Psychological Motives for Becoming a Terrorist Essay Example for Free

Psychological Motives for Becoming a Terrorist EssayIntroductionSuicide jokering, a major scourge strategy of terrorists is, if not the most, wiz of the most gruesome acts any(prenominal)body can commit. It is pop outright crazy and stupid. One essential be beside the normal to be entertaining such a thought in mind. Ironically, fanatics who have committed and attempted self-annihilation bombings in the past, were deemed normal until the day when the execution of their ultimate plans were made humanity whether defeated or completed. People who argon afflicted with psychical disorder whitethorn, as separate deal, fail for the like reasons vacation, visiting friends or relatives, business, recreation, and sometimes for religious or spiritual focus (Miller Zarc adept, 1968). Others indeed may travel for reasons other than the normal for reasons triggered by malformed rational state such as the men who carried out the 911 attack of the Twin Towers in invigorate d York.Along the 911 attack, felo-de-se bombing through aircraft came to prominence resulting in the stirring of the aw areness among the international public of the fact that the regular traveler might not be that regular any flair. It is probable that some of them are driven by excessive anger or do by utopic hope as taught in the communities wherein they have pledged their deportment allegiance (Silke, 2003). Just a few months ago, upon the return of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to her home country, 124 were killed and 320 plus got injured as a result of another suicide bombing. The bomber threw grenades among crowds of people and afterwards blasted himself to death (CNN update, Oct.18, 2007).Its hard-fought to think of sensible reasons why a fair mortal (if that person was ever considered sane by his colleagues) has committed such an act in the first rest home. To spend and expend ones self for a noble engender is commendable only if they benefit people outside ones testify community. Its never an ideal to advance a religions cause at the expense of the lives of other people. A suicide bomber is demented in that even in the logic of religion, all religions presupposed a benevolent god who is both powerful and loving. There must be distortions somewhere within the suicide bombers mind to have associated the act of delivering a bomb and acts of piety.Rationale of the argumentUnderstanding mental healthThe majority of theories and models of human behavior fall into one of two basic categories internal sentiment and external perspective. The internal perspective considers the factors inside the person to escort behavior. People who subscribe to this view understand behavior as psychodynamically oriented. Behavior is explained in terms of the thoughts, feelings, past fucks and needs of the individual. The internal processes of thinking, feeling, perceiving and judging lead people to act in specific ways. This internal perspective implies that people are best understood from the inside and that peoples behavior is best containn after understanding their thoughts and feelings (Jourad, 1963).The other category of theories takes an external perspective. This focuses on factors outside the person to understand behavior. extraneous events, consequences of behavior, environmental forces to which a person is subject, are emphasized by this external perspective. A persons history, value system, feelings and thoughts are not very important in interpreting actions and behavior. Kurt Lewin for instance considered both perspectives in saying that behavior is a function of both the person and the environment (Tiffin, McCormick, 1958). part is a tender being and as such his personality is viewed from the society and culture where he belongs. A society represents a geographical aggregate and has boundaries, similar government or a group of persons in meaningful interaction and engaged in genial relationship.Personalit y is the individualizing traits of man which constitute his singularity and differentiate him from any other human being. The three determinants of personality 1 biological heritage which has direct influence on the take aimment of personality. This includes musculature, the nervous system, and the glands 2 E.Q. factor describes qualities like understanding ones feelings, empathy for the feelings of others, and the regulation of emotion in a way that enhances living (Gibbs, 1995) 3 environmental factors. Taking everything normal, environment plays an important role in personality development.Environmental factors are cultural environment, social environment, home and family, culture, status and role and social agent. galore(postnominal) of mens pronounce stirred-up state of mind such as fear, anger, disgust, and contempt, have posed the question, why? What has caused such a reception? What has brought a change to his/her behavior? What is the frustration that has brought nigh such behavior? In the world of a suicide bomber, he/she contemplates on various input or stimuli from the world he/she evolves in. There are frustrations of every form and even without these, his/her psyche or mental state functions on the basis of anything he/she receives (actively or passively) from the milieu. Lifes problems are numerous and as long as one is living and kicking he will always be face up with problems, be they big or small. such(prenominal) problems stir-up ones emotions or feelings which maybe pleasant or unpleasant.Physiological problems, environmental problems, personal deficiencies and psychological concerns bring on a variety of responses some predictable, others are not. Disorganization of family life, disintegration of personality brought around by depression, great personal suffering, any of these may take any person beyond the limits of his tolerance. Man is born in a social environment called by cultural norms and values. He is faced with cultural ta boos and acceptable social behavior. Numerous environmental factors come to the fore which may or may not be easily overcome. One of the most difficult problems in this area is ones cultural dos and donts. Environmental frustrations cannot be avoided, for there are always certain factors in a persons growth and achievement. Psychological or internal problems are the most difficult to resolve as they are within the inner feelings of a person.One may not be able to detect his/her concerns/anxieties through his /her overt behavior. It may only be inferred from what his/her inner thoughts and feelings are tho will not know what caused such a feeling. Psychological concerns of various forms represent a to a greater extent serious threat to the personality of the individual than do environmental pressures. If severe enough, they may create sizeable emotional tension with accompanying behavior disorders. Reacting to pressures and other concerns such as frustration varies from person to p erson because of their personality differences. These reactions maybe defensive, neurotic or psychotic.Most people are sympathetic to people who develop physical ailments, but regard an individual with mental disorder as crazy. At this juncture, does a suicide bomber then be considered a person with a mental disorder or deemed as