The anatomy of a hostage situation

The authors have attempted to exemplify the social-psychological interplay between hostage and hostage taker and to dissect the impact of this type of event by focusing on one hostage-taking incident. The event described is representative of many incidents in which the hostage taker acts alone, without a supporting organization, and is primarily motivated by expressive needs. The hostages suffered many common emotions and symptoms. Each hostage also suffered in an individual way, determined in part by preceding events and dynamics and in part by the roles they assumed within the hostage situation. The more common Hostage Response Syndrome included the overt appearance of the Stockholm Syndrome in only one of the hostages.     

High risk factors of hostage barricade incidents in a Japanese sample

Hostage taking incidents in which the police besiege a particular location are known as hostage barricade incidents. The first aim of the present article was to examine the process of risk assessment in hostage incidents, using a group of police officers as the sample. The second aim was to identify the risk factors involved in hostage incidents and examine the degree of concordance between the risk as assessed by the police officers and the figures obtained from the analysis of actual hostage barricade incidents. For the purpose of this study, a survey was carried out across Japan, and 45 police officers responsible for hostage negotiation responded to the questionnaires. Additionally, a sample of 116 actual hostage barricade incidents that occurred in Japan from 1970 to 2002 was utilised to examine the high risk factors involved in such cases. As per the results, a majority of the police officers (73.3%), in response to an open‐ended question, indicated that the highly excited state of the hostage takers was dangerous for the hostages. Moreover, it was demonstrated in all 116 incidents that several factors such as ‘a long siege’ tended to increase the risk of deaths, though this was very rare (n = 4). On the other hand, the proportion of injuries to the hostages was high in expressive situations such as domestic situations or suicide attempt scenarios. On the whole, the results obtained from the analyses of actual incidents were consistent with those obtained from the police officers' risk assessment in many respects. However, the correlation between the degree of risk as assessed by the police officers and the actual rate of deaths/injuries to the hostages was very low. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of mental health professional consultants to police hostage negotiation teams

Three hundred law enforcement agencies in the United States that employ a negotiator in hostage incidents responded to a survey regarding the use of mental health professionals as consultants to the negotiation team. Thirty-nine percent of the agencies with a negotiator use a mental health professional consultant to the negotiation team. Police agencies that use a mental health professional as a consultant on negotiation techniques reported more hostage incidents ending by negotiated surrender and fewer hostage incidents ending by tactical team assault and arrest of the perpetrator. Also, police agencies that use a mental health professional as a consultant on the assessment of the perpetrator reported fewer hostage incidents resulting in the serious injury or death of a hostage. Although these results are only correlational, they raise the possibility that the use of mental health professionals as consultants to police hostage negotiation teams may decrease the risk of hostage injury and death.     

The role of the psychologist in crisis/hostage negotiations

Over the past three decades, there has been a noted increase in hostage and barricade incidents involving perpetrators with a variety of emotional, economic, and political motives. A hostage incident may be defined as an incident in which (a) perpetrator(s) hold(s) one or more persons against their will in a location known to police. A barricade incident, on the other hand, is an incident without hostages in which a perpetrator is barricaded, also in a location known to police and refusing to surrender. Approximately 25 years ago, a theory of crisis/hostage negotiations was developed which has been continuously refined in field applications. This article will define the goal of crisis/hostage negotiation, review the history of hostage taking from biblical times to the present, review the utilization of psychologists and other mental health consultants by police crisis/hostage negotiation teams, and discuss the four roles and related functions of psychologists on crisis/hostage negotiation teams. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conservatism in Metaethics: A Case Study

Metaethicists typically develop and assess their theories—in part—on the basis of the consistency of those theories with “ordinary” first‐order normative judgment. They are, in this sense, “methodologically conservative.” This article shows that this methodologically conservative approach obstructs a proper assessment of the debate between internalists and externalists. Specifically, it obstructs one of the most promising readings of internalism. This is a reading—owed to Bernard Williams—in which internalism is part of a practically and politically motivated revision of the assessment of action. The article uses this case study to highlight the role of methodological conservatism in contemporary metaethics more generally.     

