Терроризм как социально-психологическое явление. Практикум на английском языке

society and makes it vulnerable. It is the cause of discord, including on religious and national grounds. People are frightened not so much by the very possibility of a terrorist act, as by the unpredictability and uncertainty of the place and time of its commission, the anonymity of criminals.

If the process of depersonalization is ineffective, then the victim begins to attribute various low-lying, negative qualities and focus only on them, completely ignoring the positive qualities and characteristics.

As attribution of guilt can be a far-fetched interpretation of the behavior of the victim as aggressive, attacking, provoking, etc. Any behavior, its external signs begin to be interpreted by the aggressor as the reason for which he attacked defensively. Thus, all responsibility for the act is transferred to the victim.

7. The euphemistic style of narration.

Often, a perfect act is judged depending on how to present it, explain it, describe it, and determine it. The same applies to violent acts. You can, for example, talk about a crime in an indefinite form, without specifying the executors, the means of execution of the crime and the consequences. Embrace violent actions in socially acceptable forms and formulations.

The psychological consequences that arise immediately after the terrorist act include shock, panic, denial, guilt and horror. Panic is one of the most noticeable types of behavior of the crowd, the mass, and at the same time it is a special emotional state, resulting either from a lack of information about some frightening or incomprehensible situation or its excessive excess and manifested in spontaneous impulsive actions. In the conventional sense, panic is understood as mass panic behavior caused by horror.

A frequent cause for panic is frightening rumors, spread, among other things, by media workers in an effort to broadcast the story of an emergency as quickly as possible. Naturally, such speed has a negative impact on society. Panic moods in the masses are amplified and fixed after the stimulus that led to panic is repeated or becomes more intense.

It is obvious that modern terrorism has a clear focus on the media. Their final goal is not to consider the maximum possible number of physical victims and destruction, but the impact on the vast audience of TV viewers and Internet users. There are several reasons for this. First, coverage of a terrorist act in the media automatically makes it well-known and, as a consequence, more visible and meaningful. Secondly, if we consider

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the psychological and social consequences as a priority objective of terrorists, then this goal is achieved through the broadcast of a terrorist act in the media, in particular, on television.

Thus, the consequences of the terrorist act extend to a huge audience of viewers, bypassing geographical and temporal barriers, thereby increasing the number of victims many times over. G. McCormick in his work “The Terrorist Decision Making” mentions the words of the French anarchist Leon Lehotier, who said that dynamite helps fighters for freedom to carry out more large-scale actions, and the press to make them louder.

Modern terrorism has a clear focus on the media. Their final goal is not to consider the maximum possible number of physical victims and destruction, but the impact on the vast audience of TV viewers and Internet users.

G. McCormick as one of the main stages of planning a terrorist act highlights the active participation of the media in coverage of the action, the requirement of the presence of media representatives, for example, when capturing hostages. Repeated and detailed coverage of the terrorist act is the key to increasing the number of victims at times. The result is an escalation of fear and feelings of insecurity, national and religious intolerance, outbursts of aggressive behavior among the population. And also - the popularization of terrorists and their methods.

The influence of the media on the psychological consequences of terrorism is extremely great because of the powerful potential for influencing the masses. Naturally, it can be either positive or negative. Unprofessional coverage of events contributes to the distortion of information that enhances the negative emotional state of people, increases the degree of fear and panic, contributes to the legitimization of violence. Of course, we are not talking about banning the transmission of violence, in particular – of terrorist acts, on TV. The problem is finding the optimal form of such a broadcast, which will help minimize the negative consequences, rather than their development in society. The exchange of information between government structures and the population (before the terrorist act, during and after it) is extremely important. An important function of the media is to prevent the emergence of idealized ideas about terrorists in society, the elimination of rumors and myths of different kinds.

Thus, issues related to the coverage of terrorist acts in the media are not idle, but practically meaningful and relevant. And for this it is nec-

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essary to have an idea of the characteristics and factors that affect the effectiveness of the tasks assigned to the media.

