Bonus Reading 6.

2
How Social Science Can Reduce Terrorism

Source: Plous, S., & Zimbardo, P. G. (2004, September 10). How social science can
reduce terrorism. Chronicle of Higher Education, pp. B9-B10.

Social Psychology
Professor Scott Plous
Wesleyan University

Note: This reading material is being provided free of charge to Coursera students and may be freely
copied and distributed as long as the source is properly cited.
 michael morgenstern for the chronicle

How Social Science Can Reduce Terrorism

By Scott L. Plous and Philip G. Zimbardo

I
n a press conference several months lished since 2001 than in all previous years terrorists, put it this way during a lecture over perceived injustice, terrorists differ
after the terrorist attacks of Septem- combined. she gave in 2002: “What is frightening is from the general public in their demo-
ber 11, 2001, National Security Advi- In this season of political campaigns, not the abnormality of those who carry graphic composition. Although excep-
sor Condoleezza Rice said: “I don’t commissions, and controversies, the results out the suicide attacks, but their sheer tions exist, terrorists are usually males be-
think anybody could have predicted that of social-science research should be part of normality.” Thus far, behavioral research tween 15 and 30 years of age—the same
these people . . . would try to use an air- any educated and informed discussion of has found only one psychological attribute population most likely to commit violent
plane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a the war on terror. From this new research that reliably differentiates terrorists from crime in general, and the demographic
missile.” in the social sciences, as well as earlier nonterrorists: a propensity toward anger. group least likely to be deterred by the
President Bush expressed similar sur- scholarship in history and political science, In the words of a recent National Re- threat of physical force.
prise when he told the press corps on several key findings have emerged. search Council report titled “Terrorism: Perhaps for those reasons, studies sug-
April 13, 2004: “Had I had any inkling First, studies suggest that, compared Perspectives From the Behavioral and So- gest that large-scale military responses to
whatsoever that the people were terrorism tend to be ineffective or
going to fly airplanes into build- temporarily to increase terrorist ac-
ings, we would have moved heaven tivity. To cite just one example, a
and earth to save the country.” Compared with the general public, terrorists 1993 time-series analysis by Walter
Yet long before September 11, Enders and Todd Sandler in the
social scientists had warned that an do not exhibit unusually high rates of clinical American Political Science Review,
attack might occur. According to “The Effectiveness of Anti-Terror-
an overlooked 1999 report on “The psychopathology, irrationality, or personality disorders. ism Policies: A VAR-Intervention
Sociology and Psychology of Ter- Analysis,” examined 20 years of
rorism,” by the Federal Research terrorist activity and found a signif-
Division of the Library of Con- icant rise in terrorism following
gress, “Al-Qaida’s expected retaliation for with the general public, terrorists do not cial Sciences”: “There is no single or typi- U.S. military reprisals against Libya. For a
the U.S. cruise missile attack against Al- exhibit unusually high rates of clinical psy- cal mentality—much less a specific pathol- general review of the effects of military
Qaida’s training facilities in Afghanistan chopathology, irrationality, or personality ogy—of terrorists. However, terrorists ap- responses to terrorism, see “Retaliating
on August 20, 1998, could take several disorders. As John Horgan points out in parently find significant gratification in the Against Terrorism,” by Silke, who is a
forms of terrorist attack in the nation’s the opening chapter of Terrorists, Victims expression of generalized rage.” United Nations counterterrorism adviser,
capital.” Among the possibilities listed in and Society: Psychological Perspectives on Beyond various sociopolitical, econom- in Terrorists, Victims and Society.
the report: Suicide bombers might crash Terrorism and Its Consequences (Wiley, ic, and religious objectives, one of the Although every situation is different, re-
an aircraft into the Pentagon or other 2003), edited by Andrew Silke, the idea of most common motivations for joining a searchers have found that military responses
buildings. a “terrorist personality” rests on unsteady terrorist organization is the desire for re- to international terrorism can unwittingly
As that passage illustrates, social scien- empirical, theoretical, and conceptual venge or retribution for a perceived injus- reinforce terrorists’ views of their enemies
tists have made substantial progress in foundations. Indeed, because terrorist tice. Many terrorists report that acts of vi- as aggressive, make it easier for them to re-
understanding and predicting terrorism. cells require secrecy, terror organizations olence committed by police officers, sol- cruit new members, and strengthen al-
Moreover, that progress has accelerated frequently screen out unstable individuals diers, or others are what led them to join liances among terrorist organizations. Fol-
since the attacks of September 11. In psy- who might compromise their security. a terrorist group. Studies by Ariel Merari lowing the invasion of Iraq, for example, Al
chology, for example, a search of the Nor do terrorists differ greatly from and others have found, for example, that Qaeda’s influence and ideology spread to
PsycINFO database (the largest psychol- other people in self-esteem, religiosity, so- Palestinian suicide bombers often have at other extremist groups not previously
ogy database in the world, with entries cioeconomic status, education, or person- least one relative or close friend who was linked to the movement, according to Con-
dating back to the 1880s) reveals that ality traits such as introversion. Nasr Has- killed or injured by the other side. gressional testimony by J. Cofer Black, the
more research on terrorism has been pub- san, who spent years studying Palestinian In addition to harboring intense anger Continued on Following Page

