Терроризм как социально-психологическое явление. Практикум на английском языке

troops in normalizing the situation. To carry out special propaganda with the use of sound equipment for illegal formations to reduce their combat (criminal) activity and moral potential, and loss of confidence of local population in their leadership. To mislead the illegal formations regarding the forces, means and nature of the upcoming operations of the troops. It is known from history that the NKVD military units, when carrying out tasks on the territory of Chechnya, were forbidden by the instruction to build personnel in full force. That during the performance of combat missions in the North Caucasus region, especially in the first Chechen company, almost not taken into account.

Thus, in the process of information-psychological confrontation, a two-pronged problem is being solved. First, moral and psychological training of servicemen for combat operations is carried out, taking into account the moral and psychological impact of the enemy on personnel, as well as neutralizing the consequences of this impact; secondly, the demoralization, suppression and psyche of the enemy’s troops, depriving him of his will and ability to conduct an armed struggle.

Issues for discussion

1.Organization of the activities of practical psychologists in the ATS.

2.Psychological preparation for action in an environment of high

risk.

3.Psychologist in the zone of military operations.

4.Use of the cabinet of psychological regulation in the practical activities of ATS psychologists.

5.Psychological characteristics of the individual and the staff of the special task force.

6.Formation of psychological stability in the riot police.

7.Organization of psychological rehabilitation of ATS officers.

8.Psychological condition of the OMON fighters after their return from a business trip from the “emergency situations” zone.

9.Psychological diagnosis of post-stress conditions.

Methodological recommendations

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

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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.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.

4.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.

The scheme of a typical situation of a terrorist attack commission and the conduct of an anti-terrorist operation is shown in Fig. 2.

Like any socio-psychological phenomenon, terrorism can be viewed from personal and situational variables, in terms of its psychological consequences for man and society. Psychological consequences are the most effective tool by which terrorists manage to draw the public’s attention to themselves and their activities as much as possible. Another side of the psychological consequences is that they are the basis for forming in society a certain attitude towards terrorists, including positive ones. It can also be manifested in the individual’s conscious desire, the group to join an already existing terrorist organization or to adopt its experience to achieve its own goals, including illegal and antisocial. In addition, the psychological consequences are the information base for people who have a disposition for the commission of violent acts, including terrorist acts, but who have not been active because of the complete absence or lack of information about themselves.

The psychological consequences of terrorism as isolated phenomena are not equivalent. Some of them are deferred, others appear immediately after the terrorist attack or in the near future. By the nature of their orientation, they can be divided into consequences, which will result in changes in the person’s emotional, emotional and moral spheres, and the consequences of a social nature leading to a change in society as a whole. Despite such unequal treatment, all kinds of consequences are interconnected and can be in a causal relationship.

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Fig. 2. Scheme of terrorist act and counter-terrorist operation

The delayed psychological consequences of terrorism include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It occurs after a certain period of time and lasts an average of about six months. People suffering from PTSD can experience a constant sense of fear, horror and helplessness. They have insomnia or nightmares, in which they return to the psy- cho-traumatic situation and experience it again and again. People with PTSD begin to neglect their health. Constant tension leads to various physical disorders, headaches, hypertension, ulcers. Problems begin not

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only with health, but also with family, with work. In a similar state, suicide attempts are also noted.