Issues for discussion

1.Information tools and ways to influence the human psyche.

2.Methods of manipulating the human mind:

3.1.Disinformation as a method of manipulating the human mind.

3.2.Inspiration as a way of manipulating a person’s consciousness.

3.3.Hypnosis as a form of suggestion.

4. Danger of the media:

4.1. The influence of the media on the mind of a person. 4.2. Advertising and its manipulation capabilities.

5. Neuro-linguistic programming.

1.Form a group of participants, trying to ensure the heterogeneity of its composition.

2.Think about all aspects of the problem, avoiding template, typical solutions. Try to use not only critical thinking, but also imagination, not hesitating to express even “absurd” ideas.

3.During the “brainstorming session”, students are asked to answer the following questions: What tasks in the context of countering terrorism should the media decide? How can the media form a negative attitude toward terrorist activities? Propose a scheme of interaction: the media – law enforcement agencies – the society on the prevention of terrorist acts. How to resist the spread of the ideology of terrorism on the Internet? Suggest the concept of a new Internet portal on the problem of terrorism. Describe its structure, tasks, opportunities.

4.All participants should be provided with an equal opportunity to express their ideas; relations between them should be based on the principles of tolerance and mutual respect. The teacher, as necessary, should ask leading questions that will allow to give a new direction to the participants’ thoughts and prevent the repetition of similar ideas.

5.The procedure of brainstorming is not considered effective without subsequent examination of ideas. Experts group similar ideas and formulate the general principles that underlie each group. Discuss the problem, defending or refuting the suggested points of view.

Terrorist acts are perceived by people as unexpected events of a frightening and traumatic nature. Experts identify the following factors

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that affect the level of “traumatized” people with a terrorist act: the unexpectedness of the event; number of victims; the degree of cruelty of the behavior of terrorists “before”, “during” and “after the terrorist act”; degree of social and physical vulnerability of victims; surprise in the choice of victims and objects; giving information about the event, nature and consequences: a measure of identifying oneself (their loved ones) with the victims; compliance with the demands of terrorists and the motives of their behavior to the social norms of a person who perceives information about the terrorist act.

Typical for people is the “standard” response to a terrorist act and a terrorist threat, shown in Fig. 1.

The consistent reactions of people to the attack can be divided into three stages: reflex, psychological and social. At the initial, reflex stage, the first, normal reaction is an instant fright, immediately turning into a willingness to escape or to a real flight. After a few moments a person “catches up” with a sense of fear, there comes a more conscious and conceptual reaction: the individual is already able to assess the reality of the threat and is trying to do it. As a result of the reaction, the flight continues, or relief from the overtaken threat is experienced.

Then begins a non-reflex, and already a psychological reaction to the attack. Depending on the type of person, a person feels a feeling of helplessness and despair and / or a sense of reciprocal aggression towards terrorists – hatred, the desire for their death, etc. People who are less resistant psychologically experience feelings of depression and apathy. The next stage of reaction to the attack can be defined as social. People psychologically resistant there is a reaction of critical attitude to the authorities in connection with their inability to prevent the act of terrorism. Psychologically weaker people fall into the “apathetic-anxious pendulum” – periodically pass from apathy to anxiety and back again.

The state of constant anxiety finds three behavioral outcomes. Psychologically more stable people mobilize and find the strength to resist terrorism. Psychologically weak, but more stable, find protection in fencing off information about the terrorist threat, terrorist attacks and their consequences. Psychologically weak and unstable individuals are willing to yield to the demands of terrorists.

And here the most remarkable thing happens, from the point of view of the goals of terrorists: a psychological mechanism that can be called

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a “loop of fear” is included. The concession to terrorists reinforces the fright response from the terrorist act, and the individual again emotionally experiences all stages of reaction to the terrorist act. After that, his desire to yield to the demands of terrorists is further strengthened, which, in turn, intensifies the fright reaction. A person falls into the “loop of fear”, all more demoralized and “surrendering to terrorists”. If the number of “demoralized” reaches critical mass, the community subjected to terrorist attacks will succumb to the demands of terrorists. All structures of this community will be destroyed, and the community as such will be destroyed (modified).

