Dr LeCrone
03-30-2006, 09:20 AM
Last week we talked about mental health professionals becoming involved in understanding the psychological makeup of terrorists and working toward anti-terrorism.
The science of kinesics, reading motives through body language, may not be 100 percent effective in identifying terrorists, but research has shown that the brain may direct certain facial expressions or movements in response to common emotions. Involuntary facial expressions are apt to be highly similar in all cultures. Fear, anxiety, nervousness, and hypertension make all of us sweat.
At a school for security which is operated by a friend and associate of mine in Colorado, students are trained to identify incongruous, illogical behavior. Certain “mixed signals” are conveyed through body language that is incongruous and doesn’t “fit” the situation. Many experts believe our non-verbal language is more revealing and that it is more truthful than our spoken words.
At this same time, students at the security school are provided with profiles of terrorists. So, if a person fits the profile and behaves in a manner that doesn’t “fit” the situation, an alarm sounds and the measures can be taken.
Here is a sociological profile drawn from many revolutionary groups known to specialize in urban terrorism:
Age: The average age of the activist terrorist is between 22 and 31. Leaders are uniformly older, usually in their 40s and 50s.
Sex: Less than 16 percent are female.
Marital status: 75 percent are unmarried.
Origin: Primarily urban.
Social and economic: The majority come from upper-class or respectable middle-class families. An exception is the PLO and the Provisional Wing of the Irish Republican Army.
Education: Two-thirds of identified terrorists have some university training or a degree, and some are post-graduates.
Recruitment: Much of the early recruitment occurs on university campuses. Some come from camps and religious centers.
Psychologically, they have a messianic sense of purpose, a willingness to surrender themselves, a dedication to a charismatic leader. They have no personal goals, but spend their waking hours devoted to “the cause.” They assume that all institutions are exploitive and are oppressive. They believe violence is the only legitimate expression of action to bring about change. The concern for the act of terrorism supercedes the consequences or end results.
Terrorism is a malignant and often terrorizing aspect of human behavior. More research is needed on the characteristics and motives so solutions may be found to this worldwide problem.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1986
The science of kinesics, reading motives through body language, may not be 100 percent effective in identifying terrorists, but research has shown that the brain may direct certain facial expressions or movements in response to common emotions. Involuntary facial expressions are apt to be highly similar in all cultures. Fear, anxiety, nervousness, and hypertension make all of us sweat.
At a school for security which is operated by a friend and associate of mine in Colorado, students are trained to identify incongruous, illogical behavior. Certain “mixed signals” are conveyed through body language that is incongruous and doesn’t “fit” the situation. Many experts believe our non-verbal language is more revealing and that it is more truthful than our spoken words.
At this same time, students at the security school are provided with profiles of terrorists. So, if a person fits the profile and behaves in a manner that doesn’t “fit” the situation, an alarm sounds and the measures can be taken.
Here is a sociological profile drawn from many revolutionary groups known to specialize in urban terrorism:
Age: The average age of the activist terrorist is between 22 and 31. Leaders are uniformly older, usually in their 40s and 50s.
Sex: Less than 16 percent are female.
Marital status: 75 percent are unmarried.
Origin: Primarily urban.
Social and economic: The majority come from upper-class or respectable middle-class families. An exception is the PLO and the Provisional Wing of the Irish Republican Army.
Education: Two-thirds of identified terrorists have some university training or a degree, and some are post-graduates.
Recruitment: Much of the early recruitment occurs on university campuses. Some come from camps and religious centers.
Psychologically, they have a messianic sense of purpose, a willingness to surrender themselves, a dedication to a charismatic leader. They have no personal goals, but spend their waking hours devoted to “the cause.” They assume that all institutions are exploitive and are oppressive. They believe violence is the only legitimate expression of action to bring about change. The concern for the act of terrorism supercedes the consequences or end results.
Terrorism is a malignant and often terrorizing aspect of human behavior. More research is needed on the characteristics and motives so solutions may be found to this worldwide problem.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1986