Psychology Of A Suicide Bomber

Headlines read daily of slaughtered and wounded masses killed by suicide bombers in the Middle East. What drives these and other self-sacrificing terrorists to kill not only others but themselves in the name of a cause?

According to a new report, poverty and a lack of education are rarely factors. Neither is madness. And while religious beliefs are at the core of a suicide bomber's act of self-destruction, they are not the only motivation according to Dr. David Stevens, lecturer in Law and Social Sciences at Nottingham University in England.

Rather, Stephens puts things into economic terms, stating that suicide bombers are motivated by "a simple cost-benefit analysis." Attached to large organizations built upon strictness, devotion and solidarity, a member may consider benefits including heavenly rewards and achieving the group's objectives--and decide they outweigh the cost of self-sacrifice

Stephens also argues against the common misconception that suicide bombers are mentally ill or irrational, stating it would make them a liability to terrorist organizations, which place a high value on secrecy. He states, "Under such circumstances, who would want to work with someone completely unpredictable--a maverick, a loose cannon--someone likely to give the game away at any stage through an act of sheer madness? Even terrorists don't want to work with those with a death-wish--you achieve very little that way."

Read more: Inside the mind of a suicide bomber