Reviewing the links between violent extremism and personality, personality disorders, and psychopathy.

Introduction

• 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.

Historical Context

• 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.

Influential Studies

• 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).

Aim and Methodology of Review

• 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.

Findings

• 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.

Personality Profiles

• 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.

Contributions of Different Traits

• 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.

Discussion and Conclusions

• 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.