Psychologists identify certain determinants, emergency conditions that contribute to the development of PTSD and anxiety disorders: the nature, nature of the terrorist act; proximity to its epicenter; experience of such events; social environment and the degree of proximity between victims. In this regard, the choice of terrorists for carrying out terrorist attacks on subway cars, stations or supermarkets is explained not only by the presence there of a large crowd of people, but also because these people are absolutely unfamiliar with each other. It should be noted that PTSD occurs not only among immediate participants of psycho-traumat- ic events, but also from outside observers who, with the help of the media, become indirect participants in the event. As the media realistically reflect the events, people are forced to immerse in them, which can lead to undesirable consequences, in particular – to PTSD. A group of domestic psychologists, led by S.N. Enikolopov conducted a study aimed at studying PTSD on the model of the reflected media of a stressful event – television broadcasts from the place of hostage taking in the theater center on Dubrovka. As a result, it was revealed that more than 20 % of respondents who watched every day broadcasts from the scene were exposed to PTSD. The result of PTSD can be depression, alcoholism, irritability, increased aggressiveness, alienation. As an example, let us cite the results of a psychological survey conducted by a group of psychologists headed by R. Panga, a month after the terrorist attack in the Tokyo Metro, in a hospital where 641 people were injured in a terrorist act. As a result of the survey of these people, the following data were obtained: 32 % experienced fear of the metro, 29 % – suffered from insomnia, 16 % – accidentally lost many times in memory of what happened to them, 16 % – suffered from depression, 11 % – became easily excitable and aggressive, 10 % – suffered from nightmares and another 10 % – became irritable.

To deferred reactions, the consequences of a terrorist act include fear. With regard to terrorism, we are talking about a very specific fear – the fear of death. The fear of death is natural, it is present in every person. People deny it, but only so long as they do not face death. It is not necessary for this to become an immediate victim of a terrorist act. The primary and most profound causes that cause fear are the fear of personal physical damage and the fear of one’s own death. In this case, it is already

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not just about fear, but about mass fear. Hitherto, deep-seated fears for their lives have awakened every person, a chain reaction that engenders mass fears begins. Such a massive fear does not just blind the society and makes it vulnerable. He is the cause of strife. The fear associated with the terrorist attacks has a deferred character. Fear as a result of the terrorist act causes in man almost one desire – to escape as far as possible from the source of fear. The experience of fear comes later, often when the person is already safe and only at this moment begins to realize all that has happened. Fear of death as a result of the terrorist act is situational and has temporary boundaries. 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. It is precisely these mechanisms that lead to the fact that the number of psychological victims of a terrorist act is always many times greater than the number of physical victims. In the society, a chain reaction is activated in the form of panic. Due to the presence of the media, this reaction does not encounter any geographical or physical barriers to its spread.

The psychological consequences that arise immediately after the terrorist act include shock, denial, guilt and horror. Horror is an extreme degree of fear. Unlike just fear, signaling a possible threat, horror states the inevitability of a disaster. Horror can be the result of a repetition of frightening events, and the time period between two frightening events can be very different. The horror of accidental witnesses of a terrorist act who have seen the consequences or learned about it in the media can far exceed the horror of those who were its immediate victims. The direct victims of horror all the time associated with repeated experiences of how they break away from the menacing situation. Those who have witnessed do not have such concrete experiences. The state of horror in them appears, as a rule, due to the lack of information and the inability to respond adequately to the situation.

It may seem that the first, most likely and massive consequence of the terrorist attack will be panic. However, some studies show that such a reaction may not appear immediately after the terrorist act. This is due to the fact that panic is stopped by negation. On the one hand, this has a positive effect on the effectiveness of eliminating the consequences of a terrorist act, and on the other hand, the danger of such a reaction is that due to the denial of the crime itself, a person by inertia begins to deny and

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ignore all councils and activities aimed at protecting citizens. Also, the degree of precaution is reduced to zero. Often a behavioral act as a result of such a reaction is a rash and unjustified heroism, a risk.

Another serious and socially dangerous psychological consequence of the terrorist act is the process of legitimization of violence among the population. Observation of scenes of violence, including terrorist acts, can lead to a change in the attitudes of the man in the street towards aggression and violence in real life. Frequent demonstration of scenes of violence leads to a decrease in sensitivity to it: the layman gets used to violence, perceives it calmly, without condemnation and, most dangerous, allows the use of violence to achieve his own goals. The television show of violence, and especially its effectiveness, leads to the fact that it starts to be perceived as a justified, fair and useful tool. Man begins to imitate that model of behavior, which has for him more valuable qualities and acceptable ways of functioning.

