Creating Terrorists Using Social Psychological Conditioning Terrorism has increased significantly in recent years, becoming a major concern for governments and security organizations. The identity of terrorists and the activities perpetrated by them have been associated with certain races, religious affiliations, and other geographic parameters, with little concern for understanding the development of these characteristics among humanity. Most people have classified terrorists as members of specific races and thus have developed fallacious theories associating terrorism with genetic makeup and other mental problems. Terrorism, however, is not caused by the mental breakdown or genetic makeup of its perpetrators. Terrorism can be classified as a cult that develops gradually and instills different perceptions in the minds of its followers (Stahelski 1). Terrorism can easily be created using social psychological condition, one of the common processes in psychology to alter human reasoning and behavior. Just like any cult, terrorism has several stages that a follower must go through before becoming a fully established terrorist. According to the theory of social psychological conditioning, there are five stages a terrorist must go through before becoming a full radical (Siegel 123). The phases of social psychological conditioning adapt very well to the sectarian condition present in terrorism. In social psychological conditioning, the first stage involves depluralization, followed by self-deindividualization, then other deindividualization, dehumanization, and finally demonization. These five stages are applicable to terrorism in the order in which they appear in social psychological conditions... center of paper... regions and other communities are superior to others, or that other groups mistreat them. This creates disparity and tension among younger generations who may decide to join terrorist groups to take revenge for said oppression. Changing basic teachings would eliminate young people's drive to join terrorism. Works Cited Aronson, Elliot, Timothy D. Wilson, and Robin M. Akert. Social psychology: the heart and the mind. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. Print.Siegel, Larry J. Criminology. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.Stahelski, Anthony. “Terrorists are made, not born: creating terrorists using social psychological conditioning.” HomelandSecurity.org. Homeland Security, March 2004. Web. December 31, 2011. Waller, James. Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Murder Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.