Home Trees and shrubs The concept is the opposite of Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome: Victims love their tormentors. Known Cases of Stockholm Syndrome

Trees and shrubs

The concept is the opposite of Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm Syndrome: Victims love their tormentors. Known Cases of Stockholm Syndrome

stockholm syndrome is an unusual psychological phenomenon in which the victim, for unknown reasons, begins to sympathize with his tormentor.

This phenomenon deserves attention, if only because situations have repeatedly unfolded in such a way that abducted people began to prevent their release with their own hands.

In this article, we will consider the causes of the Stockholm syndrome, its consequences, and also give the most famous examples. By the way, read about it in a separate article.

What is stockholm syndrome

Stockholm Syndrome (English Stockholm Syndrome) is a term popular in describing the defensive-unconscious traumatic connection, mutual or one-sided sympathy that occurs between the victim and the aggressor in the process of capturing, abducting, using or threatening to use violence.

Under the influence of a strong experience, the hostages begin to sympathize with their captors, justify their actions and, ultimately, identify themselves with them, adopting their ideas and considering their victim necessary to achieve a "common" goal.

Researchers believe that Stockholm Syndrome is not a psychological paradox, disorder or syndrome, but rather a normal human response to a severely traumatic event.

Thus, Stockholm syndrome is not included in any international classification system for psychiatric diseases.

How did the term

This term arose as a result of an incident that occurred in 1973, when a terrorist took hostages in a Stockholm bank. At first glance, the situation looked pretty standard:

A recidivist criminal took 4 bank employees hostage, threatening to kill them if they did not follow all his orders.
As a condition, the invader put forward a demand to release his comrade from prison, as well as to give him a substantial amount of money with a guarantee of security.

Among the hostages were three women and one man. Initially, the police agreed to fulfill one of the demands of the criminal, namely, to release his friend from prison.

Further, the criminals acted together, and for 5 days the invaders kept people. However, during this time, the victims suddenly began to show sympathy for their offenders. Surprisingly, even after they were released, the former hostages hired lawyers to help their tormentors.

This was the first such case in which officially received the name - "Stockholm syndrome".

By the way, an interesting fact is that in the future the former hostage and one of the invaders later became friends with their families.

Causes of Stockholm Syndrome

Due to the fact that the perpetrator and the victim are alone with each other for a long time, a certain relationship arises between them. Each time their conversations become more open, which lays the foundation for mutual sympathy.

This can be explained with a simple example. For example, the invader and the victim suddenly notice a common interest in each other. The hostage suddenly begins to understand the motives of his abuser, showing sympathy for his point of view and agreeing with his beliefs.

Another reason for the occurrence of Stockholm syndrome is the fact that the victim wants to help the aggressor, fearing for his life. That is, the hostage on a subconscious level understands that in the event of an assault, he can also suffer.

Thus, he perceives the well-being of the criminal as a guarantee of his own well-being.

The danger of the syndrome

The danger of Stockholm Syndrome lies in the actions of the hostage against their own interests, such as preventing their release.

There are cases when, during an anti-terrorist operation, hostages warned the terrorists about the appearance of a commando, and even shielded the terrorist with their body.

In other cases, the terrorist hid among the hostages, and no one exposed him. As a rule, the Stockholm syndrome passes after the terrorists kill the first hostage.

The main factors of Stockholm syndrome

To explain Stockholm syndrome in simple terms, the main factors of this phenomenon should be schematically represented:

The presence of an invader and a hostage.
Goodwill on the part of the aggressor towards the victim.
The appearance of a hostage in a special relationship to his offender. Understanding his actions and justifying them. Thus, instead of fear, the victim begins to feel sympathy and sympathy for the criminal.
All these sensations are multiplied many times over at the moment of risk, when their lives are threatened by an assault from the special forces. Joint experiences of difficulties begin to make them related.

Household stockholm syndrome

It goes without saying that such psychological phenomena are the exception rather than the rule. However, there is the so-called everyday Stockholm syndrome.

It looks like the wife feels sympathy and affection for her despot husband. She is ready to forgive and endure any bullying on his part towards herself.

Often a similar situation can be observed when a woman divorces her husband, who constantly drinks and beats her. Having met with a normal, decent person, after a while she returns to the former tyrant. Moreover, a woman cannot adequately explain this act.

Such deviations are sometimes called "hostage syndrome". The victim treats their torment as something normal and natural. She is ready to endure all humiliation and violence, mistakenly thinking that these actions are deserved.

Examples of Stockholm Syndrome

Here are some examples of Stockholm Syndrome to demonstrate the behavior of victims and their arguments.

The girl who became a member of the gang

Patty Hearst, who was the granddaughter of a millionaire, was kidnapped for ransom. In captivity, she was treated very cruelly.

