The Psychological and Behavioral Factors of Terrorism

Mind of a Terrorist
Name
Institution
Mind of a Terrorist
Introduction
The biggest problem with terrorism policies is that they tend to interpret things from our perceptions and as a result, determining what drives individuals to terrorism has become hard. For many years, psychologists have tried to examine terrorists' personal characters by looking for clues that may clarify their willingness to participate in violent behaviors. Throughout this course, I have learned the various ways in which the mind of a terrorist works. The different components range from psychological and behavioral factors to the factors in al Qaeda governance and associate groups. In the paper, I have discussed various issues on terrorism such as the psychological and behavioral factors of terrorism, categories of the means of communication and their influence on the advancing terrorist narratives. Moreover, I have identified the psychological and behavioral factors within al Qaeda leadership and affiliate groups, the radicalization models that explain terrorist motivations, and the behavioral and psychological factors associated with disengaging from terrorism.
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Many factors are involved when trying to create the psychological and behavioral factors to violence. Every group of terrorists has different motives and ideas when conducting an attack. For instance, in the case of suicide bombers, people think they are insane because no person in his or her right mind would tie a bomb in herself or himself and knowingly execute himself or herself. Although when considering the factors lead to individuals engaging in suicide terrorism, one will find that complex issue are involved since people are complicated and unpredictable. Many people consider religion as a key factor to why people participate in suicide terrorism, but I disagree with the beliefs since there is no scripture that advises Christians to engage in terrorism. However, religious beliefs may lead to activities that disrupt fundamental human rights.
I firmly believe that not every person who participates in terrorism has an antisocial personality illness, most individuals agree to terrorism since they feel lonely and unaccepted in the society, and would want the world to listen to their voice. Others who engage in the criminal acts are those who have been unfairly treated in their nations, and as a result, they participate in terrorism as a form of revenge (Lee & Jung, 2015). These factors happen when a person feels less substantial or when he or she despises his or her life maybe because of current social status, economy problems, poverty or lack of chances in life. Individuals in this group feel their life is insignificant and have nothing to lose when they join terrorist groups. In essence, these people feel isolated, and in becoming terrorists, they have a sense of purpose and belonging in their lives.
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Terrorists use various means of communication. The means include face-to-face conversation, use of messengers, the Internet, telephone, and pronouncing attacks through mass media (Pekgozlu, Ozdemir, and Ercikti, 2007). A study of al-Qaeda terrorist group showed that face-to-face communication is the common method among terrorists. It involves terrorists meeting ...