ABSTRACT
From the beginning, terrorism has carried a major psychological element: the word “terror” comes from the Latin “terrere,” meaning “to frighten” or “to scare.” The first use of large-scale terrorism was during the “popular” phase of the French Revolution: in September 1793, the “Reign of Terror” was officially declared and activated, ultimately causing the execution of 17,000 people. Executions were conducted before large audiences and were accompanied by sensational publicity, thus spreading the intended fear. As a result of technological advances in communications and transportation, modern-day terrorists have new opportunities for exerting mass psychological impacts. According to the American Psychological Association’s report, “Coping with Terrorism,” terrorism threatens a society by instilling fear and helplessness in its citizens. It seeks to hold a society or government hostage by fear of destruction and harm. When terrorist acts occur, people generally look for ways to cope with the acute stress and trauma. Terrorism evokes a fundamental fear of helplessness. The violent actions are random, unprovoked and intentional, and often are targeted at defenseless citizens. Trying to cope with the irrational information that is beyond normal comprehension can set off a chain of psychological events culminating in feelings of fear, helplessness, vulnerability and grief. The psychologist Clark McCauley argues that terrorist acts can be perceived as acts of aggression against society: “Psychologists recognize two kinds of aggression: emotional and instrumental. Emotional aggression is associated with anger and does not calculate long-term consequences.”1 Emotional aggression rewards the aggressor by hurting someone who has hurt him or her, while instrumental aggression is the use of aggression as a means to other ends. McCauley asserts,
Terrorist aggression may involve emotional aggression, especially for those who do the killing, but those who plan terrorist acts are usually thinking about what they want to accomplish. They aim to inflict long-term costs on their enemy and to gain long-term advantage for themselves. Terrorism inflicts immediate damage in destroying lives and material, but terrorists hope that the long-term costs will be much greater. They want to create fear and uncertainty far beyond the victims and those close to them. They want the enemy to spend time and money on security.
