Psychology of Terrorism MidTerm
Answer each question in a minimum 300 words, completely and fully for full credit. Source credits and the required Reference list attached at the end of each answer do no count toward its word length.
Answers are to be based on the course textbook and outside academic sources (excluding other course textbooks, encyclopedias such as Encarte and Wikipedia, About.com and Ask.com type websites that synthesize source information for users, magazines, news websites, blogs, etc.).
Essay answers must be more than 3 or 4 brief sentences, but kept within the bounds of a short-answer essay exam (i.e., 2-3 paragraphs). All your writing must be in your own words. Paraphrase (restate what you read) rather than copying material from the course textbook or the Internet.
No copying is permitted in this course and doing so will result in zero points on the exam. Answers must be written in narrative, paragraph form. Lists and/or sentence fragments also will not receive points.
1.Discuss terrorism in terms of the new and old terrorism examined in the course materials. Provide an analysis of the approaches to terrorist behavior and how each poses a threat to society. Include a selection of the approach that is most lethal, noting your rationale for the selection.
2. Explain the concept and misconceptions of the act of jihad. Discuss the ways in which this has been understood and displayed by those engaging in radical Islamism. Share the ways in which these interpretations conflict with what is shared and understood by non-extremists followers of Islam.
3. Select and discuss, with detail, either a radical political ideology or radical religious ideology well known for inspiring terrorist behavior. Discuss the details of this ideological effort, its roots, significant movements, leaders, and substantial effects gained as a result of the ideology, historically.
4.Examine the psychological composition of a suicide bomber. Discuss the role of religious meaning and sacrificing of the self in understanding the psychology of a suicide bomber. Explore whether these factors complicate the development of a psychological profile and if the argument for the mental health model applied in the case of terrorist behavior is further supported by such cases.