12
References
Abu ‘Amr al-Qa’idi Abu Mujahid &Abu Klialid (Trans.). (2010). A
course in the art of recruiting. Retrieved from archive.org/stream/
ACourseInTheArtOfRecruiting-RevisedJuly2010/A_Course_in_the_Art_of_
Recruiting_-_Revised_July2010_djvu.txt
Borum, Randy. (2010). Understanding terrorist psychology. Mental
Health Law &Policy Faculty Publications. Paper 576. Retrieved online at
scholarcommons.usf.edu/mhlp_facpub/576
Cialdini. R. (1984/1993). Influence: The psychology of persuasion (5th ed.).
New York, NY: William Morrow.
Cialdini, R. (2001/2009). Influence: Science and practice (5th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson Education.
Cialdini, R. (2005, July). You don’t have to be a fool to be fooled. Plenary
session presentation, ICSA Annual Conference, Madrid, Spain.
Cialdini, R. (2010). You don’t have to be a dupe to be duped: Lessons from
the Madoff affair. (Inside Influence Report, Influence at Work. Retrieved
from influenceatwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Madoff_by_
Cialdini.pdf
Higgins, Andrew. (2016, April 19). A close look at Brussels offers a more
nuanced view of radicalization. The New York Times. Retrieved from
nytimes.com/2016/04/20/world/europe/more-than-islam-origin-is-a-
marker-for-terror-among-brussels-immigrants.html
Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., &Cialdini, R. B. (2015). Social psychology: Goals
in interaction (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Moestue, Cathrine. (2005), A talk with Dr. Cialdini in Madrid. Organisational Theory
and Practice: Scandinavian Journal of Organisational Psychology, 16(2), 63–69.
Noah, Timothy. (2009, March 24). Jihad lite: Al-Qaida’s dumbed-down
recruitment manual. Slate. Retrieved from slate.com/articles/news_and_
politics/chatterbox/2009/03/jihad_lite.html
Rodríguez-Carballeira, Álvaro et al. (2015). Group psychological abuse:
Taxonomy and severity of its components. The European Journal of
Psychology Applied to Legal Context, (7)1, 31–39. Retrieved from ejpalc.
elsevier.es/en/group-psychological-abuse-taxonomy-severity/articulo/
S1889186114000171/#.V1NJ3Vc9bHg
Warius, A., &Fishman, B. (2009, February). A jihadist´s course in the Art of
recruitment. Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved from
ctc.usma.edu/posts/a-jihadist’s-course-in-the-art-of-recruitment
About the Author
Cathrine Moestue, Cand.Psychol., grew up in Oslo,
Norway in an upper-middle-class family with four
siblings. While attending Folkuniversity in Stockholm
(1984–85), she encountered teachers who claimed
to have a program to “save starving children” and
lured her to participate. The group, which drew
on communist teachings, isolated her from her
family and made her feel guilty for her privileged
upbringing. After years of working hard to “save the world,” she became
disillusioned and, after several attempts, in 1992 she successfully escaped
this destructive group by running away. She worked in the advertising
industry and managed a radio company before earning her degree in
psychology at the university of Oslo and becoming a psychologist and
eventually seeking therapy to deal with her traumatic experience. She is
a psychologist in private practice in Oslo and is currently working on her
memoirs. n
principles can be used. The key is to uncover
them where they exist naturally in the situation,
and to raise them to consciousness in the minds
of our audience. So if we have true expertise and
we are truly knowledgeable, then we are entitled
to inform people of that and they want to know
that… If it is true that we are the fastest-growing
[company] or have the largest-selling product, it is
entirely acceptable for us to describe that. It is not
acceptable to take an actor in medical clothing
to suggest expertise he doesn’t have—that only
smuggles the authority principle into a situation
where it doesn’t naturally reside, and it steers
people incorrectly.
CM: Who in the world really needs to understand
these principles?
RC: I would like the politicians of our societies to
think about honestly informing people when they
want us to move in a certain direction, because as
politicians they represent so many of us and affect
so many of us in their decisions, that scrupulous
honesty and consideration of this process would
be best for all concerned.
Moestue 2016: Given the complexity of social
influence and how predispositions interact with
chance meetings, the issue of terrorist recruiters
is frequently lost in polarized public debates.
Public discussion often identifies either Islamic
scripture, or government policies, or the low social
status of the new recruits as the sole reason for
all terrorism. Issues of identity have long been
recognized as central to radicalization, but how
that sense of identity is even further attacked and
changed in the process of recruitment has not.
It is my hope that, by understanding Cialdini’s
principles of influence and introducing them as
tools to normalize indoctrination, the complex
mechanisms and tactics involved become less of a
mystery. The human need to belong, to feel good
about ourselves, and to make correct choices is
not unique to Muslims it is part of our common
humanity. n
...if we buy a new computer in
a store, and we like the sales
person, we have to remember
that we are carrying the
computer out of the store
and not the salesperson.
