The Psychology of a 21st Century War

Everything evolves, people, animals, and even the art of war. There was once a time when an enemy could be identified by the color of his clothing. There was once a time when men would line up, row upon row, firing across an invisible dividing line until one side retreated or the other was left with the most men standing. Now, clothing and other physical attributes are of no help in identifying an enemy and threats are no longer confined by gender or age.

At one time, war was purely physical, involving the use of bayonets, cannons, guns, and all other weaponry designed to damage the body. Increasingly, psychological tactics have become ingrained in every aspect of war and focus upon damaging or changing the mind. By its very nature, terrorism involves psychology because it relies upon the production of anxiety in those who are being terrorized. It involves the infliction of fear by not knowing when, where, or why particular people or places will be targeted.

But, terrorists are also using a new weapon in their psychological warfare arsenal, children. Children in terrorist countries are being used to perpetuate a hatred for Americans. One method being used to disseminate this message to young people is the media. An example involves the use of a mouse-like character that speaks against Israel and the United States. In 2007, child-targeted propaganda involved a sing-a-long that encouraged a young girl to follow in the footsteps of her mother, a suicide bomber who killed soldiers. We can only imagine how many other examples are out there of which we have not yet become aware.

Whether it is intentional or not, social learning theory is being used to create future generations of terrorists. Based on this theory, behavior can be influenced by the reciprocal interaction between environmental, personal, and behavioral factors. This theory states that individuals can learn through the performance of their own actions, and by witnessing the actions of others. The core concepts of this theory include observational learning, reinforcement, behavioral capability, self-efficacy, and expectations (Stone, 1998).

The use of media primarily relies upon observational learning and reinforcement. Children can identify with the cartoon-like character and the young girl in the sing-a-long. By watching the behaviors and reactions of these media images, and their family members' reaction to them, the conduct is reinforced. While dying as a result of one's actions may seem like it would not reinforce a behavior, the reaction of family and community members viewing the individual as a hero or martyr can encourage this behavior.

The influence of social learning theory is even more evident in the community of insurgents. Behavioral capability and self-efficacy are achieved by recruiting young children and adolescents and training them in terrorist techniques. Expectations are an influence over behavior when people believe that community members will view their sacrifice in a positive manner. An individual who participates in a suicide bombing is being influenced by the environment and if this behavior is viewed positively by the community, the individual is influencing the environment through reciprocal determinism.

Changes in an individual's behavior result from interaction effects between the environment and the individual. This includes how the environment affects the individual as well as how the individual affects the environment. Social circumstances also have an influence upon moral and ethical judgments and how these judgments influence behavior (Bandura, 1977). Social learning theory states that an individual's social group is influential over the performance of unethical behaviors (Bandura, 1977).

By applying this methodology, targeting, capturing, and killing the insurgents of today may help the problem temporarily. However, entire generations of individuals with the same thought process are being created. It is becoming more and more evident that to truly win the "War on Terror," traditional warfare will be ineffective. Weaponry cannot combat the thoughts and beliefs that are being ingrained into future generations of terrorists.

Social learning theory can be used to understand and predict behavior, which may be useful in helping to identify strategies for behavior change. The same principles that have been used to reinforce negative views can be used to encourage positive views. Beneficial interactions between U.S. soldiers and the children in terrorist countries have the potential to counteract the effects of being taught to hate Americans. A re-education process for children involving changes in teachings and available media would be necessary to impart changes in ideology.

While the wounds may not be visible, the damage left in the wake of a psychological war can be significant and enduring. Combating the psychological aspects of a modern day war can prove to be immensely more difficult than the physical aspect of war. However, if the psychological aspects of the war are left unaddressed, this is a war that our children and our children's children will continue fighting.

Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. New Jersey, NY: Prentice Hall.

Stone, D. (1998). Social Cognitive Theory. Retrieved April 23, 2007 from http://www.med.usf.edu/~kmbrown/Social_Cognitive_The ory_Overview.htm