Minimization and (or) elimination of the consequences of manifestations of terrorism is a complex of organizational, technical, socio-psy- chological and medical measures aimed at:

a)prevention of threats to the public;

b)rendering medical assistance to the victims;

c)social rehabilitation of persons affected by the terrorist act;

d)the implementation of compensation payments to individuals and legal entities that suffered damage as a result of such a share;

e)protection of the natural environment;

g)preservation of objects of life, property;

h)restoration of the normal mode of operation (operation) of all persons and enterprises after forced temporary restrictions and prohibitions on the exercise of their rights as a result of the introduction of the legal regime of the counter-terrorist operation.

The consequences of terrorism as any traumatic stress differ in that it can take several years before the victim realizes the presence of a mental trauma as the consequences of the terrorist attack and will seek help. When analyzing the impact factors of terrorist acts, it is important to determine the degree of impact associated with the proximity of the individual to the place of danger. The more direct the action, the more likely the development of clinical symptoms. It is equally important in the organization of psychological care to take into account the significance

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for a person of the loss and its consequences. Loss can be understood in different ways. It is usually believed that these are people who lost the most expensive, and whose grief, obviously, are those who lost family members, close friends, etc. In addition, there are also types of losses such as reduced physical performance due to injury, loss of economic and social position. It is established that 40% of victims of terrorists deteriorate mental health. Psychological assistance is required by 20% of rescuers.

When psychological intervention (crisis intervention), it is necessary to pay attention to the following circumstances:

1)the existing social environment, which is the basis of the life of the individual (work, family, friends);

2)the ability of the individual to analyze the event, to realize and comprehend the losses;

3)the specifics, uniqueness of the experience of victims of terrorism:

– there are few situations in life in which a person will survive the

same;

–man does not abandon the terrible thought that he plays a role in a game that is beyond control, beyond understanding;

–the victim feels humiliated and has no value.

Because of complete confusion from the politics of rhetoric and exorbitant demands of terrorists for whom the victim has no value, except that it is the key to achieving their goal, there is a double trauma. The victim feels his needlessness, both to the terrorists, and to the authorities. The likelihood that the authorities will end the negotiations and move to armed violent intervention creates a feeling of double trauma from the danger coming from terrorists and from the authorities. At the same time, the life of the victim at the moment depends on the terrorists, and the final salvation from the authorities. The situation of double dependence of victims is often the rare pathological factor that is at the heart of the further treatment.

It is possible to single out common features characteristic of all released hostages. The psychological reaction to trauma involves three relatively independent phases.

The first – the “phase of psychological shock” – contains two main components: oppression of activity, disruption of orientation in the environment, disorganization of activities; negation of what happened. Usually this phase is short-lived.

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The second – “impact” – emotional reaction to the event and its consequences. It can be anxiety, fear, horror, anger, i.e. emotions, characterized by extreme intensity. Gradually, these emotions are replaced by a reaction of self-criticism or self-doubt. It proceeds according to the type: “what would happen if ...” and is accompanied by a painful consciousness of the inevitability of the event, the recognition of its own impotence and often self-flagellation. A typical example is the sense of guilt for survival, which often reaches a deep depression. This phase is critical.

After it comes the third phase – either the process of recovery in the form of adequate adaptation to newly emerged circumstances – the phase of “normal response”, or fixation on trauma with the subsequent development of post-stress disorder. In the latter case, mental changes in personality can be represented in the following sequence:

•Traumatic stress (during a critical incident and immediately after it – up to two days);

•acutestressdisorder(within1monthafteracriticalincident–from two days to four weeks);

•Post-traumatic stress disorder (more than 1 month after the critical incident – more than four weeks);

•Post-traumatic personality disorder (during the subsequent life of a person who has experienced trauma).

