Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self Sacrifice
'What motivates suicide attackers remains an open question. From an evolutionary perspective, commitment to suicide missions is puzzling since such behavior is fitness reducing. We model suicide terrorism by drawing on two fundamental human motivations: altruism and selfishness. Martyrdom can b...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of St Andrews
2015-09-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Terrorism Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://jtr.st-andrews.ac.uk/articles/1004 |
| _version_ | 1819212947892731904 |
|---|---|
| author | Giti Zahedzadeh |
| author_facet | Giti Zahedzadeh |
| author_sort | Giti Zahedzadeh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 'What motivates suicide attackers remains an open question. From an evolutionary perspective, commitment to suicide missions is puzzling since such behavior is fitness reducing. We model suicide terrorism by drawing on two fundamental human motivations: altruism and selfishness. Martyrdom can be viewed as altruistic<strong>- </strong>benefiting group members at a cost to oneself<strong>, </strong>as well as<strong> </strong>selfish- ideological<strong> </strong>belief in a profitable afterlife. Our simulations identify that some degree of both behaviors are essential in order to facilitate a commitment to sacrifice. Thus, manipulations of ideology and altruism can tip the threshold and set the agents on the path of martyrdom. ' |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T06:51:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1858b8dc81ba4a00a112128dae92e4b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2049-7040 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T06:51:04Z |
| publishDate | 2015-09-01 |
| publisher | University of St Andrews |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Terrorism Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-1858b8dc81ba4a00a112128dae92e4b22022-12-21T17:56:26ZengUniversity of St AndrewsJournal of Terrorism Research2049-70402015-09-016311410.15664/jtr.1004902Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self SacrificeGiti Zahedzadeh0Claremont Graduate University'What motivates suicide attackers remains an open question. From an evolutionary perspective, commitment to suicide missions is puzzling since such behavior is fitness reducing. We model suicide terrorism by drawing on two fundamental human motivations: altruism and selfishness. Martyrdom can be viewed as altruistic<strong>- </strong>benefiting group members at a cost to oneself<strong>, </strong>as well as<strong> </strong>selfish- ideological<strong> </strong>belief in a profitable afterlife. Our simulations identify that some degree of both behaviors are essential in order to facilitate a commitment to sacrifice. Thus, manipulations of ideology and altruism can tip the threshold and set the agents on the path of martyrdom. 'http://jtr.st-andrews.ac.uk/articles/1004TerrorismAltruismIdeologyAgent-based ModelingParochialismMartyrdom |
| spellingShingle | Giti Zahedzadeh Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self Sacrifice Journal of Terrorism Research Terrorism Altruism Ideology Agent-based Modeling Parochialism Martyrdom |
| title | Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self Sacrifice |
| title_full | Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self Sacrifice |
| title_fullStr | Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self Sacrifice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self Sacrifice |
| title_short | Parochial Altruists or Ideologues? An Agent Based Model of Commitment to Self Sacrifice |
| title_sort | parochial altruists or ideologues an agent based model of commitment to self sacrifice |
| topic | Terrorism Altruism Ideology Agent-based Modeling Parochialism Martyrdom |
| url | http://jtr.st-andrews.ac.uk/articles/1004 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gitizahedzadeh parochialaltruistsorideologuesanagentbasedmodelofcommitmenttoselfsacrifice |