Psychology of Terrorism

PSYC 2000 03

Professor: Dr. Linda M. Woolf

Office Hours:

Reading:

Course Description:

On September 11, 2001 many of us in the United States experienced for the first time the major effects of international terrorism. Terrorism is not a new phenomena and many researchers have been struggling to understand the root causes and effects of terrorism. In this class, we will examine the psychosocial roots and impact of terrorism. We will examine the "why" of terrorism. Are terrorists psychopaths? Are terrorists just inherently evil? Or is the issue much more complex than this, particularly when we take into consideration a variety of partisan perspectives? Within this context, we will examine the various types of terrorism such as religious, state-sponsored, and individual acts of terrorism.

During the class we will also examine the impact of terrorism on many levels from the individual to national level. We will discuss topics related to the personal experience of trauma due to terrorism, such as normal emotional reactions to personal attack, PTSD, grief, coping, and the challenge to just world thinking. On a group level we will examine broader issues such as stereotyping, in-group/out-group behaviors, moral exclusion, displacement of aggression, nationalism, propaganda, and dehumanization.

Course Objectives:

  1. Objective: To examine the question of "What is terrorism?" As part of that examination, we will evaluate the problems associated with defining terrorism.

  2. Objective: To become familiar with the various forms of terrorism including individual, religious, ideological, and state-sponsored terrorism.

  3. Objective: To explore and evaluate the various cultural factors which may play a role in the promotion of terrorism including poverty, desperation, fanaticism, political influence, globalization, economic development, greed, and war. These cultural factors will also be examined from the perspective of partisan perceptions.

  4. Objective: To examine the underlying group factors behind terrorism such as intergroup polarization, within-group glorification, moral exclusion, the power of the situation, nationalism, and partisan perceptions. We will evaluate the research concerning these factors and evaluate the appropriateness of applying these concepts to instances of both domestic and international terrorism.

  5. Objective: To explore the question of what motivates an individual terrorist to commit an act of terrorism. We will look at questions such as "Is there a terrorist psychology?" and "What motivates a suicide bomber?" and examine what enables individuals to perpetrate acts of terrorism.

  6. Objective: To evaluate the multifaceted role of the media and its effects on victims of terrorist attacks, groups which promote terrorism, bystanders to terrorism, and the elite from all sides.

  7. Objective: To examine the psychological impact of terrorism on victims and witnesses and the various treatment strategies needed to facilitate recovery from trauma.

  8. Objective: To explore and evaluate the broader strategies for group and cultural recovery from terrorism particularly those strategies that facilitate the promotion of peace and tolerance for diversity.

  9. Objective: To provide students with the opportunity to engage in psychosocial analyses of a particular instance of terrorism and another topic of interest to the student related to terrorism.

  10. Objective: To further develop students oral presentation skills. To provide students the opportunity to learn additional presentation skills specifically those related to poster presentations.

Incoming Competencies:

All students should be capable of working, reading, and writing at the undergraduate level.

Class Meetings:

The class will meet on Mondays from 5:30 - 9:30. Classroom attendance and class discussion will greatly enhance your understanding of the material presented in this class. Also, material will be presented that is not in any of the books and class participation/discussion will constitute a percentage of your final grade.

Course Requirements:

Two exams, a group presentation, and class participation/discussion are required for this course.

All grades will be assigned on a scale of 0 - 100 with:

90 - 100A-,AExcellent
80 - 89B-,B,B+Above Average
70 - 79C-,C,C+Average
60 - 69D-,D,D+Below Average
Less than 60FFailing

Percent of Grade:

Examinations70%
Group presentations20%
Class Part./Disc.10%

Examinations: The exams are designed to test for an understanding of the terms, theories, ideas, and historical events related to terrorism as presented in text, readings, lecture, and discussion. The exams will include multiple choice, matching, short answer, and essay. Exams will be worth 70 percent of your final grade.

Policy: All exams must be taken on the date scheduled. In case of an emergency, the instructor must be notified. No make-up exams will be given if you fail to notify and discuss your situation with the instructor. It is up to the instructor's discretion whether to offer or not offer a make-up exam. Please note that no extra credit work will be made available to make-up for a poor test grade.