Fig. 1. Scheme of a typical response to a terrorist attack

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So, terrorism has a very complex structure. Terrorist activity is a planned, organized activity of individuals or groups whose purpose is to force the state, society or individuals to fulfill certain requirements. Such activities are realized in acts of terrorism designed to produce as strong and threatening impression as possible. This applies violence, often associated with rigidity, which violates life, health, destroys the property of people who are not involved in relations related to terrorism. The life of a terrorist organization, like that of every terrorist individually, proceeds in a continuous movement: the preparation of a terrorist act is replaced by its implementation, then the search for the next terrorist act immediately begins. Without regular terrorist activities and constant reinforcement of its terrorist attacks, which carry death to people or conceal such a danger, terrorism would lose its meaning.

No one today is immune from the terrorist attack, considering the most protected people in the world (monarchs, presidents and heads of government, bank leaders, etc.). The terrorist act can be prevented only by answering four questions: when, where, how, by whom? But the terrorists have much more options than the opportunities of the special services. This is the main difficulty of antiterrorist activity in modern conditions.

Reports themes

1.Information tools and ways to influence the human psyche.

2.Methods of manipulating the human mind:

3.Disinformation as a method of manipulating the human mind.

4.Suggestion as a way of manipulating a person’s consciousness.

List of references on the p. 90.

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Unit 8. Psychological follow-up of specialists in counteraction to terrorism and liquidation of terrorist acts consequences

The aim: to study the basic approaches to the psychological training of specialists in countering terrorism and eliminating the consequences of terrorist acts.

Competence acquired by the student as a result of mastering the topic of practical training or part of them: readiness to act in non-standard situations, to have social and ethical responsibility for the decisions made (GK-2).

Timeliness of the unit: an important task for the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is the formation (upbringing) of psychological stability and the increase in the combat activity of personnel of military units and operational units, the protection of personnel from the information and psychological impact of opposing illegal units, participants in mass riots and other antisocial elements.

Theoretical part

On the basis of the order of the commander of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, on November 3, 1993, a psychological countermeasure of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia was created within the personnel agencies. This service is designed for moral and psychological support of combat operations of military units and operational units.

The main tasks of the service are:

Formation (education) of psychological stability and increasing the combat activity of the personnel of the units and military units of operational purpose.

Protection of personnel from the information and psychological impact of opposing illegal units, participants in mass riots and other antisocial elements.

Counteraction to psychological operations and propaganda efforts of illegal formations.

This structure has the following functions:

1.Collection and analysis of information on sources of negative information and psychological impact on personnel with the development of proposals to the command about measures to neutralize it.

2.Carry out measures to counteract psychological operations and propaganda efforts of opposing illegal groups.

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3.Organization of preventive measures to prevent the dissemination of rumors among the personnel, to prevent the emergence of mass psychological reactions, to study and analyze collective public opinion in military units and subunits when performing service-combat tasks.

4.Conducting negotiations with representatives of illegal formations when releasing hostages and in other cases, as well as warning offenders about the illegality of their actions and about the intention of law enforcement forces to use physical force, special means, weapons or military equipment.

5.Development and introduction in the military practice of effective methods and recommendations on the organization of psychological resistance, taking into account the performance of combat missions.

6.Moral and psychological training of the personnel of military units and operational (special) units at the points of permanent deployment and places of performance of combat missions to develop immunity to the information and psychological impact of illegal formations.

7.Preparation and implementation of psychological impact measures to reduce the moral and combat potential of illegal units using technical means and methods of special propaganda.

8.Conducting a complex of special measures for the training of personnel for the use in accordance with the established procedure of weapons, special means, physical force.

