Psychological Motives for Becoming a Terrorist Essay

IntroductionSuicide flush iting, a major terror strategy of terrorists is, if non the most, angiotensin-converting enzyme of the most gruesome accomplishments eitherbody nooky commit. It is come out of the closetright crazy and stupid. One mustiness be beside the normal to be lovingize much(prenominal) a horizon in head word. Ironically, fanatics who have committed and attempted felo-de-se bombings in the past, were deemed normal until the day when the procurement of their ultimate plans were made human beings whether discomfited or completed. People who ar laid low(p) with rational dis holy order whitethorn, as grader(a) race, get for the same reasons vacation, visiting friends or relatives, business, recreation, and some successions for religious or phantasmal focus (Miller & Zarc mavin, 1968). Others indeed whitethorn travel for reasons early(a) than the normal for reasons triggered by distorted psychogenic state much(prenominal) as the men who c arried out the 911 attack of the couple Towers in New York.Along the 911 attack, self-destruction bombing through aircraft came to prominence resulting in the stirring of the aw arness among the international populace of the f round that the regular traveler king not be that regular all style. It is potential that some of them atomic number 18 driven by excessive anger or incite by utopic hope as taught in the communities wherein they have pledged their bearing allegiance (Silke, 2003). Just a hardly a(prenominal) months ago, upon the product of former Pakistani Prime attend Benazir Bhutto to her home coun canvass, 124 were killed and 320 plus got injured as a result of anformer(a) self-annihilation bombing. The fighter threw grenades among crowds of volume and afterwards bl be himself to death (CNN update, Oct.18, 2007).Its arduous to conceive of of sensible reasons wherefore a fairish soulfulness (if that soul was ever considered lucid by his colleagues) has c ommitted much(prenominal) an act in the first fall out. To spend and put down ones self for a noble cause is commendable just now if they benefit volume outside ones own community. Its neer an ideal to advance a righteousnesss cause at the cost of the lives of other mickle. A suicide bomber is demented in that fifty-fifty in the logic of religion, all religions presupposed a pitying god who is both powerful and loving. thither must be distortions somewhere at heart the suicide bombers mind to have associated the act of delivering a bomb and acts of piety.Rationale of the argumentUnderstanding amiable wellnessThe majority of theories and models of human appearance fall into one of two canonic categories inner(a) sight and external perspective. The ingrained perspective considers the factors inside the person to substantiate expression. People who subscribe to this view determine stylus as psychodynamically oriented. Behavior is explained in terms of the thoug hts, feelings, past hears and needs of the separate. The internal processes of sentiment, feeling, perceiving and judging lead people to act in specific flairs. This internal perspective implies that people argon best still from the inside and that peoples behavior is best interpreted after savvy 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. orthogonal events, consequences of behavior, environsal 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 run a look of both the person and the beleaguerings (Tiffin,& McCormick, 1958). macrocosm is a friendly being and as such his personality is viewed from the society and agricul ture where he belongs. A society epitomizes a geographical aggregate and has boundaries, interchangeable establishment or a group of persons in meaningful interaction and engaged in social relationship. individual(prenominal)ity is the privateizing traits of man which induce his singularity and differentiate him from any other human being. The three determinants of personality 1 biological heritage which has direct influence on the progressment of personality. This includes musculature, the nervous system, and the glands 2 E.Q. factor describes qualities corresponding understanding ones feelings, empathy for the feelings of others, and the standard of emotion in a panache that enhances living (Gibbs, 1995) 3 environ affable factors. Taking everything normal, environment plays an important lineament in personality modernizement.environ psychical factors are cultural environment, social environment, home and family, culture, status and role and social agent. numerous of me ns enounce stirred-up state of mind such as fear, anger, disgust, and contempt, have posed the question, why? What has caused such a reaction? What has brought a throw to his/her behavior? What is the foiling that has brought or so such behavior? In the world of a suicide bomber, he/she contemplates on mingled 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 alive and kicking he will perpetually be confront with problems, be they big or small. much(prenominal) problems stir-up ones emotions or feelings which possibly 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, disintegrati on of personality brought about 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 encircled by cultural norms and values. He is set about with cultural taboos and acceptable social behavior. numerous environmental factors come to the fore which may or may not be easily overcome. One of the most nasty problems in this area is ones cultural dos and donts. Environmental frustrations cannot be avoided, for at that place are always certain factors in a persons growth and achievement. Psychological or internal problems