What drives the suicide bombers? Kamikaze syndrome.

[Tomcat]

Scientists explain why suicide bombers seem willing to sacrifice their lives.

Recent research has shown that shared experiences and, above all, negative experiences lead to the development of extreme forms of group identification. In this case, people feel so close to the group that they are ready to die for it. Probably, this form of cooperation was necessary for the survival of our ancestors.

Humans are very special to evolutionary biologists. No animal is so ready to help its neighbor and in return receives as much support as homo sapiens. In exceptional situations, this impulse can take extreme forms. Whether it be Japanese kamikazes during the Second World War, or Islamic shahids - some people are ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others.

This behavior has always been a mystery to researchers. How did it happen that the trait that pushes a person to mortal self-sacrifice was preserved in the process of evolution? After all, soldiers and terrorists usually act for the sake of a group of people with whom they are not even related.

Connecting with a social group​

Scientists led by Sergey Gavrilets of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City set out to find an explanation. In their research, they started from the formulated thesis, according to which the will to fight and die for others must be motivated by something. Experts called this motive "identity fusion" - the fusion of identities. In this case, the individual is perceived not as an independent person, but rather as a single whole with a social group.

What feeds this sense of unity and what role has “fusion of identities” played in the history of mankind? To check this, scientists have resorted to computer simulations. Through various scenarios, they discovered under what circumstances our ancestors displayed self-denial tendencies and whether they could take root.

General pain as a determinant​

Result: A willingness to stand up for another and sacrifice oneself was probably a necessary strategy for our ancestors. Only in this way did the population get a chance to survive most of the dangers and survive in conflict with other groups. At the same time, the common experience that fueled this cooperation could be decisive.

According to simulation calculations, the likelihood of social behavior increases especially when group members have shared negative experiences and pain. Thanks to cooperation, the chances of surviving and having a common evolutionary future were significantly higher than as a result of family or ancestral relationships and the inheritance of the genes of individuals.

"Closer than brothers"​

Gavrilets and colleagues note: the computer model reflects the conditions in which our ancestors lived tens of thousands of years ago - the stage when survival meant war. Today it is not so difficult for a modern person. The extreme forms of confrontation necessary for the survival of a social group now seem anachronistic. But in extreme cases, according to the theory of researchers, this evolutionary mechanism can manifest itself in modern groups.

The team tested their findings on empirical data from various population studies - in particular, studies on Vietnamese veterans, Jiu-Jitsu fighters, members of student fraternities who must undergo a ritual of initiation, as well as pairs of twins.

In fact, the hypothesis was confirmed: the more painful experiences unite people with each other, the more likely they will intercede for each other - up to and including self-sacrifice. The sense of kinship that comes with this can be even stronger than family ties.

“Research has already identified many ways of developing collaboration in the process of evolution. We supplemented the list with a new, still underestimated, but very powerful mechanism - extreme forms of cooperation through common experience, ”says Gavrilets. In this case, people become, so to speak, "brothers in arms." In English, the term "Band of Brothers" refers to military units that are used in violent conflicts. “In fact, shared negative experiences can bring individuals closer than brothers,” the researcher concludes.