Scientists have found a way to prevent terrorist attacks
Last reviewed: 21.11.2021
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Often, to evoke emotions in people, leaders use incendiary, passionate speeches. It is these emotions, according to scientists, can predict the actions of the crowd.
The results of new studies were published in the journal Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression.
An analysis of the speeches of political and terrorist leaders, as well as ideological activists enjoying great prestige, showed that before committing acts of violence, groups of people listened to speeches of leaders filled with anger and contempt.
"When the leader's speech is full of anger, anger and negative emotions, this is a powerful tool in managing the crowd and provoking it into violent actions," says David Matsumoto, professor of psychology, director of the Laboratory of Cultural and Emotional Research at the University of California, San Francisco.
Matsumoto gave study of human relations, culture and psychology of emotions for twenty years of life, becoming a recognized authority in these areas of psychology.
In the framework of a five-year project funded by the Ministry of Defense, Matsumoto and his colleagues studied the stenograms of speeches by leaders of ideological groups over the past hundred years. The analysis included the speeches of Osama bin Laden, which led to bombings of embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The researchers analyzed the model of the emotional behavior of the leaders during the time they talked about their rivals and embraced three more moments of ardent speech by the leaders.
In speeches of leaders of aggressive groups three to six months before the act of violence was committed, expression of anger, contempt and hatred increased significantly.
In peacefully minded groups of people, anger and hatred in the matches dropped three to six times before peaceful resistance.
Matsumoto says that according to the results obtained, the emotional coloring of the leader's speech can be passed on to other people, who then motivates other people to take part in violent actions.
"For the aggressive groups that committed acts of violence, disgust, contempt and anger were a way of influencing people," says Matsumoto.
"Knowledge and understanding of the factors leading to terrorist acts and violent events can help predict and prevent them," the scientists comment. "Learning the emotions that leaders and leaders send to the alternative masses is only part of a big puzzle, but even this knowledge can be useful for predicting terrorist acts."
This study is the first of seven conceived. It is funded by the US Department of Defense under the Minerva project, which was established in 2008 to fund social research in areas of strategic importance to US national security.
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