Psychology of Terrorism

Jeff Victoroff began his career in academic medicine. After training in Neurology and Psychiatry at Harvard and a fellowship in Neurobehavior at UCLA, he joined the faculty of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. His initial research focused on neurodegeneration and on the reasons for aggression seen in patients with neurological disorders. After 9/11 he made a dramatic change in his research career to study the deep causes of human aggression, including both individual and collective violence, from a transdisciplinary perspective.Arie W. Kruglanski is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland and one of the most cited researchers in Social Psychology. His interests have centered on the psychology of judgment and knowledge formation, as well as on the processes of group decision making, goal formation and implementation. He has served as Editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition and the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Among other distinctions, he has received the Donald T. Campbell Award for Distinguished Scientific Contribution to Social Psychology, the Humboldt Foundation Life Achievement Award (Forschungpreis), and the NIMH Research Scientist Award Ko5. His publications include over 180 scientific literature articles, chapters, and books on social personality psychology. He is Editor of two Psychology Press series: Key Readings in Social Psychology and Principles of Social Psychology; and a co-editor of a series of upper-level texts called Frontiers of Social Psychology.

• Introduction. Part 1. What is Terrorism and How Can Psychology Explain It? Iviansky, Individual Terror: Concept and Typology. Reich, Understanding Terrorist Behavior: The Limits and Opportunities of Psychological Inquiry. Kruglanski, Fishman, The Psychology of Terrorism: “Syndrome” versus “Tool” Perspectives. Victoroff, The Mind of the Terrorist: A Review and Critique of Psychological Approaches. Part 2. Why Would One Want to Become a Terrorist? Terrorists’ Personality and Motivation. Silke, Cheshire Cat Logic: The Recurring Theme of Terrorist Abnormality in Psychological Research. Post, Sprinzak, Denny, The Terrorists in Their Own Words: Interviews with Thirty-five Incarcerated Middle Eastern Terrorists. Moghadam, Palestinian Suicide Terrorism in the Second Intifada: Motivations and Organizational Aspects. Atran, Genesis of Suicide Terrorism. Pape, The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism. Pedahzur, Perliger, Weinberg, Altruism and Fatalism: The Characteristics of Palestinian Suicide Terrorists. Part 3. Why Would One Want to Become a Terrorist? Possible Economic or Political Origins of Terrorism. Krueger, Maleckova, Does Poverty Cause Terrorism? Li, Does Democracy Promote or Reduce Transnational Terrorist Incidents? Reinares, Who are the Terrorists? Analyzing Changes in Sociological Profile among Members of ETA. Part 4. Why Would Terrorists Enjoy Wide Popular Support? Levin, Henry, Pratto, Sidanius, Social Dominance and Social Identity in Lebanon: Implications for Support of Violence Against the West. Sidanius, Henry, Pratto, Levin, Arab Attributions for the Attack on America: The Case of Lebanese Subelites. Pyszczynski, Abdollahi, Solomon, Greenberg, Cohen, Weise, Mortality Salience, Martyrdom, and Military Might: The Great Satan Versus the Axis of Evil. Part 5. How Does One Become a Terrorist? Social and Psychological Factors in Terrorism. della Porta, Recruitment Processes in Clandestine Political Organizations: Italian Left-wing Terrorism. Sprinzak, The Psychopolitical Formation of Extreme Left Terrorism in a Democracy: The Case of the Weathermen. McCauley, Segal, Social Psychology of Terrorist Groups. Merari, Friedland, Social Psychological Aspects of Political Terrorism. Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks. Part 6. Is Terrorism Rational? A Logical Perspective. Crenshaw, The Logic of Terrorism: Terrorist Behavior as a Product of Strategic Choice. Sandler, Tschirhart, Cauley, A Theoretical Analysis of Transnational Terrorism. Part 7. Is Terrorism Evil? Wardlaw, Justifications and Means: The Moral Dimension of State-sponsored Terrorism. Juergensmeyer, Islam’s “Neglected Duty”. Part 8. How Can Terrorism Be Overcome? Atran, Soft Power and the Psychology of Suicide Bombing. Hafez, Hatfield, Do Targeted Assassinations Work? A Multivariate Analysis of Israel’s Controversial Tactic During Al-Aqsa Uprising. Kaplan, Mintz, Mishal, Samban, What Happened to Suicide Bombings in Israel? Insights from a Terror Stock Model.

“Despite its obvious relevance, until recently psychology has had a relatively small footprint in the study of terrorism. This large volume by two well-established researchers, Jeff Victoroff (a psychiatrist) and Arie Kruglanski (a psychologist), may go far in changing that. The editors have assembled 28 readings on the psychology of terrorism that explore all things psychological, from motivation and intent, to rational aspects of terrorism, to strategies for countering terrorists. They strike a nice balance between classics and important recent contributions.” - Gary LaFree, Director, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland