ABSTRACT
The ways people use words can reveal a great deal about their personalities, intentions, and social relationships. Rather than focusing on the content of speech, the current approach examines the style of language use through people's use of function words (e.g., pronouns, prepositions, articles). By calculating the degree to which individuals and groups use function words across a wide variety of texts, it is possible to determine when groups are most prone to engage in violence. The current project analyzed 296 speeches, interviews, and articles from members of four extremist Arabic-speaking groups, two of which have a history of violent attacks, using a computerized text analysis program that calculated the percentage of total words that reflected different function word categories. Overall, each group had its own distinctive language style that reflected, in essence, its own personality. In the month preceding and following violent acts, both terrorist groups changed in their language use in ways that suggested less divergent thinking and cognitive complexity. In the 2-6 months prior to the attacks, the two violent groups evidenced different language patterns that were predictive of later attacks.
