title: Cognitive simplicity and self-deception are crucial in martyrdom and suicide terrorism.
abstract: Suicide attacks and terrorism are characterized by cognitive simplicity, which is related to self-deception. In justifying violence in pursuit of ideologically and/or politically driven commitment, people with high religious commitment may be particularly prone to mechanisms of self-deception. Related megalomania and glorious self-perception are typical of self-deception, and are thus crucial in the emergence and expression of (suicide) terrorism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Personality Psychology and Assessment, and Courant Research Centre Evolution of Social Behavior,University of Göttingen,Kellnerweg 6,D-37077 Göttingen,Germany. bernhard.fink@ieee.org www.evolutionary-psychology.de
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution,Rutgers University,New Brunswick,NJ 08901. trivers@rci.rutgers.edu www.roberttrivers.com
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Trivers
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*