Category: Psychology

People talk as though terrorists are ‘other’ than us, and while their actions are certainly ‘other’, experts on terrorists have discovered their backgrounds are often very normal. Terrorists are only human — too human — and that can be even more frightening.

Attempts to create a profile of an average terrorist have proved extremely difficult – as difficult as creating a profile of an average ‘normal’ person. Research into the personality traits of terrorists reveals they have nothing particular in common. Terrorists share the same range of personality traits as might be found in any average office.

The stereotype that terrorists are psychopaths, or are mentally unstable in some way, is a controversial point. The psychologist Jerrold Post has suggested that terrorists are impelled to commit these acts by deep psychological problems. The weight of evidence, however supports the view that terrorists, while they often have very strong religious or ideological beliefs, are generally quite sane.

Heskin (1984) has studied members of the Irish Repulican Army (the IRA), Rasch (1979) a group of West Germany terrorists and Becker (1984), members of the Baader-Meinhoff Gang. All of these found little evidence of psychopathology.

Apart from that it makes sense for terrorist leaders to avoid recruiting psychopaths to their cause: the mentally unstable would prove themselves liabilities to the organisation.

If anything, then, terrorists are notable for their normality, for their ability to blend into the background and remain unnoticed. Those recruited tend to be of average appearance, normal in behaviour in the situation they are in, fairly young – between 20 and 25 – and reasonably well educated, often to university level.
The sociology and psychology of terrorism: who becomes a terrorist and why? [Summary of research, PDF file]More on London bombings: Psychology of Terrorism, Why We Are Glued To The TV and Guardian Journos Disorientated

There was a contradictory and confusing article in The Guardian yesterday about the psychological after-effects on the survivors of the London bombings. We are encouraged to provide support but Dr Reddy tells us that counselling is probably not necessary as:

“…less than 5% of survivors and witnesses of the tube and bus bombings were likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”

While on the other hand Dr Thompson says,

“…one would predict that 40% will find their reactions haven’t returned to normal in the next few weeks.”

In which case:

“They will probably feel anxious, depressed, suffer nightmares or flashbacks and generally be much more fearful – making it very difficult to carry on with the normal things in life.”

And the article finishes with the information that:

“Dr Stephen Joseph, reader in health psychology at the University of Warwick, sounded a positive note for the longer-term. The psychologist said between 30 and 70% of survivors of traumatic events reported positive after-effects.”

Well that’s all alright then isn’t it? I may have just witnessed a horrific bomb blast but at least there’s a fair chance that my life will improve over the long-term.
The Guardian
More on London bombings: Profile of a Terrorist, Why We Are Glued To The TV and The Psychology of Terrorism

Since the terrorist attacks in London yesterday, we have all been glued to the TV for the latest news. The images and stories of blood splattered survivors and long shots of those less fortunate have shocked and saddened us. And yet we can’t look away, despite the fact that research suggests that watching may cause Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Why do we seek out images and reports that are likely to be upsetting and perhaps disturbing?

Keinan, Sadeh and Rosen (2003) outline three psychological theories that help to explain this strange desire. Information seeking theory suggests that uncertainty causes conflict and increases arousal, so finding out what is going on reduces uncertainty and therefore reduces arousal. Safety signal theory places the emphasis on delineating safe from unsafe periods of time. We are continually asking ourselves whether the storm has blown over yet, whether it is safe to go outside or enter the danger zone. A final theory suggests that information gives us a sense of control over an event, even though it is essentially beyond our control.

Whichever theory is true, there is a lot more to our grim fascination with this type of event than simple voyeurism.
Attitudes and Reactions to Media Coverage of Terrorist Acts (Abstract)
More on London bombings: Profile of a Terrorist, Psychology of Terrorism and Guardian Journos Disorientated

As the dust settles on the terrorist bombings that hit London yesterday, and people begin to take stock of what has happened, thoughts will doubtless turn to how such atrocities can be avoided.

To understand that, it is useful to examine how a single person could be brought to carry out such an extreme act of violence. Professor Fathali M. Moghaddam discussed the psychological processes that lead up to a terrorist act in an article published in early 2005 in the American Psychologist. This article analyses how an ordinary person might become a terrorist:

1. Members of a population feel they have suffered injustice and unfairness and are frustrated by normal channels of decision-making.

2. Aggression about that injustice is displaced onto a perceived ‘enemy’ – this will often be as a result of influence by a leader.

3. Engagement with a terrorist organisation – this encourages greater identification and integration of the terrorist’s morality.

4. Actual recruitment by a terrorist organisation. Once within this group there is an acceleration in ‘us-versus-them’ thinking.

