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The violent true believer as a "lone wolf" - psychoanalytic perspectives on terrorism.
Behav Sci Law. 2014 May-Jun; 32(3):347-65.BS

Abstract

The existing research on lone wolf terrorists and case experience are reviewed and interpreted through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. A number of characteristics of the lone wolf are enumerated: a personal grievance and moral outrage; the framing of an ideology; failure to affiliate with an extremist group; dependence on a virtual community found on the Internet; the thwarting of occupational goals; radicalization fueled by changes in thinking and emotion - including cognitive rigidity, clandestine excitement, contempt, and disgust - regardless of the particular ideology; the failure of sexual pair bonding and the sexualization of violence; the nexus of psychopathology and ideology; greater creativity and innovation than terrorist groups; and predatory violence sanctioned by moral (superego) authority. A concluding psychoanalytic formulation is offered.

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Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Reid Meloy J
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine; Faculty, San Diego Psychoanalytic Institute; Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
Yakeley J
No affiliation info available

MeSH

EmotionsEmpirical ResearchEmploymentHumansInternetPsychoanalysisSexual BehaviorTerrorismThinkingViolence

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Review

Language

eng

PubMed ID

24700336

Citation

Reid Meloy, J, and Jessica Yakeley. "The Violent True Believer as a "lone Wolf" - Psychoanalytic Perspectives On Terrorism." Behavioral Sciences & the Law, vol. 32, no. 3, 2014, pp. 347-65.
Reid Meloy J, Yakeley J. The violent true believer as a "lone wolf" - psychoanalytic perspectives on terrorism. Behav Sci Law. 2014;32(3):347-65.
Reid Meloy, J., & Yakeley, J. (2014). The violent true believer as a "lone wolf" - psychoanalytic perspectives on terrorism. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 32(3), 347-65. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2109
Reid Meloy J, Yakeley J. The Violent True Believer as a "lone Wolf" - Psychoanalytic Perspectives On Terrorism. Behav Sci Law. 2014 May-Jun;32(3):347-65. PubMed PMID: 24700336.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - The violent true believer as a "lone wolf" - psychoanalytic perspectives on terrorism. AU - Reid Meloy,J, AU - Yakeley,Jessica, Y1 - 2014/04/02/ PY - 2013/10/13/received PY - 2014/01/03/revised PY - 2014/01/06/accepted PY - 2014/4/5/entrez PY - 2014/4/5/pubmed PY - 2015/1/22/medline SP - 347 EP - 65 JF - Behavioral sciences & the law JO - Behav Sci Law VL - 32 IS - 3 N2 - The existing research on lone wolf terrorists and case experience are reviewed and interpreted through the lens of psychoanalytic theory. A number of characteristics of the lone wolf are enumerated: a personal grievance and moral outrage; the framing of an ideology; failure to affiliate with an extremist group; dependence on a virtual community found on the Internet; the thwarting of occupational goals; radicalization fueled by changes in thinking and emotion - including cognitive rigidity, clandestine excitement, contempt, and disgust - regardless of the particular ideology; the failure of sexual pair bonding and the sexualization of violence; the nexus of psychopathology and ideology; greater creativity and innovation than terrorist groups; and predatory violence sanctioned by moral (superego) authority. A concluding psychoanalytic formulation is offered. SN - 1099-0798 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/24700336/The_violent_true_believer_as_a_"lone_wolf"___psychoanalytic_perspectives_on_terrorism_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -