The article reviews the relationship between violent extremism and personality, personality disorders, and psychopathy.
Psychopathy was originally considered a core explanation for terrorist behavior, influenced by popular culture and lacking empirical support.
The review aims to systematically analyze the impact of personality on attitudes, intentions, and behaviors in radicalization and terrorism.
Early studies attributed terrorism mainly to psychopathy, as seen in Pearce and Macmillan's categorization of hostage-takers (1977).
Following this, Cooper (1977, 1978) argued that psychopaths could thrive in terrorism due to their lack of moral constraints, but also noted they often display poor performance.
Gradual empirical sophistication occurred in analyses, yet psychopathy remained a focal point, with various studies linking psychopathy to terrorist behavior.
The Analysen zum Terrorismus study (Jäger et al., 1981) found diverse personality traits among terrorists, with an emphasis on narcissism, influencing later terrorism research.
Methodological issues persisted in literature reviewing personality and terrorism, leading to ambiguous findings and contrasting conclusions (Gill & Corner, 2017; Horgan, 2005).
This systematic review aims to synthesize evidence regarding the role of personality in radicalization and terrorism, focusing on study design and methodological quality.
Two research teams followed Campbell Collaboration method for systematic literature search, identifying a significant number of studies relevant to the topic.
Out of 306 reviewed studies, 118 identified personality-related variables correlating with radicalization and extremist behaviors.
No studies classified as high-quality or well-conducted meta-analyses; most were non-analytical or had significant risks to causality.
Clinical features: Only two studies met rigorous standards for clinically measuring psychopathy. Most studies highlighted antisocial traits and conducted behavioral analyses.
Personality disorders: Limited studies examined personality disorder roles in radicalization; notable findings for antisocial personality disorder correlating with extremist attitudes.
Traits examined included those from the Dark Tetrad (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism) and the Five-Factor Model.
The review indicates psychopathy may play an indirect role in terrorism, with certain traits such as sensation-seeking and impulsivity being more prominent than previously considered.
Machiavellianism and narcissistic traits are also linked to radicalization, fostering individual significance and group belonging.
Conversely, the Five-Factor model's influence remains under-explored in radicalization and terrorism literature.
The research highlights the complexity of personality's role in extremism, dismissing the notion of a single 'terrorist personality.'
The interplay between various personality traits and contextual factors underlines the challenge of accurately modeling potential radicalization pathways.
A call for future research includes employing rigorous empirical testing and replication efforts to establish causal relationships between personality and extremist behavior.