Analyzing The Three Motivational Categories Of Terrorism

This paper will seek to understand what really motivates terrorists to commit the acts that make them so infamous. We are assuming that the chief motivating factor behind the decisions of terrorist organizations is the political outcome of their acts balanced against the risk and collateral damage inflicted to achieve this end. We will also weigh in the appeal of terrorism on potential recruits in weak states and determine how the motivations of the group become the motivation of the individual and how this benefits the decentralized organization of terrorist organizations like al Qaeda.

?Psychology of Terrorism.? Center for International Research on Terrorism. 2007. http://www.terrorismresearchcenter.org/psychology-of-terrorism.html, accessed 16 Aug 2010.

political and social circumstances; that is, terrorism involves variables that can be measured on a criminological scale. The measurable by-product can be examined through psychological factors that vacillate with political circumstances. Ross's conclusions lead to two practical considerations.

“Terrorism's particularly heinous but highly attractive means to achieve political objectives or even radically restructure political foundations is manifest within societies in all reaches of the world. While the practical application of terrorist methodologies comes across as a relatively straightforward craft, the conceptual and ideological understanding, and subsequent evaluation of its socio-political influence, implementation, and psychological impacts present difficult questions, and in some cases conceivably insurmountable obstacles” (Romaniuk 2014, para

In the past weeks we have explored what makes up the mind of a terrorist by considering various psychological and behavioral factors of terrorism. Another factor we discussed was Osama Bin Laden: Terrorist CEO and the evolution of Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. I will summarize categorizing the means of communication and influence they have upon advancing terrorist narratives, the psychological and behavioral factors within Al-Qaeda leadership and affiliate groups, compare and contrast his ability to communicate and exert influence upon these various audiences from the years preceding 9/11 until his death. All these factors play a part with one another in order to understand the big picture.

A multitude of factors contribute to any type of reasoning or psychological makeup of an individual; whether it is a person’s history of behavioral problems, inability to maintain a functional relationship, or in this case becoming part of a terrorist organization. In Sarah Kershaw’s “The Terrorist Mind: An Update”, we are able to see what drives a person to commit acts of terror where it is praised in a given community.

When psychologists study motivation, it’s sometimes puzzling to understand the motivation behind suicide bombers. Why would someone kill tens, hundreds, or even thousand people while killing themselves in the process? The Intersection addresses this. I feel that if psychologists can understand why suicide bombers do what they do, they might be able to prevent it. Many attacks like these are made because the terrorizer wants to make a social change. It’s a big challenge trying to get inside the brain of these bombers because you can’t really talk to them after the fact. However, we can read their farewell letters, wills, watch farewell videos. Just the fact that they have these documents means that they probably want to be remembered after

The use of terrorism started in 1795 relating to the reign of terror leaded by the French Government. The reason people become terrorist is because they see it as their only choice or is a sign for defending their religion. “The personal pathway model suggests that terrorists came from a selected, at risk population, who have suffered from early damage to their self-esteem,” (psychologist Eric D. Shaw). This explains how young adults are becoming terrorist to find themselves, also because they are not happy with who they are. Terrorist technology has changed over the course.

Terrorism is a difficult issue to understand and grasp for many people. What is even more difficult to understand is what drives an individual to become radicalized to the point of joining a terrorist organization and committing terrorist acts. While there is not specific criteria or a “cookie cutter” approach to understanding what motivates and radicalizes an individual to participate in such atrocities, there are however, several psychological and behavioral factors that have been common among these individuals. The following paper will outline some of the psychological and behavioral factors that attribute to an individual’s radicalization and eventual willingness and even perhaps

In his other collaborative reserch, issued the same year, Cottee & Hayward (2011), searched for the explaination of  “of possible existential motivations for engaging in terrorism.” Where they have identified three principale explaination amoung the others, like: “(1) the desire for excitement, (2) the desire for ultimate meaning, and (3) the desire for glory.”

There are many things can be seen in the psychology of terrorism. Unfortunately there is not good science on psychological factors of terrorism; there are theories and educated opinions (DeAngelis, 2009). The one overarching factor is the fear with which terrorism is based. By definition, terrorism is acts that cause terror by one group on to another, usually for political goals (“Terrorism”, n.d.). Why people suffer from these fears is related to their psychological behavior. Terrorist activity can be described as “fostering a sense of helplessness and hopelessness, in demonstrating the incompetence of the authorities, destroying a sense of security and safety, and in provoking inappropriate reactions from individuals and authorities.” (Alexander & Klein, 2005). Terrorists themselves are affected by psychological behavior; their own and that of others around them. They may even be affected by the behavior of victims and potential victims. Osama Bin Laden has even been known to admit that in the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, his

Religious extremism is often assumed the major cause of terrorism. This assumption became justifiable in the minds of numerous people because the terrorist groups are frequently associated with a religious organization, such as Islam. However, the focus on religion deters from other plausible explanations that cause terrorism. Although, religious extremism is a popular belief of the cause of terrorism, I pose it is not a major cause of terrorism due to the errors with misrepresented claims and support, the overlook of material interests, and the motivational incentives.

Is a terrorist a rational or irrational person based on what they do to people and the world? This is not an easy thing to understand since each individual person’s reasons that set them down this path is different. This will not be easy since the reader looking at a terrorist may see the group as being irrational for what it does because how can someone bomb a school, or attack an aid convoy, and still be rational? This essay believes that the terrorist groups have rational reasons based on what they believe is right and wrong.

In both examples mentioned above, there are exact motivating factors. In both cases the motivating factors are ideology and religion. But there are also many other factors which make people become terrorists and take guns in their hands or blow themselves

Terrorism is described as the violent and inhuman acts that get perpetuated for political, ideological, and religious goals with the aim of creating fear among the neutral military personnel. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it entails the unlawful application of force to property or persons purposely to coerce the society or government in furtherance of social or political objectives. Terrorism is an old phenomenon that is emotive and complex given that such acts invoke tremendous feelings. Throughout human history, those opposed to the ruling governments or leadership have