Understanding Suicidal Terror Through Humanistic and Existential Psychology (IN: The Psychology of Terrorism: a Public Understanding, vol.1, ed. by C E Stout)

This chapter discusses 1 psychological outlook on Islamic suicidal terror, with 3 basic assumptions: 1) suicidal terrorism is seen as heroism that mega-overcompensates for inferiority & as a search for fulfilling peak experiences (psychopathology is dismissed as a possible explanation for the behavior); 2) this heroism & sacrifice are aimed at a domestic audience – groups in the terrorist’s homeland who share the views of their targets; 3) the present wave of terror & destruction threatens to create chaos everywhere. (14 refs)