9.Participation in the preparation of conclusions and proposals from the evaluation of the socio-political situation in the area of actions of units and military units of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Commanders are obliged to create adequate conditions for the officials of the psychological counteraction service to carry out their official duties, provide literature, reference materials (including by subscription to periodicals) in accordance with the established procedure, as well as office equipment and stationery.

In order to prevent the effective psychological influence of the enemy, special attention should be paid to explaining to the servicemen the true goals, tasks, subjects, forms, methods, technical means of carrying out psychological operations. The effectiveness of the work in this direction largely depends on the skillful use of various forms and methods of influencing personnel. Let’s name the main ones.

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Social and state preparation, in which the leading role is given to methods of storytelling or lectures. The difference between the story and the lecture is that using this method the material is presented more emotionally and is intended for a less prepared audience who do not have sufficient knowledge. It is necessary to start the presentation with an eye-catching fact, and in the future to refer to known events and own experience.

Group and individual information gives us the opportunity to directly influence servicemen. It must be remembered that under any conditions of official activity the commander’s living word is the most important means of influencing servicemen.

Use of mass media (listening to radio programs, using television, newspapers, magazines), which have a powerful potential. As studies have shown, more than 80 % of servicemen consider television a priority source of information, more than 40 % of broadcasting. The seal, given its timeliness, truthfulness and objectivity, is also of great importance.

Visual agitation under certain conditions has the advantage over other forms and methods of informing. The use of posters, slogans, lightnings, newsletters has not lost its relevance.

Experience shows that a good preventive effect gives military personnel familiarization with concrete facts that testify to sophisticated methods, methods and consequences of enemy subversive actions. For example, the development of negative reactions and behavior of servicemen can be avoided by warning them in advance of the possibility of using the so-called “infected”, “radioactive” leaflets, psychotropic drugs, etc. by the enemy. The age-old folk wisdom formulated two laws of human perception of the phenomena of the surrounding world, which read: “What I do not know – that I’m afraid of” and “Warned – protected.”

On the moral and psychological state of servicemen in the performance of tasks in the North Caucasus region, the absence for a long time of a clear, convincing argument for the legitimacy of the actions of our troops in Chechnya also affected. Massive flow of information-unfriendly to the actions of the troops in the media, insufficiently convincing arguments for their presence in conflict zones, undoubtedly contributed to a decline in the general level of moral stability of servicemen. According to some researchers, during the stay of the combined group of federal troops in Chechnya, 750 servicemen deserted from its units. To achieve

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the most effective results, the deputy commander of the regiment (brigade) for work with personnel should conduct work on the organization of the following activities.

Regularly meet and communicate with the population, representatives of the local administration, law enforcement and other interacting bodies to study the socio-political and criminogenic situation in the areas where military units are deployed in the areas where combat missions are performed, and then analyze and forecast possible development.

Inform the personnel about the moral and psychological state of the opposing illegal formations, the tactics and goals of their actions, the so- cio-political orientation of their leaders and the attitude of the local population towards them.

To acquaint servicemen of all categories with methods of information and psychological influence on the personnel of participants of illegal formations. To take in places of location of military units and performance of combat missions, leaflets, newspapers and other materials with provocative content, and neutralize sources of information and psychological influence on servicemen and local population. Carry out individual work to provide psychological assistance to servicemen who are easily amenable, suggestive, with the issuance of recommendations to immediate commanders about their official use. In a timely manner, the commanders, the whole personal composition of the regiment (brigade) of the rules of accreditation, the movement of journalists and ensuring their safety, established by the state administration bodies in the areas of emergency, and the procedure for providing the service information, should be brought to the command.

To organize the preparation and publication of refutations and countermissions in the mass media about authors and illegal formations provoking tensions and negative attitude of the population towards the peacekeeping activity of troops. Organize speeches of government officials in emergency areas, heads of law enforcement agencies, representatives of internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on local radio, television, newspapers and other print media, photo and video shooting in places of performance of combat missions. To produce (including printing) and distribute leaflets, bulletins, texts of resolutions and decisions of public authorities, their appeals to the local population with anticipatory assessments of current events and the actions of the

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