On the temporal stability of self-determined work motivation profiles: a latent transition analysis

ABSTRACT

This study extends the research and theory on work motivation by examining temporal stability and change in employees’ self-determined work motivation profiles and their differential relations to various predictors and outcomes. We gathered data at two time points over a 24-month period from a sample of 438 newly registered public health care nurses. Results of latent profile and latent transition analyses revealed four distinct profiles (strongly, moderately, self-determined, and poorly motivated), estimated from the position of global and specific behavioural regulations on the motivation continuum proposed by self-determination theory. These profiles were entirely stable at the within-sample level, although within-person changes in profile membership occurred for 30–40% of employees. Of particular interest, perceptions of job resources were consistently associated with greater likelihood of membership in the strongly and moderately motivated profiles. These profiles were also consistently associated with lower emotional exhaustion and intentions to leave the occupation and the organization and with higher in-role performance compared to the self-determined and poorly motivated profiles.     

Is the Appeal of the Doctrine of Double Effect Illusory?

Scanlon (2008) has argued that his theory of permissibility (STP) has more explanatory power than the Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE). I believe this claim is wrong. Borrowing Michael Walzer’s method of inquiry, I will evaluate the explanatory virtue of these accounts by their understanding of actual moral intuitions originated in historical cases. Practically, I will evaluate these accounts as they explain cases of hostage crises. The main question in this context is: is it permissible that nation-states act with military force in order to liberate hostages, even if those actions put the lives of the hostages at risk? The first part of this paper has an operative reconstruction of the relevant theories. In the second section, two cases of hostage crises will be considered: the Moscow theater hostage crisis of 2002, and the Jaque Operation, which occurred in Colombia in 2008. Additionally, it will be shown that DDE explains these cases better than STP. Finally, this paper offers a critical analysis of Scanlon’s account of the explanatory power of both STP and DDE.     

A Muslim President? Misperceptions of Barack Obama's Faith in the 2008 Presidential Campaign

Rumors that President Barack Obama is a Muslim were rampant during the 2008 presidential campaign and continued well into his presidency. These rumors were widely believed, were electorally consequential, and are part of a growing trend of politically motivated misconceptions. Thus, relying principally on the theory of motivated reasoning, we examine the factors that shaped citizens’ beliefs about and responses to messages about Obama's faith. Using an original survey experiment and data from the 2008–2009 American National Election Study panel, we show that citizens’ responses to rumors about Obama's religion were shaped by political predispositions, political awareness, and their interactions. Identification of Obama with Islam was most widespread, and the cues encouraging such identification were most successful, among individuals with low levels of political awareness, conservative and Republican identifications, and negative views of cultural out‐groups. Viewing Obama as Muslim was significantly less prevalent among people with high levels of awareness and with the opposite set of predispositions.     

Revisionist Responses to the Amoralism Objection: A Reply to Julia Markovits

Some subjectivist views of practical reasons entail that some people, in some cases, lack sufficient reasons to act as morality requires of them. This is often thought to form the basis of an objection to these subjectivist views: ‘the amoralism objection’. This objection has been developed at length by Julia Markovits in her recent book Moral Reason. But Markovits—alongside many other proponents of this objection—does not explicitly consider that her objection is premised on a claim that her opponents deny on first-order grounds, often as part of a socially and politically motivated revisionism about the assessment of agents and their actions. As such, the amoralism objection as she presents it misses its dialectical mark. This has interesting consequences for subjectivism—and the methodology behind it—more generally.     

The ideomotor approach to imitative learning (IMAIL) in infancy: Challenges and future perspectives

The article presents the ideomotor approach to imitative learning (IMAIL). According to IMAIL, imitation rests on the acquisition of bidirectional action–effect associations through the observations of others’ actions and their sensory consequences. The article first outlines the challenges and demands that motivated the development of the theory. Then, it describes the theory in greater detail and presents empirical evidence supporting IMAIL. Finally, it concludes by discussing challenges and avenues for further research.     

