A behavioral interaction model: Toward a social‐psychological framework for studying terrorism

Abstract

The Behavioral Interaction Model offered provides a social‐psychological framework for examining the intra‐ and intergroup dynamics of terrorist behavior over time. These dynamics should be studied at different levels of analysis: at the levels of the individual terrorist, the group to which he or she belongs, the organization in which these groups are often embedded, the society they live in and the associations they may have with national governments. At this preliminary stage of its development, the model has mainly a descriptive, mapping function. It tries to identify the various cognitive, emotional, motivational and normative orientations of the individual, group or any other relevant social system which interacts with the different components of the environment. The model may increase understanding of terrorist behavior.