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The mind of suicide terrorists
Donatella Marazziti1, Antonello Veltri2, Armando Piccinni1
11Dipartimento di Medicina Clinica e Sperimentale,Section of Psychiatry,University of Pisa.
CNS Spectrums
|September 15, 2017
Summary
Psychological profiles of suicide bombers reveal common traits like isolation and lack of empathy, rather than specific backgrounds. The core motivation is a desire "to die to kill," driving extreme behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Criminology
- Sociology
Background:
- Existing literature on suicide terrorism lacks definitive familial, educational, or socioeconomic predictors.
- Previous research has explored various hypotheses regarding terrorist motivations and psychological profiles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify distinctive psychological traits of contemporary suicide bombers.
- To analyze the psychological underpinnings of religious radicalization leading to suicide terrorism.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing hypotheses on suicide terrorism.
- Analysis of psychological characteristics proposed for terrorists.
- Formulation of personal considerations on suicide bomber traits.
Main Results:
- No peculiar familial, educational, or socioeconomic factors consistently predict religious radicalization for suicide terrorism.
- Common psychological features identified include isolation, feelings of emptiness, cold rationality, lack of empathy, and a lust for martyrdom.
- The core feature is the "to die to kill" mentality, which reorganizes cognitive and emotional processes.
Conclusions:
- Psychological factors, not demographic ones, appear more significant in understanding suicide bombers.
- The desire for martyrdom and death is a central organizing principle for these individuals.
- Further research is needed to validate these psychological observations with more empirical data.