She was kept in a closet for about 2 months, and was also regularly subjected to sexual and moral abuse. When she was released, Patty refused to return home, but on the contrary, she joined the same group, and even committed several serious robberies in its composition.

When she was arrested, Patty Hearst began to convince the judges that her criminal behavior was the answer to the nightmare she experienced in captivity.

A forensic examination confirmed that she had a mental disorder. But, despite this, the girl was still imprisoned for 7 years. Although the verdict was later canceled due to the campaigning activities of the special committee.

Capture of the residence of the Japanese ambassador

In 1998, an extremely extraordinary story took place in Lima, the capital. On the occasion of the birthday of the emperor of Japan, a celebration was scheduled. During a reception of 500 high-ranking guests at the Japanese embassy, a terrorist takeover was carried out.

As a result, all those invited, including the ambassador himself, were taken hostage. In return, the terrorists demanded the release of all their comrades from prison.

After 2 weeks, some of the hostages were released. At the same time, the survivors puzzled the Peruvian authorities with their behavior. They made unexpected statements about the righteousness and justice of the terrorists' struggle.

Being in captivity for a long time, they began to feel both sympathy for their captors, and hatred and fear towards those who would try to free them by force.

According to the Peruvian authorities, the leader of the terrorists Nestor Kartolini, a former textile worker, was an exceptionally cruel and cold-blooded fanatic. A whole series of kidnappings of major Peruvian entrepreneurs was associated with the name of Kartolini, from whom the revolutionary demanded money under threat of death.

However, he made a completely different impression on the hostages. A prominent Canadian businessman, Kieran Matkelf, said after his release that Nestor Cartolini is a polite and educated person who is dedicated to his work.

The described case gave the name "Lim's syndrome". The situation in which the terrorists feel such strong sympathy for the hostages that they release them is a reverse example (special case) of the Stockholm syndrome.

The extraordinary story of a schoolgirl

This incredible story happened to a 10-year-old schoolgirl from. A girl named Natasha Kampush was abducted by a grown man. As a result of operational work, the police did not manage to find the girl.

However, after 8 years, the girl showed up. It turned out that the kidnapper held her captive for the entire specified period, after which she still managed to escape. Later, she talked about the fact that her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, mocked her, keeping her in a room located underground.

She was sexually and emotionally abused and often went hungry. Despite all this, Natasha Kampush was upset when she found out that her tormentor had committed suicide.

Interesting facts about Stockholm Syndrome

In the end, we give some interesting facts about the Stockholm syndrome.

As a rule, Stockholm syndrome is observed in those hostages who were alone with their captors for at least 3 days. That is, when the victim had time to get to know and understand the actions of the perpetrator better.
It is quite difficult to completely get rid of this syndrome. It will manifest itself in the victim for a long time.
To date, knowledge about this syndrome is actively used in negotiations with terrorists.
It is believed that if the hostages show sympathy and understanding towards the captors, then they, in turn, will begin to treat their captives better.

Modern psychologists consider the Stockholm syndrome as a person's reaction to non-standard life circumstances, as a result of which mental trauma occurs. Some experts refer to it as a self-defense mechanism.

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The term "Stockholm syndrome" means a psychological anomaly, the essence of which is that a potential victim, who initially feels a sense of fear and hatred for his tormentor, begins to sympathize with him after a while. For example, people taken hostage may subsequently feel sympathy for the bandits and try to help them without coercion, often even resisting their own release. Moreover, after a certain period of time, it may happen that a long warm relationship can develop between the victim and the invader.

Causes of Stockholm Syndrome

The described case proves that the long-term joint stay of the offender and his victim sometimes leads to the fact that they, in the process of close communication, come closer and try to understand each other, having the opportunity and time to communicate "heart to heart". The hostage "enters the situation" of the hostage, learns about his problems, desires and dreams. Often the offender complains about the injustice of life, power, talks about his bad luck and life's hardships. As a result, the hostage goes over to the side of the terrorist and voluntarily tries to help him.

Subsequently, the victim may stop wanting his own release, because he understands that the threat to his life may no longer be a criminal, but the police and special squads storming the premises. For this reason, the hostage begins to feel at one with the bandit, and tries to help him as much as possible.

Such behavior is typical of a situation where a terrorist initially treats a prisoner with loyalty. If a person succumbs to aggression, he is tormented by beatings and threats, then of all possible feelings he can only experience fear for his life and open hostility towards the aggressor.

Stockholm Syndrome is a situation that is relatively rare, with only 8% of cases involving captives.

Hostage Syndrome in Stockholm Syndrome

The essence of the Stockholm syndrome lies in the fact that with absolute dependence on the aggression of the criminal, the hostage begins to interpret all his actions from the good side, justifying him. Over time, the dependent person begins to feel understanding and affection, to show sympathy and even sympathy for the terrorist - with such feelings a person unconsciously tries to replace fear and anger, which he cannot afford to throw out. Such a chaos of feelings creates a sense of illusory security in the hostage.