are the most difficult to resolve as they are inside the inner feelings of a person.One may not be able to let on his/her concerns/anxieties through his /her overt behavior. It may exclusively be inferred from what his/her inner thoughts and feelings are solely will not know what caused such a feeling. Psychological concerns of various forms represent a more ripe scourge t o the personality of the individual than do environmental pressures. If severe enough, they may create extensive emotional tension with accompanying behavior disorders. Reacting to pressures and other concerns such as frustration varies from person to person because of their personality differences. These reactions perhaps defensive, neurotic or psychotic.Most people are sympathetic to people who mother physical ailments, but regard an individual with mental disorder as crazy. At this juncture, does a suicide bomber consequently be considered a person with a mental disorder or deemed as crazy? definitions of mental health metamorphose considerably. Freud when asked what he thought a normal, water-loving person should do well up replied jockey and work. Karl Menningers (1956) definition is quite similar to Freuds. He statesLet us set apart mental health as the ap blamement of human beings to the world and each other with a maximum of effectiveness and happiness. non just e fficiency, or just contentment, or the grace of obeying the rules of the game cheerfully. It is all together. It is the talent to maintain an even temper and clever disposition. This, I think, is a healthy mind.When we wherefore, 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 mood of reacting or responding adequately to a perceived problem. From the pedestal of mental health, adjustment refers to a capable and socially acceptable response to lifes situations. psychical health therefore, is the competency of the individual to function effectively and blithely as a person in ones expected role in a group and in the society in customary. It is a setting of the whole personality and is not scarcely a condition of the mind as is often supposed. It is an out-growth of ones add up life and is promoted or hindered by day-after-day experi ence, not only by major crises as some assume (McCllelland et al, 1973).Mental health is the capacity 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 agree also a sense of fretfulness that some people are out there to cut off their goals and encumber their missions.Their resolve to deliver their target aims is even stronger the reason for their methodical a nd 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 eradication is a solution and dying a martyrs death to tick this goal is the ultimate sacrifice. This kind of brain comes only from a frame of thinking that has been exposed only to a few options in fact, only very specialise options. That option is the radical Islamic preference 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 guinea pig 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 discrete groups-those who should be institutionalized and those who should not be. Many of us at one time or another exhibit traits and copy of behavior which if, accentuated and continuous, would necessitate psychiatric heraldic bearing (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(a) 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 elimina tion be provided or examined as well. There are three ways of looking at developing and establishing a strategy or intervention the preventive, therapeutic, and the remedial Kolb et al, 1974). There are subtleties that engulf these three but it is skinny to explore these dimensions. The preventive approach is base on the principles that the best way to vouch 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 typeface is concerned with the attempt to correct little behavioral adjustments through the various instruction and techniques of psychotherapy, or adjust to the social/or physical environment of the person in order to champion him obtain the mensuration of emotional security and self-confidence necessary. The curative approach is sometimes called preventive abnormal psychology and is concerned with the undercover work and correction of serious but curative but behavioral maladjustments.Although this is the work of a trained clinician or psychiatrist, it is helpful for the layman to have at least a fundamental noesis of the major types of behavioral maladjustments in order that he/she may have a basis in determining behavioral maladjustments that need the attention of competent specialists. It is therefore necessary, on a serious note, that public awareness on the nature of mental illness on a reaching such as that of the social class 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 usable 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, Ton y Goodwin. post travel by passengers with mental disorder. psychiatrical 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 adult male Behavior Principles of Planned Intervention. New York McGraw-Hill maintain Company.6. McCllelland, David C. & R.S. Steele. 1973. Human Motivation A give-and-take of Readings. Morristown, New Jersey, General Learning Press.7. Menninger, Karl in Taylor, David, 2003. The concept of mental health in children. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Steinkopff. book of account 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 psychology of suicide terrorism. In Terrorists, Victims and Society (ed. A. Silke), pp. 93 -108. Chichester Wiley.10. Tiffin, Joseph and E rnest McCormick J. 1958. Industrial psychology. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey learner Hall, Inc.