11 subjects endorsed more

aggressive responses to terrorism n  Three years after 9-11 subjects decreased

this response to levels about the same as 9-11.

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Stockholm Syndrome

n  Captives develop attraction to and dependency on those that terrorize them

n  Development of the syndrome n  Victims are threatened with death n  The victim can’t escape and is dependent upon the

terrorist n  Victim is isolated from other frames of reference n  Terrorist is perceived as demonstrating some degree

of kindness to the victim

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Incidence and nature of psychological disorder following the 9-11 Attacks

n  More than 85% demonstrated some stress symptoms

n  25% developed PTSD n  50% demonstrated depression n  Experiencing a panic attack increased rate

of development of PTSD n  Repeated exposure to TV images

increased rate of PTSD

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Rates of development of PTSD were affected by TV viewing

LoHi

You can develop PTSD by symbolic exposure. Below are rates of reported PTSD in those with little (right) and a lot of TV exposure.

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Incidence of Symptoms following prolonged terrorism

n  Al-Aqsa Intifada began in September 2000 n  By April 2002 472 dead and 3846 injured n  Equivalent numbers in the US would be

n  21,387 dead n  194,000 injured

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Effects of prolonged terrorism

n  Exposure to terrorism n  16.4% directly exposed n  37.3% with family or friend exposed!

n  Incidence of trauma symptoms n  76.7% had one trauma symptom n  Average was 4 symptoms n  9.4% PTSD n  58.6% depressed mood

n  Optimism n  Most expressed personal and national optimism n  Most expressed efficacy for coping during an attack

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Coping during terrorism: What helps

n  Find out about safety of loved ones. n  Faith in God n  Seek out support from friends and

community n  Distract self from trouble

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Psychological First Response

n  Walk-in centers and crisis hotlines n  Triage at risk

n  Current mental illness n  Highest level of exposure n  Lowest Level of Support

n  Provide sense of control and comfort n  Have people take active and constructive

efforts

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Reported Increases in Personal Strength Following Terrorist attacks

n  Improved relationships n  Improved sense of personal meaning and

values n  Improved ability to express emotions