september 10, 2004 the chronicle of higher education B9

 “He who knows nothing,
Continued From Preceding Page for human rights, sovereignty, and inter-
doubts nothing.” U.S. State Department’s coordinator for
counterterrorism.
national law.
In terms of the second goal, the United
—ANONYMOUS The futility of fighting terrorism with States can create a sense of shared pur-
large-scale military strikes is perhaps clear- pose and incentives for reducing terror-
est in the case of Iraq, where U.S. troop ism by increasing its foreign aid, hunger-
casualties have steadily increased over relief assistance, and medical exports to
time. In May through August 2003, after countries working actively to fight terror-
President Bush declared the end of major ism. Currently, the United States gives a
combat operations in Iraq, an average of lower percentage of its gross national
4.9 military personnel were wounded per product to foreign aid than does any
day. That climbed to 10.3 in September other developed nation. Clearly, however,
through December 2003, 15.3 in the first one of the surest ways to win friends and
four months of 2004, and 21.4 from May reduce anti-Americanism is by helping
through mid-August. those in need.
Even after the capture of Saddam Hus- Finally, any comprehensive strategy to
sein, on December 13, 2003, suicide reduce terrorism must ensure that children
bombings and guerrilla attacks in Iraq are not socialized to embrace violence as a
continued to rise. means of problem solving. In the Oslo In-
Similarly, the average number of sui- terim Agreement of 1995, Israel and the
cide attacks per week in Israel was higher
in the month after Baghdad fell than in
the preceding 14 months. And despite the
fact that 70 percent of Al Qaeda’s core The futility
leadership has been caught or killed, the
organization has carried out more attacks of fighting terrorism
since September 11, 2001, than it did in
the three years before. According to the with large-scale
U.S. State Department’s most authorita-
tive report, “Patterns of Global Terrorism military strikes
2003,” there was a 27-percent increase in
“significant terrorist incidents” worldwide is perhaps clearest
from 2002 to 2003—along with a 56-per-
cent increase in casualties—despite un- in the case of Iraq.
precedented spending by the United States
to wage a war on terror.

I
f military responses to terrorism are Palestinian Authority pledged that they
counterproductive, what can be would “ensure that their respective educa-
done? In the short run, the United tional systems contribute to the peace be-
States can fortify measures that pro- tween the Israeli and Palestinian peoples
mote self-protection, encourage citizens and to peace in the entire region, and will
in likely target areas to be vigilant, and refrain from the introduction of any mo-
improve training and information sharing tifs that could adversely affect the process
among intelligence organizations, law-en- of reconciliation.” For the sake of future
forcement personnel, branches of govern- generations, a similar pledge should be
ment, and our allies. The report by the formalized as part of a worldwide multi-
National Commission on Terrorist At- lateral treaty banning educational materi-
tacks Upon the United States, released als that condone or incite violence. With
on July 22 and available at [Link] incentives for compliance and provisions
[Link], offers detailed recom- for enforcement, such a treaty would be
ISBN: 0-06-009795-7 • Paperback • $16.95 ($23.95 Can.) • 576 pp.
mendations on how such goals might be of considerable value.
accomplished. Thus far, the Iraq war has cost the Unit-
Although self-protective measures will ed States an estimated $120-billion and is

“Hecht is right that doubt’s never be foolproof, they have the virtue
of being nonprovocative and less costly
responsible for the deaths of more than
1,000 coalition soldiers and 10,000 Iraqi
than war. For example, the cost of safe- civilians—more than triple the number of
story deserves to be told . . . guarding weapons-grade uranium and
plutonium is relatively low, yet according
innocent Americans who died in the Sep-
tember 11 attacks, and a number that
to a recent report from Harvard’s John F. grows with each passing day. The time has
[and] she tells it in just the right spirit. . . . Kennedy School of Government (“Secur- come to rethink our global strategy on
ing the Bomb: An Agenda for Action”), terrorism, apply what we know from so-
Hecht is the rare doubter who can less nuclear-weapons material was se- cial-science research, and find a more ef-
cured in the two years immediately after fective way to make the world safe.
September 11, 2001, than in the two years
simultaneously disagree with people of before the attacks. Scott L. Plous is a professor of psychology
In the long run, research indicates that at at Wesleyan University and editor of Un-
faith while granting them respect and least three priorities are of paramount im- derstanding Prejudice and Discrimination
portance: reducing intergroup conflict, cre- (McGraw-Hill, 2003). A research bibliog-
ating incentives for the reduction of terror- raphy and links on terrorism are available
taking their ideas seriously.” ism, and socializing young people to reject on the Web site he maintains at [Link]
violence as a means of problem solving. .[Link]/[Link]. Philip G.
—ALAN WOLFE, NEW REPUBLIC With respect to the first goal, social-sci- Zimbardo is a professor emeritus of psy-
ence research suggests that intergroup chology at Stanford University. Among his
conflict is reduced when members of each books is Violence Workers: Police Tortur-
group are equal in status and are mutu- ers and Murderers Reconstruct Brazilian
ally dependent on one another. At the Atrocities (University of California Press,
HarperSanFrancisco level of nations, those conditions can 2002), which he wrote with Martha K. Hug-
An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers be strengthened by addressing legitimate gins and Mika Haritos-Fatouros. He served
grievances and developing fair-trade agree- as president of the American Psychological
[Link]
ments, joint investments of venture capital, Association for the yearlong term that start-
cultural-exchange programs, and respect ed shortly after the September 11 attacks.

B10 the chronicle of higher education september 10, 2004