Coping With Football‐Related Hooliganism: Healing Symptoms Versus Causes Prevention1

The paper presents the increasing prevalence of sports‐related violence in Poland, the distinctive characteristics of Polish football (soccer) hooliganism, and the psychosocial analysis of the phenomenon, based on a 3‐year prophylactic program geared toward boys from high‐risk groups. Football hooliganism may be described adequately in terms of coping with a sense of alienation. The article includes most of the important findings of the author's research pertaining to predisposing factors and mechanisms reducing the sense of alienation by one's affiliation with a group of football hooligans. The final part of the article touches on the consequences of the presented approach for the prevention of hooligan incidents.     

The Word was Not Made Flesh: Theological Reflections on the Banning of Seksualiti Merdeka 2011

Abstract : In November 2011, the Malaysian sexuality rights festival Seksualiti Merdeka was banned after being labelled immoral and subversive. The organizers insisted that the festival was a forum for the voices of sexual minorities and that the ban was politically motivated. By examining the rhetoric surrounding this festival in the Malaysian media, this article aims to uncover how the tensions between Malaysian politics and religion affect the lives of queer Malaysians in terms of human rights before providing a Christian theological response.     

“I’m Not the Same,but I’m Not Sorry”: Exploring Dialogical Positioning in the Self-Transformation of a Former Politically Violent Militant

This article traces the personal and cultural voices expressed in the life-story interview of a former politically violent militant regarding her engagement with and disengagement from the armed struggle. Rather than looking at the macro and meso aspects related to politically motivated violence, we examine micro-narratives which express individual arguments, sociocultural discourses, and negotiations within and between them, These are voiced in the dynamics that take place within the self-system at times of key identity transitions (e.g., from being a committed militant to becoming a former militant). In this vein, we highlight how the embodied emotional chords of personal positions, the development of meta-positions, and the positioning and repositioning movements within the dialogical self, facilitate the emergence of new and more adaptive meanings in the personal meaning system of former militants.     

A PILOT STUDY OF NATURALLY OCCURRING HIGH‐PROBABILITY REQUEST SEQUENCES IN HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS

In the current study, the audiotapes from three hostage‐taking situations were analyzed. Hostage negotiator requests to the hostage taker were characterized as either high or low probability. The results suggested that hostage‐taker compliance to a hostage negotiator's low‐probability request was more likely when a series of complied‐with high‐probability requests preceded the low‐probability request. However, two of the three hostage‐taking situations ended violently; therefore, the implications of the high‐probability request sequence for hostage‐taking situations should be assessed in future research.     

Aggressive encounters between patients and general hospital staff: Staff perceptions of the context and assailants' levels of cognitive processing

A considerable body of research has accumulated regarding aggression toward health care staff, yet little is known about the contextual factors involved. The present study examined the context within which aggressive incidents occurred and the dynamics of the interaction between staff and patients. Two aspects in particular were investigated; firstly, whether incidents were preceded by some anxiety provoking stimulus and secondly, the assailants' levels of cognitive processing apparent at the time of the incident. A prospective study collected data concerning incidents of physical assault and threatening behaviour in a general hospital. Staff were interviewed soon after the incident occurred. A content analysis determined that 82.8% of incidents involved experiences delivered by the staff victims likely to have provoked anxiety in the assailant. Most commonly, incidents involved staff intervening in the patient's intended behaviour. In addition, in 64% of cases, assailants were actually displaying some impairment in cognitive processing at the time of the incident Data suggest that many patients may not have been fully aware of their situation and might have experienced some difficulty in comprehending the staff member's actions. Patients who do not appear to understand what is happening may require additional time and effort to ensure they comprehend fully and accept what the staff member is intending to do, particularly if patients are experiencing an event likely to increase anxiety levels. Aggr. Behav. 30:534–543, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Learning Facts About Migration: Politically Motivated Learning of Polarizing Information About Refugees