Group presentations: Students, in pairs, will be required to put together a presentation to the class concerning a topic related to terrorism. There is a great deal of flexibility on the topic but ALL topics must be approved by the instructor. This presentation will provide you the opportunity to explore another topic related to terrorism from a psychosocial perspective. For example, you might want to focus on the history, structure, recruiting, and functioning of a particular terrorist group or the psychological factors impacting victims of a specific type of terrorist attack. Each presentation should be 20 minutes in length. Presentation times will be scheduled the second week of class. The group presentation will be worth 15 percent of your final grade.

Class Participation & Discussion: Please realize that your participation in this class is extremely important. As such, class participation will constitute 10 percent of your final grade. The class participation grade will derive from regular attendance AND everyday discussion and analysis. Please be aware that missing class will impact your grade in this area as will sitting quietly in class with no participation.

Policy Statements:

Use of Electronic Devices in the Classroom: Please respect others in the class by turning off all cell phones and pagers before entering the room. Text messaging during class is not acceptable. Laptops may be used in class but are only to be utilized for class related activities (e.g., taking notes). If it becomes apparent you are using the computer for non-class activities (e.g., checking your email, playing games) then you may be asked to turn off your computer and refrain from bringing it into class in the future. Laptop use is restricted to the back or sides of the classroom so that other students are not distracted during lecture.

Plagiarism (attempting to pass off the work of another as one's own) is not acceptable. Plagiarism includes copying all or part of another's writings (even a single sentence), inappropriate paraphrasing, using another student's paper as your own, submitting a paper for more than one class. All papers will be submitted to the university's plagiarism database for review. Plagiarism, either intentional or unintentional, will result in a grade of 0 for that assignment and will be turned over to the appropriate university source for disciplinary action. In addition, cheating on exams will also result in the same fate.

Here are some Web sites that will help you avoid the problem of plagiarism particularly plagiarism resulting from paraphrasing too closely to the original source. -

Students are expected to arrive at class meetings having already read the material assigned, and to ask questions to clarify any areas that remain unclear. While every attempt will be made to explain or expand upon particularly difficult areas, the primary purpose of classroom lecture is to enhance, rather than to duplicate, the readings.

Late withdraws from this class will not be approved by the instructor except in cases of emergency discussed with the instructor. No late withdraws will be approved on the basis of poor class performance.

This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor's discretion. All changes concerning course requirements will be provided in writing. Changes concerning exam dates may be made at the instructor's discretion and communicated verbally to the class.

It is understood that remaining in this course (not dropping or withdrawing from this course) constitutes an agreement to abide by the terms outlined in this syllabus and an acceptance of the requirements outlined in this document. No grade of Incomplete will be issued for this course.





COURSE OUTLINE


Optional readings are provided as a starting point for those who want to learn more about specific topics discussed in class.

Date


Topic & Readings


January 12		 Introduction to class
What is terrorism?
Types of terrorism

Readings:

  • Carr, C. (2007). "Terrorism": Why the definition must be broad. World Policy Journal, 24, 47-50.
  • Kruglanski, A. W., & Fishman, S. (2006). Terrorism between 'syndrome' and 'tool.' Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 45-48.
  • Ruby, C. L. (2002). The definition of terrorism. Analyses of Social Issues & Public Policy, 2, 9-14.

January 19

MLK Day - View one of the following films and be prepared to discuss during the second half of the term: Rendition, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, or Taxi to the Dark Side.

January 26

February 2

Roots of terrorism: Culture and the Power of the Group

Readings:

  • Hoffman, B. (2006). Religion and terrorism. In B. Hoffman, Inside terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Intra- and inter- religious hate and violence: A psychosocial model by L. M. Woolf & M. R. Hulsizer, Journal of Hate Studies, 2, 5-26.
  • Hate groups for dummies: How to build a successful hate group by L. M. Woolf & M. R. Hulsizer, Humanity and Society, 28, 40-62.