This terminology took root after the sensational case of the capture of people in Stockholm.

At the end of August 1973, a dangerous criminal who escaped from prison took over the central bank of Stockholm along with four bank employees. The terrorist, in exchange for the lives of people, demanded to provide him with a certain amount of money, weapons, a fueled car, as well as the early release of his cell friend.

The police went to meet the offender, freeing and delivering his freed friend to the crime scene. The rest of the requirements remained in question for another five days, during which both the terrorists and the hostages were in the closed premises of the bank under the control of the police. Failure to comply with all requirements forced the criminals to take extreme measures: a period was specified during which the hostages would be killed. For the authenticity of his words, one of the robbers even wounded one hostage.

However, over the next two days, the situation changed radically. On the part of the injured and captured people began to sound critical remarks about the fact that they do not need to be released, that they feel quite comfortable and are happy with everything. Moreover, the hostages began to ask that all the demands of the terrorists be met.

However, on the sixth day, the police still managed to storm the building and free the captured people, arresting the criminals.

After the release, the allegedly injured people stated that the perpetrators were very good people and that they should be released. Moreover, all four hostages even jointly hired a lawyer to defend the terrorists.

Symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome

The victims try to identify themselves with the aggressors. In principle, at first this process is a kind of immunity, a defensive reaction, which is most often based on a self-suggested idea that the bandit will not be able to harm the hostage if he supports him and helps him. The victim purposefully yearns for the leniency and patronage of the perpetrator.
The injured person in most cases understands that the measures that are taken to save him, in the end, can be dangerous for himself. Attempts to free the hostage may not end according to plan, something may go wrong and the prisoner's life will be in danger. Therefore, often the victim chooses, in her opinion, a safer path - to take the side of the aggressor.
A long stay as a prisoner can lead to the fact that the offender appears to the victim no longer as a person who has violated the law, but as an ordinary person, with his own problems, dreams and aspirations. This situation is especially clearly expressed in the political and ideological aspect, when there is injustice on the part of the authorities or the surrounding people. As a result, the victim can gain confidence that the point of view of the invader is absolutely correct and logical.
The captured face mentally moves away from reality - thoughts arise that everything that is happening is a dream, which will soon end happily.

Household stockholm syndrome

The psychopathological picture, often also called the "hostage syndrome", can often be found in everyday situations. All too often there are cases in which women who have experienced violence and aggression subsequently experience attachment to their rapist.

Unfortunately, this picture is not uncommon in family relationships. If in a family union the wife experiences aggression and humiliation from her own spouse, then with the Stockholm syndrome she experiences exactly the same abnormal feeling towards him. A similar situation can develop between parents and children.

Stockholm syndrome in the family primarily affects people who initially belong to the psychological type of "suffering victim". Such people were "unloved" in childhood, they experienced envy of the surrounding children, loved by their parents. Often they have a complex of "second-rate", unworthiness. In many cases, the motive for their behavior is the following rule: if you argue less with your tormentor, then his anger will manifest itself less often. A person suffering from bullying takes what is happening for granted, he continues to forgive his offender, and also defends and even justifies him before others and before himself.

One of the varieties of everyday “hostage syndrome” is post-traumatic Stockholm syndrome, the essence of which is the appearance of psychological dependence and attachment of the victim, to whom physical violence was used. A classic example is the restructuring of the psyche of a person who has experienced rape: in some cases, the very fact of humiliation with the use of force is perceived as a self-evident punishment for something. At the same time, there is a need to justify the rapist and try to understand his behavior. Sometimes there were situations when the victim was looking for a meeting with his offender and expressed his understanding or even sympathy to him.

Social Stockholm Syndrome

As a rule, a person who sacrifices himself to an aggressor cohabitant outlines for himself certain survival strategies that help him physically and mentally survive, being side by side with the torturer every day. Once realized, the mechanisms of salvation over time remake the human personality and turn into the only way of mutual coexistence. The emotional, behavioral and intellectual components are distorted, which helps to survive in conditions of endless terror.

Experts managed to identify the basic principles of such survival.

The person tries to focus on positive emotions (“if he doesn’t yell at me, then it gives me hope”).
There is a complete denial of negative emotions (“I don’t think about it, I don’t have time”).
Own opinion absolutely repeats the opinion of the aggressor, that is, completely disappears.
A person tries to take all the blame on himself (“I bring it up and provoke him, this is my fault”).
The person becomes secretive and does not discuss his life with anyone.
The victim learns to study the mood, habits, behavior of the aggressor, literally "dissolves" in it.
A person begins to deceive himself and at the same time believe in it: a false admiration for the aggressor appears, a simulation of respect and love, pleasure from sexual intercourse with him.