Capture as a hostage is a strong mental shock for a person. Therefore, after liberation, it is necessary to take measures to quickly calm down and forget about what happened. This determines the objective need to provide psychological protection and support for hostages, as well as participants in special operations for their release. Psychological protection and support, in accordance with the laws of the development of such situations, the specific nature of extreme factors and features of operational actions by law enforcement agencies, involves a wide range of activities carried out in close interaction by various specialists, units and services. The purpose of these events is to prevent or mitigate the impact of mental stress on the morale of the hostages and participants in a special operation, maintain a high level of combat readiness and professional performance of personnel, psychological neutralization of terrorists, and provide urgent psychological assistance to those in need.

Proper implementation of psychological protection and support measures should also contribute to the success of the special operation as

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a whole – the complete release of hostages, the preservation of their lives and health, the detention or liquidation of terrorists with minimal costs to the security services.

Thus, in a broad sense, psychological protection and support should be viewed as a process of comprehensive psychological support for special operations connected with the release of hostages, deployed in time. After the termination of the operation, the severity of the medical and psychological state of the hostages will depend on the degree of the successful outcome of the operation – the more human losses on all sides, the higher the psychotrauma of the situation. Depending on this, there may be immediate psychosomatic reactions from the hostages during the operation and individual, most severe consequences.

After a long psychotraumatic effect, the hostages need qualification psychological and medical assistance. Therefore, as the hostages are released, experts organize their medical and psychological control. The use of a hostage as a witness and for other criminal procedural actions without conducting emergency rehabilitation and recovery measures is not justified. If it is necessary to obtain relevant information promptly, it is advisable to implement this task through a psychologist assisting the hostage.

The main burden of solving the problems of minimizing (eliminating) the consequences of terrorist activities lies with the federal executive bodies. This activity is an indispensable element of protecting the individual, society and the state from terrorism.

Reports themes

1.Organization of psychological rehabilitation of ATS officers.

2.The psychological condition of the special police squad fighters after their return from a business trip from the “emergency situations” zone.

3.Psychological diagnosis of post-stress conditions.

4.Negative mental states in the activity of employees of special rapid reaction units and ways to overcome their consequences.

5.Psychological adaptation of ATS officers combatants.

List of references on the p. 90.

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LIST OF REFERENCES

Basic

1.Iljin E. P. Psychology of aggressive behavior. SPb.: Piter, 2014. 368 p. [electronic source]. URL: http://klex.ru/h2n (reference date: 20.09.2017).

2.Sosnin V. A. Modern terrorism psychology: workbook / V. A. Sosnin. M.: Forum, 2012. 160 p. [electronic source]. URL: http://mypdfbook. ru/374554/psihologiya-sovremennogo-terrorizma.pdf (reference date: 31.09.2017).

3.Gorbunov K. G. Terrorism: history and modernity: socio-psycho- logical research. M.: Forum, 2012. 398 p.

Supplementary books

1.Artamonov I. I. Terrorism: prevention methods, methods of investigation: monograph. 2nd revised and enlarged edition M.:. Shumilova I. I., 2002. 331 p. (field officer’s library (open fund)). [electronic source].

2.Mochaddam F. M. Terrorism from the terrorists’ points of view: what do they feel and think and why do they do violence / F. M. Mochaddam; пер. В. А. Соснина. M: Forum, 2011. 286 p.

3.Olshanskiy D. V. Psychology of terrorism. SPb.: Piter, 2002. 288 p. Bibliogr.: с. 281-286. [electronic source].

Internet resources

1.http: //xn--h1ajgms.xn--p1ai/articles/ – National Center for Information Counteraction to Terrorism and Extremism in the Educational Environment and the Internet

2.http: //www.sibsiu.ru/antiterror/?P = 111-“Antiterror”/ – the Internet resource of the antiterrorist orientation

3.http://antiterrortoday.com/ru/terrorizm/terrorizm-v-informat- sionnom-prostranstve/ – Terrorism in the Information Space A Comprehensive Vision of the Problems of Terrorism and Extremism

4.http://www.un.org/en/documents/decl_conv/conv_terrorism. shtml/ – Conventions and agreements on counteracting terrorism

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