5. Training of specific individuals by the terrorist organisation to carry out a terrorist act. This includes the sidestepping of the psychological mechanisms that will stop a person killing others or themselves.

Professor Moghaddam points out that, in the past, efforts to fight terrorism have been focussed on the individuals who have already reached the fifth stage and become terrorists. This ‘hunt the terrorist’ approach is clearly not effective. Governments should be encouraged to adopt policies that are effective at the lowest level to reduce the number of people likely to rise through the stages. In other words: address the cause, not just the symptoms.
The staircase to terrorism: a psychological exploration (Article Abstract)
More on London bombings: Profile of a Terrorist, Why We Are Glued To The TV and Guardian Journos Disorientated

BBC News reports a study showing that women, on average, experience more pain than men as well as dealing with pain in a different way. This is certainly an interesting study but the opening line of the BBC report is completely beyond me,

“Women are bigger wimps than men when it comes to pain.”

If women experience more pain and react to it at a lower threshold then clearly, their experience is worse. How does this make them wimps? Saying that women are wimps for having a more intense experience of pain is like blaming a diabetic for not being able to eat five mars bars.
BBC News

Psychology suffered a crushing blow yesterday as Tom Cruise announced he did not believe in it. Psychologists and psychiatrists across the world shrugged their shoulders, admitted defeat and packed their couches and salivating dogs away.

Jerome Dane from the University of Slough was particularly distraught, “I had hoped this day would never come, but you’ve got to accept it when you’re rumbled,” said a sobbing Dane. “I knew I couldn’t go on once he’d exposed us. What power do we have compared to the mighty Tom Cruise? He knows so much.”

So what does the future hold for these out of work psychologists? Dane told us, “My problem is that all I know how to do is fabricate experiments and lectures. Perhaps I’ll just go ahead with my first love of creative writing and do the novel I’ve been thinking about.”

A psychiatrist who refused to be named told us that Cruise was probably smarting from the incident last week when he was squirted in the face by a water-filled microphone for a TV comedy show. After that kind of humiliation, the discredited psychiatrist explained, it’s not surprising that he lashed out at the social sciences – but it may not end there.

Unconfirmed reports are coming in that Robert De Niro has indicated he is little sceptical about parts of radiochemistry while Paris Hilton thinks that physics might just be ‘all made up’.

A team of researchers at University College London wanted to find out if hypnosis by any other name is still hypnosis. Two groups of people were put through the same hypnotic induction, but the first group were told it was ‘hypnosis’, while the second were told it was ‘relaxation’.

These two groups were then tested for their suggestibility. Those who were told they were going to be ‘hypnotised’ were significantly more suggestible than those who told they were going to be ‘relaxed’.

This study provides further fuel for the debate about whether or not hypnosis involves a real state change in the subject. Perhaps the use of the word hypnosis in describing what is going to happen has a stronger hypnotic effect. On the other hand the stronger argument seems to me that people are simply responding to a social signal to behave in a particular way that is better activated by using the word ‘hypnosis’.
Article Abstract [via BPS Research Digest]

BBC News brings us the exciting headline that a brain scan can spot women faking orgasms. Unfortunately it provides no clue as to how to entice a woman to have sex inside a brain scanner. The best advice is to set your sights on beds or even sofas for the time being.

Perhaps of more immediate practical use was the finding that cold feet are a big turn-off:

“When they gave the couples socks to wear, about 80% of the couples were able to achieve orgasm compared with 50% previously in this staged environment.”

So the next time you’re chastised for wearing socks during sex, you’ve got a good excuse.
BBC News

Oliver James, writing in The Guardian, draws attention to research that investigates the connection between achievement and thinness in women. Studies have shown that a female preference for smaller breasts and buttocks when viewing female silhouettes is associated with ‘masculine’ careers and greater academic achievement. Could this be partly because women with a curvy shape are perceived, on average, to be less competent and less intelligent?

The assertion of the article that ‘career women’ strive for more masculine figures is highly speculative. After all, a thin figure might simply be the result of avoiding a curvy figure, rather than the striving for a ‘masculine’ ideal. Other claims that female emancipation is historically associated with a slighter silhouette might be a coincidence. Nevertheless, there’s some interesting circumstantial evidence here.
The Guardian

“A college student becomes so compulsive about cleaning his dorm room that his grades begin to slip. An executive living in New York has a mortal fear of snakes but lives in Manhattan and rarely goes outside the city where he might encounter one. A computer technician, deeply anxious around strangers, avoids social and company gatherings and is passed over for promotion.

Are these people mentally ill?”

NY Times