Search

Hostages taken by terrorists or other criminals are prone to develop sympathies for their captors. This condition, called the Stockholm syndrome, has its emotional causes in the sex-drive and in psychic defense mechanisms. Traumatic experiences can be mitigated by identifying with the aggressor, which would account for a hostage's espousal of the captor's ideology. There is also an element of sadomasochism in capitulating to an all-powerful captor. The media must regulate itself and not facilitate terrorists' appeal to unconscious processes in the public as they bid for publicity.