Aims and Methods
The research project on psychobiology of human behaviour with regard to chase and murder focuses on the human lust for cruelty within the framework of appetitive procession of cruelty stimuli. On the one hand we aim to study the phenomenology of human cruelty in war regions with empirical scientific methods. On the other hand we want to capture the expression of fascination with violence in a civil context. We go for a multidimensional approach in order to be able to comprehend the phenomenon of "appetitive aggression" thoroughly. We define appetitive aggression as the execution of violence or the infliction of harm with the aim to experience pleasure aroused by stimuli of violence.
We combine empirical field studies with experimental studies in our labs. While our field studies currently focus on perpetrators and former combatants, our lab studies try to research the biological and physiological basics of appetitive aggression. While all studies have to comply with highest scientific standards, we concentrate on comprehending appetitive aggression in combination with biological, social and psychic processes.
Theoretical Background
The human lust to kill and to commit atrocities is a phenomenon that has been described ever since the beginning of human historiography.
When our vegetarian ancestors became meat eaters, they learned to hunt in groups. The scuccessful hunter not only acquired supremacy in his social group but also achieved evolutionary advantages due to his access to animal proteins that were essential for the nourishment of an increasing brain. We postulate that hunting behaviour had to become appetitive and reinforcing per se, thus encouraging men to go through the exertion of the hunt and endure the massive exposition to violent stimuli. As the survival of the individual depended on the well-being of his group, the developement of control mechanisms to suppress uncontrolled expression of the lust to kill was crucial.
During evolution the human brain developed specific areas to control the complex regulation of behaviour in a social environment. Thus humans control their biological disposition to execute violence within a civil context by help of acquired constraints. When moral and social constraints fail to exist, e.g. in war and crisis, human cruelty and lust to kill reappear. Violence against members of another group is often executed to a degree that would not have been necessary to achieve the intended goals.
But even beyond seats of war violence is apt to fascinate humans. From gladiatorial combats in the ancient world to public executions in the Middle Ages to curious onlookers at accident sites nowadays: human suffering puts a spell on people. Although this phenomenon has always been known, there is very little empirical research investigating the lust to commit atrocities. Our research group focuses on this question, not only to comprehend the phenomenology but also to develop methods of intervention to be able to contain appetitive aggression.
Current Research
Outside of Germany, we conduct field studies in Tansania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Burundi.
One key aspect of our projects involves the development of suitable therapeutic interventions targeting on reduction of appetitive aggression. As a large part of the former combatants was subjected to a variety of traumatic events, the therapeutic work is embedded into the Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET). At first, our research focused primarily on young men and former combatants in crisis regions - given that we expected a higher level of fascination for violence in this group and this being essential for researching the phenomenology. Currently we expand our view to appetitive aggression in civil societies, i.e. in women, children and adolescents.
We also look at the relation between fascination of violence and similar constructs like e.g. dominance and sadism.
In addition to the continuative examination of psychophysiological data in the laboratory and extending the lab studies to implementations in the field studies, our recent studies also focus on epigenetic bases for appetitive aggression.
Furthermore, we are testing alternative data acquisition systems that shall be used when collecting huge spot tests. A major part of our studies is carried out in interdisciplinary collaboration with our cooperation partners (see below).
Recent Research
Our field studies up to now focus on actual and former combatants and violent criminals, e.g. guerilla fighters in Colombia, rebels form the Democratic Republic of the Congo, genocide perpetrators from Rwanda, child soldiers from Uganda and german World War veterans.
In oder to comprehend the phenomenon of appetitive aggression in those populations we developed a questionnaire that has as yet been validated with more than 2000 test persons. We found that in particular a young age at entry and a voluntary entry as well as a frequent exertion of violence relates to the lust for executing violence. Furthermore we looked into the relation between appetitive aggression and traumatization due to combat experience. We found out that an appetitive perception of violence will help to protect against trauma related dysfunctions and may also affect the psychosocial functioning positively. In our lab studies we researched the development of methods to induce appetitive aggression within the lab setting. Methods tried so far are violent computer games and narrations of violent acts. Appetitive aggression was not only registered by help of questionnaires and measurements of behaviour but also through neuroendocrinological tests and physiological measurements of the brain.
The detailed results of already published studies may be found on the publication list (see below).
