Environment-only theories overpredict who becomes a terrorist

Evidence

According to this view, people are driven to violence by aversive life conditions characterized by poverty, social inequities, humiliation, and oppression. Theories that try to predict terrorism from the environment alone tend to overpredict terrorist proclivity because, except for a small number, people living under conditions of unrelenting misery do not resort to terroristic violence. It is not that personal and environmental factors do not contribute to the adoption of violent means. They do. But they operate through an intricate mix of determinants. As we noted in chapter 1, human behavior is a product of the complex interplay of personal attributes, behavioral proclivities, and environmental influences. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2123 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Terrorism emerges from the intersection of disposition and environment, not single personality types — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 4086; Oedipal generational-conflict theory fails to explain terrorism’s selective recruitment; Rare-event terrorism makes category-based prediction produce mass false positives (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Aversive conditions alone cannot predict who becomes a terrorist #corroborates (0.95) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2123
• Given the right circumstances, almost anyone can become a terrorist #complicates (0.75)