crazy? definitions of mental health vary considerably. Freud when asked what he thought a normal, healthy person should do well replied love and work. Karl Menningers (1956) definition is quite similar to Freuds. He statesLet us pay off mental health as the adjustment of human beings to the world and each other with a maximal of effectiveness and happiness. Not just efficiency, or just contentment, or the grace of obeying the rules of the game cheerfully. It is all together. It is the dexterity to maintain an even temper and happy disposition. This, I think, is a healthy mind.When we therefore, try to define mental health, we have in mind the adjustment process which an individual brings into force when he is faced with a problem situation. Adjustment is defined as an individuals manner of reacting or responding adequately to a perceived problem. From the standpoint of mental health, adjustment refers to a happy and socially acceptable response to lifes situations. Mental health therefore, is the ability of the individual to function effectively and happily as a person in ones expected role in a group and in the society in general. It is a author of the whole personality and is not merely a condition of the mind as is often supposed. It is an out-growth of ones total life and is promoted or hindered by day-after-day experience, not only by major crises as some assume (McCllelland et al, 1973).Mental health is the qualification to live harmoniously in a changing environment to face and solve ones problems in a realistic manner to accept the inevitable, and to understand and accept ones own shortcomings as well as the shortcomings of others. In this sense, people who develop and encourage Jihad or any terroristic ideas and brainwash others to do the same, are seen people who do have unrealistic way of looking at life and their experiences. They are commonly classified as people having delusions of grandeur among others. This term refers to people who experience a bloated sense of importance or missions and oftentimes associated with corresponding persecution complexes (Jourad, 1963). They therefore harbor also a sense of anxiety that some people are out there to cut off their goals and prevent their missions.Their resolve to deliver their target aims is even stronger the reason for their methodical and systematic way of doing things. Since they cannot accept that they must co-exist with people whose beliefs radically differ from theirs, they accept the notion that annihilation is a solution and dying a martyrs death to ensure this goal is the ultimate sacrifice. This kind of mindset comes only from a frame of thinking that has been exposed only to a few options in fact, only very get options. That option is the radical Islamic alternative and nothing else. When living in this world, co-existence is not just something that is talked about inside the halls of the academe co-existence signifies a mindset that is healthy as well and free from disorders.Mental health is a matter of degree. There is no hard and fast line that separates health from illness. It is not a simple matter to divide the population into two distinct groups-those who should be institutionalized and those who should not be. Many of us at one time or another exhibit traits and pattern of behavior which if, accentuated and continuous, would take psychiatric care (Jourad, 1963).Though radical a thought this may seem, and naturally sounds unrealistic, the ideal place is to set monitoring and evaluation of mental hygiene at some point in time. How to do this is going to be a big issue, expectedly. However, terrorism and the likes of suicide bombing can probably be controlled in some ironic way by referring to them as idiosyncratic, delusional or even possessing mental disorders. Another way of classifying them is through the Diagnostic Statistical Manual IV (DSM) classification system these people are versions of psychopaths or psychotics because the symptoms are there and they cannot function normally among any general population.Towards developing a Strategy or InterventionSince the argument of this paper stands on looking at the acts of a suicide bomber as acts emanating from someone with mental illness, it follows that approaches to its reduction or elimination be provided or examined as well. There are three ways of looking at developing and establishing a strategy or intervention the onus, therapeutic, and the curative Kolb et al, 1974). There are subtleties that engulf these three but it is good to explore these dimensions. The preventive approach is based on the principles that the best wa y to ensure a well-adjusted individual is to surround him with environmental influences that will enable him to develop his full potentialities, to obtain emotional stability, and achieve personal and social adequacy.The therapeutic aspect is concerned with the attempt to correct minor behavioral adjustments through the various pleader and techniques of psychotherapy, or adjust to the social/or physical environment of the person in order to religious service him obtain the amount of emotional security and self-confidence necessary. The curative approach is sometimes called preventive psychiatry and is concerned with the detection and correction of serious but curative but behavioral maladjustments.Although this is the work of a trained clinician or psychiatrist, it is wait onful for the layman to have at least a fundamental cognition of the major types of behavioral maladjustments in order that he/she may have a basis in determining behavioral maladjustments that need the attent ion of competent specialists. It is therefore necessary, on a serious note, that public awareness on the nature of mental illness on a scope such as that of the course taken by the suicide bombers, coupled with detection of signs and symptoms by neighboring homes and those in the community, help diminish the threat. There are of course other paths or strategies to follow, but why not take all that is available to ensure our security (Kolb et al, 1974).References1. CNN, Breaking News, October 18, 2007. www.cnn.com2. Gibbs, Nancy. 1995. EQ Factor Time International, October.3. Gordon, Harvey, Mike Kingham, Tony Goodwin. line of products travel by passengers with mental disorder. Psychiatric Bulletin (2004) 28295-297. The Royal College of Psychiatrists.4. Jourad, Sydney, 1963. Personal Adjustment. 2nd Ed. New York MacMillan Company.5. Kolb, David Ralph K. Schwitzgebel. 1974. Changing Human Behavior Principles of Planned Intervention. New York McGraw-Hill admit Company.6. McCllelland , David C. R.S. Steele. 1973. Human Motivation A Book of Readings. Morristown, New Jersey, General Learning Press.7. Menninger, Karl in Taylor, David, 2003. The concept of mental health in children. European shaver Adolescent Psychiatry. Steinkopff. Volume 12, Number 3. Pp.107-113.8. Miller, W. B. Zarcone, V. (1968) Psychiatric behaviour disorders at an international airport. Archives of Environmental Health, 17, 360 -365.9. Silke, A. (2003). The psychological science of suicide terrorism. In Terrorists, Victims and Society (ed. A. Silke), pp. 93 -108. Chichester Wiley.10. Tiffin, Joseph and Ernest McCormick J. 1958. Industrial psychology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Prentice Hall, Inc.