References
Abu ‘Amr al-Qa’idi Abu Mujahid &Abu Klialid (Trans.). (2010). A
course in the art of recruiting. Retrieved from archive.org/stream/
ACourseInTheArtOfRecruiting-RevisedJuly2010/A_Course_in_the_Art_of_
Recruiting_-_Revised_July2010_djvu.txt
Borum, Randy. (2010). Understanding terrorist psychology. Mental
Health Law &Policy Faculty Publications. Paper 576. Retrieved online at
scholarcommons.usf.edu/mhlp_facpub/576
Cialdini. R. (1984/1993). Influence: The psychology of persuasion (5th ed.).
New York, NY: William Morrow.
Cialdini, R. (2001/2009). Influence: Science and practice (5th ed.). Boston,
MA: Pearson Education.
Cialdini, R. (2005, July). You don’t have to be a fool to be fooled. Plenary
session presentation, ICSA Annual Conference, Madrid, Spain.
Cialdini, R. (2010). You don’t have to be a dupe to be duped: Lessons from
the Madoff affair. (Inside Influence Report, Influence at Work. Retrieved
from influenceatwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Madoff_by_
Cialdini.pdf
Higgins, Andrew. (2016, April 19). A close look at Brussels offers a more
nuanced view of radicalization. The New York Times. Retrieved from
nytimes.com/2016/04/20/world/europe/more-than-islam-origin-is-a-
marker-for-terror-among-brussels-immigrants.html
Kenrick, D. T., Neuberg, S. L., &Cialdini, R. B. (2015). Social psychology: Goals
in interaction (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Moestue, Cathrine. (2005), A talk with Dr. Cialdini in Madrid. Organisational Theory
and Practice: Scandinavian Journal of Organisational Psychology, 16(2), 63–69.
Noah, Timothy. (2009, March 24). Jihad lite: Al-Qaida’s dumbed-down
recruitment manual. Slate. Retrieved from slate.com/articles/news_and_
politics/chatterbox/2009/03/jihad_lite.html
Rodríguez-Carballeira, Álvaro et al. (2015). Group psychological abuse:
Taxonomy and severity of its components. The European Journal of
Psychology Applied to Legal Context, (7)1, 31–39. Retrieved from ejpalc.
elsevier.es/en/group-psychological-abuse-taxonomy-severity/articulo/
S1889186114000171/#.V1NJ3Vc9bHg
Warius, A., &Fishman, B. (2009, February). A jihadist´s course in the Art of
recruitment. Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved from
ctc.usma.edu/posts/a-jihadist’s-course-in-the-art-of-recruitment
About the Author
Cathrine Moestue, Cand.Psychol., grew up in Oslo,
Norway in an upper-middle-class family with four
siblings. While attending Folkuniversity in Stockholm
(1984–85), she encountered teachers who claimed
to have a program to “save starving children” and
lured her to participate. The group, which drew
on communist teachings, isolated her from her
family and made her feel guilty for her privileged
upbringing. After years of working hard to “save the world,” she became
disillusioned and, after several attempts, in 1992 she successfully escaped
this destructive group by running away. She worked in the advertising
industry and managed a radio company before earning her degree in
psychology at the university of Oslo and becoming a psychologist and
eventually seeking therapy to deal with her traumatic experience. She is
a psychologist in private practice in Oslo and is currently working on her
memoirs. n
principles can be used. The key is to uncover
them where they exist naturally in the situation,
and to raise them to consciousness in the minds
of our audience. So if we have true expertise and
we are truly knowledgeable, then we are entitled
to inform people of that and they want to know
that… If it is true that we are the fastest-growing
[company] or have the largest-selling product, it is
entirely acceptable for us to describe that. It is not
acceptable to take an actor in medical clothing
to suggest expertise he doesn’t have—that only
smuggles the authority principle into a situation
where it doesn’t naturally reside, and it steers
people incorrectly.
CM: Who in the world really needs to understand
these principles?
RC: I would like the politicians of our societies to
think about honestly informing people when they
want us to move in a certain direction, because as
politicians they represent so many of us and affect
so many of us in their decisions, that scrupulous
honesty and consideration of this process would
be best for all concerned.
Moestue 2016: Given the complexity of social
influence and how predispositions interact with
chance meetings, the issue of terrorist recruiters
is frequently lost in polarized public debates.
Public discussion often identifies either Islamic
scripture, or government policies, or the low social
status of the new recruits as the sole reason for
all terrorism. Issues of identity have long been
recognized as central to radicalization, but how
that sense of identity is even further attacked and
changed in the process of recruitment has not.
It is my hope that, by understanding Cialdini’s
principles of influence and introducing them as
tools to normalize indoctrination, the complex
mechanisms and tactics involved become less of a
mystery. The human need to belong, to feel good
about ourselves, and to make correct choices is
not unique to Muslims it is part of our common
humanity. n
...if we buy a new computer in
a store, and we like the sales
person, we have to remember
that we are carrying the
computer out of the store
and not the salesperson.
