The Psychology of the Terrorist: An Interview with Jerrold M. Post

Author(s)

Jerrold M. Post, George Washington University
Steven N. Gold, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Trauma Practice

ISSN

1536-2922

Publication Date

2002

Abstract

The psychological factors that motivate terrorist acts-par-ticularly ones such as the suicide bombings that characterized the September 11th attacks-can be especially difficult to fathom. Understanding the psychology of terrorism, however, can be invaluable in helping victims of terrorism work toward making sense of what they have been subjected to and why. Dr. Jerrold Post, a psychiatrist who specializes in political psychology and who has considerable experience in the study and profiling of terrorists, is interviewed. He explains what constitutes terrorism, its purpose, how profiling “at-a-distance” is conducted, the various categories in a typology of terrorism, and the psychological and socio-political forces that support terrorism in general and suicide bombings in particular.

DOI

10.1300/J189v01n03_05

Volume

1

Issue

3/4

First Page

83

Last Page

100

Comments

Journal currently known as Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma (1900 - current), ISSN: 1092-6771 (Print)

NSUWorks Citation

Post, J. M., Gold, S. N. (2002). The Psychology of the Terrorist: An Interview with Jerrold M. Post. Journal of Trauma Practice, 1(3/4), 83-100.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facarticles/490