Terrorism requires reflective violence and delayed gratification, unlike impulsive aggression

Evidence

One facet of personality or one predisposition to which analysts have been drawn is the individual’s attitudes toward and feelings about violence and aggression. The question is complex, since for most of its adherents terrorism does not necessarily involve direct participation in violent activities. An attraction to violence does not appear to be the dominant aspect of their personalities—unlike, for example, the most violent of the Nazi stormtroopers studied by Merkl (1980), who notes that these individuals showed an early, singleminded, and “awesome bent for violence” (p. 235). Terrorism involves reflective, not impulsive, violence and requires the ability to delay gratification through long and tedious planning stages. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4091

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with sources on impulsive violence — complements the diamant trade material on rational, restrained strategic action.