Information processing during heated debates on asylum and immigration may often be influenced by prejudice rather than a desire to learn facts. In this article, we investigate how people process empirical evidence on the consequences of refugee arrivals through a novel survey experiment that disentangles politically motivated learning from other forms of learning and expressive responding. Specifically, we ask respondents to interpret a 2×2 table about the relationship between asylum seekers and crime rates. Crucially, respondents are randomly allocated to evaluate a conclusion that triggers their identity-protective stakes or not. In addition, we test for motivated responding as an alternative explanation by randomly providing some respondents with a response format that motivates them to report their inference truthfully. We find that information processing changes substantially when new information challenges existing asylum attitudes. Politically motivated learning is strongest among voters with strong negative prior attitudes towards asylum seekers. Our results also indicate that expressive responding can only partially account for this gap in correctly reported inferences. Our research has important implications for research on the consequences of refugee migration, theories of motivated reasoning, and survey methodology.     

When and How Different Motives Can Drive Motivated Political Reasoning

It is commonly assumed that the effectiveness of political messages depends on people's motivations. Yet, studies of politically motivated reasoning typically only consider what partisans generally might want to believe and do not separately examine the different types of motives that likely underlie these wants. The present research explores the roles of distinct types of motives in politically motivated thinking and identifies the conditions under which motivated reasoners are persuaded by political messages. Results of an experiment with a large, representative sample of Republicans show that manipulations inducing motivations for either (1) forming accurate impressions, (2) affirming moral values, or (3) affirming group identity each increased beliefs in and intentions to combat human-induced climate change, but only when also paired with political messages that are congruent with the induced motivation. We also find no evidence of a backlash effect even when individuals are provided with clearly uncongenial information and a motivation to reject it. Overall, our findings make clear that understanding when and why motivated political reasoning occurs requires a more complete understanding of both which motivations might be active among a group of partisans and how these motivations resonate with the messaging they receive.     

Ethical and consultation issues in the behavioral sciences and terrorism

This paper briefly examines ethics as a process and as an element of philosophy with a long historical tradition. The paper then reviews elements of the professional ethics of a terrorist or hostage event, issues involved with consulting with an institution, and ethical issues for the clinician who chooses to become personally involved in a hostage event. Although reference is made particularly to psychiatrists, the principles discussed apply in large part to other mental health professionals as well. The paper concludes with the principles articulated by the American Psychiatric Association's Task Force on the Psychiatric Aspects of Terrorism and Its Victims as guidelines for psychiatric intervention in hostage or terrorist situations.     

Relational Development as Negotiated Order in Hostage Negotiation

This article applies negotiated order theory to explore how disputants negotiate relational limits in 10 actual hostage negotiations. Four relational limits are defined through the intersection of affiliation (the degree of liking, trust, and acceptance) and interdependence (the strength of parties’rights and obligations to one another): moving toward the other (high affiliation, high interdependence), moving with the other (high affiliation, low interdependence), moving away from the other (low affiliation and low interdependence), and moving against the other person (low affiliation, high interdependence). Spatial and implicit verbal immediacy language cues were used to operationalize affiliation and interdependence in each utterance across the 10 hostage negotiations. The results indicated that when parties created a “moving against” and “moving away” relational pattern, they experienced more difficulty building a relational consensus during the negotiations. When parties rotated between “moving toward” and “moving with” relational phases, they were more successful in building relational consensus. The results also revealed that disputants in hostage negotiations develop relational rhythms by moving within fairly stable cooperative or competitive relational patterns.     

Shattering the Myth of Legality: The Impact of the Media's Framing of Supreme Court Procedures on Perceptions of Fairness

The tendency of the media to depict the Supreme Court as inherently apolitical, some scholars argue, is part of the reason that many believe in the "myth of legality" in which the Court is perceived to operate above the ideological skirmishes of everyday politics. Our experimental analyses show that citizens react more negatively to press reports of a politically motivated Court than they do to coverage portraying a Court that strictly follows legal guidelines. Interestingly, our results also suggest that it is not so much the perceived absence of political wrangling among justices but rather it is the presence of legal guidelines driving the outcome that is the source of the perception of fairness.