Additional optional readings:

  • The globalization process and terrorism from an anthropological perspective by G. Bailey, Terrorism: An interdisciplinary perspective, R. Jucha (Ed.), Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  • Globalism and structural violence by M. Pilisuk, Peace, conflict, and violence: Peace psychology for the 21st century, D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, & D. D. Winter (Eds.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Psychosocial roots of genocide: Risk, prevention, and intervention by L. M. Woolf & M. R. Hulsizer, Journal of Genocide Research, 7, 101-128.
  • Nationalism and war: A social-psychological perspective by D. Druckman, Peace, conflict, and violence: Peace psychology for the 21st century, D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, & D. D. Winter (Eds.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Interpersonal dynamics in a simulated prison, by C. Haney, C. Banks, & P. Zimbardo, International Journal of Criminology & Penology, 1, 69-97.
  • Zimbardo's Prison Study Slide Show
    •
  • Behavioral study of obedience, by S. Milgram, Journal of Abnormal & Social Psychology, 67, 371-378.
  • Opinions and social pressure, by S. Asch, Scientific American, 193, 31-35.
  • Moral exclusion and injustice: An introduction, by S. Opotow, Journal of Social Issues, 46, 1-20.
  • Ethnopolitical and other group violence: Origins and prevention by E. Staub, Ethnopolitical warfare: Causes, consequences, and possible solutions, D. Chirot and M. E. P. Seligman (Eds.), Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
February 9Root of Terrorism: The Individual

Exam I

Readings:

  • Mechanism of moral disengagement - Bandura, A. In R. Reich & W. Laqueur, Origins of Terrorism.
  • The readiness to kill and die - Merari, A. In R. Reich & W. Laqueur, Origins of Terrorism.
  • Suicide Terrorism - Hoffman, B. In B. Hoffman, Inside terrorism.
  • Genesis of suicide terrorism by S. Atran, Science, 299, 1534-1539.

Additional optional readings:

  • Psychological dynamics of intractable ethnonational conflicts: The Israeli-Palestinian case by N. N. Rouhana & D. Bar-Tal, American Psychologist, 53, 761-770.
  • White boys to terrorist men: Target recruitment of Nazi skinheads by R. Blazak, American Behavioral Scientist, 44, 982-1000.
  • Political profiling: Challenges, benefits, and risks [Review of the book, Leaders and their followers in a dangerous world: The psychology of political behavior]. by L. M. Woolf, PsychCRITIQUES, 50(1), Article 4.
  • Understanding terrorist behavior - Reich, W. In R. Reich & W. Laqueur, Origins of Terrorism.
February 16Terrorism and the media
The role of the elite
Torture

Readings:

  • The old media, terrorism, and public opinion - Hoffman, B. In B. Hoffman, Inside terrorism
  • The new media, terrorism, and the shaping of global opinion - Hoffman, B. In B. Hoffman, Inside terrorism
  • Hostage taking, the presidency, and stress - Hermann, M. & Hermann, C. In R. Reich & W. Laqueur, Origins of Terrorism.
  • The terror of torture - Hovens, J.E. & Drozdeck, B.

Additional optional reading:

  • Integrative complexity and political decision that lead to war and peace by L. G. Conway, P. Suedfeld, & P. E. Tetlock, Peace, conflict, and violence: Peace psychology for the 21st century, D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, & D. D. Winter (Eds.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
  • Is television traumatic?: Dreams, stress, and media exposure in the aftermath of September 11, 2001 by R. Propper, R. Stickgold, & S. Christman, Psychological Science, 18, 334-340.
February 23Psychosocial effects of terrorism
Treatment and recovery
Towards peace and tolerance

Readings:

  • Psychological resilience after disaster: New York City in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attack by G. A. Bonanno, S. Galea, & A. Bucciarelli, A., Psychological Science, 17, 181-186.
  • American Red Cross (2001). Terrorism

Additional optional reading:

  • Breaking the cycle of genocidal violence: Healing and reconciliation, by E. Staub, Perspectives on loss: A sourcebook, J. H. Harvey (Ed.), Hants, UK: Taylor & Francis.
  • Psychosocial Interventions and post-war reconstruction in Angola: interweaving Western and traditional approaches by M. Wessells, & C. Monteiro Peace, conflict, and violence: Peace psychology for the 21st century, D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, & D. D. Winter (Eds.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
March 2Exam II

Finish Presentations!

Additional optional readings:

  • The Northern Ireland conflict: Prospects and possiblities by T. Gallagher, Ethnopolitical warfare: Causes, consequences, and possible solutions, D. Chirot and M. E. P. Seligman (Eds.), Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
  • Control and the stability of Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel by I. S. Lustick, Ethnopolitical warfare: Causes, consequences, and possible solutions, D. Chirot and M. E. P. Seligman (Eds.), Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

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