Gradually, the personality changes so much that it is no longer possible to live differently.

stockholm shopper syndrome

It turns out that the "hostage syndrome" can refer to more than just the "victim-aggressor" scheme. A banal representative of the syndrome can be an ordinary shopaholic - a person who unconsciously makes expensive purchases or uses expensive services, after which he tries to justify unnecessary spending. This situation is considered a particular manifestation of a distorted perception of one's own choice.

In other words, a person suffers from an acute form of the so-called “consumer appetite”, however, unlike many people, he subsequently does not recognize the waste of money, but tries to convince himself and those around him that the acquired things are extremely necessary for him, and if not now, then for sure.

This kind of syndrome also refers to psychological cognitive distortions and represents constantly recurring mental errors and inconsistencies between statements and reality. This has been repeatedly researched and proven in numerous experiments in psychology.

Stockholm syndrome in this manifestation is perhaps one of the most harmless forms of psychopathology, however, it can also have negative domestic and social consequences.

Diagnosis of Stockholm Syndrome

Modern psychological practice in diagnosing cognitive distortions is based on a whole combination of specially thought-out clinical-psychological and psychometric methods. The main clinical and psychological option is considered to be a phased clinical diagnostic survey of the patient and the use of a clinical diagnostic scale.

These methods consist of a list of questions that allow the psychologist to detect deviations in various aspects of the patient's mental state. These can be affective disorders, cognitive, anxiety, provoked by a state of shock or taking psychoactive drugs, etc. At each stage of the survey, the psychologist can, if necessary, move from one stage of the interview to another. If necessary, relatives or close people of the patient can be involved in the final diagnosis.

Of the other most common diagnostic techniques in the practice of doctors, the following can be distinguished:

rating scale for determining the severity of psychological trauma;
the Mississippi scale for determining post-traumatic reaction;
an interview with Beck to determine the level of depression;
interviews to determine the depth of psychopathological features;
PTSD scale.

Treatment of Stockholm Syndrome

Treatment is carried out mainly with the help of psychotherapy. It goes without saying that the use of drug therapy is far from always appropriate, since few patients believe that they are suffering from any pathology at all. Most patients refuse to take medicines due to personal circumstances, or stop the prescribed course, as they consider it inappropriate.

Properly conducted psychotherapy can be a promising treatment, since the patient’s right attitude allows him to independently develop effective options for overcoming mental changes, as well as learn to recognize illusory conclusions and take the necessary measures in time, and possibly even prevent cognitive anomalies.

The cognitive treatment regimen uses a variety of cognitive and behavioral strategies. The applied techniques are aimed at detecting and evaluating misconceptions and misleading inferences and mental constructions. During the treatment course, the patient learns to perform the following operations:

watch your thoughts that arise automatically;
trace the relationship between your thoughts and behavior, evaluate your emotions;
analyze facts that confirm or refute their own conclusions;
make a real assessment of what is happening;
recognize functional disorders that may lead to distortion of inferences.

Unfortunately, emergency care for Stockholm syndrome is not possible. Only the victim's independent awareness of the real damage from his position, the assessment of the illogicality of his actions and the lack of prospects for illusory hopes will allow him to abandon the role of a person humiliated and deprived of his own opinion. But without consulting a specialist, it will be very difficult, almost impossible, to achieve success in treatment. Therefore, the patient must be under the supervision of a psychologist or psychotherapist throughout the entire period of rehabilitation.

Prevention of stockholm syndrome

When conducting a negotiation process during hostage-taking, one of the main goals of the mediator is considered to be pushing the aggressive and injured parties to mutual sympathy. Indeed, the Stockholm syndrome (as practice shows) significantly increases the chances of the hostages to survive.

The task of the mediator of negotiations is to encourage, and even provoke the development of the syndrome.

In the future, with people who were taken hostage and survived safely, repeated consultations with a psychologist will be held. The prognosis of the Stockholm syndrome will depend on the qualifications of a particular psychotherapist, on the desire of the victim himself to meet the specialist, as well as on the depth and degree of traumatization of the human psyche.

The difficulty lies in the fact that all of the above mental abnormalities are extremely unconscious.

None of the victims tries to understand the real reasons for their behavior. He shows his behavior unconsciously, following a subconsciously built algorithm of actions. The natural inner desire of the victim to feel safe and have protection pushes her to fulfill any conditions, even if they are invented on her own.

Movies about Stockholm Syndrome

There are quite a few films in world cinematography that clearly illustrate cases when hostages went towards terrorists, warning them of danger and even shielding them with themselves. To learn more about this syndrome, we recommend watching the following films:

Chase, USA, 1994. A criminal escapes from prison, steals a car and takes a customer hostage in a store. Gradually, the girl gets to know the kidnapper better and is imbued with warm feelings for him.
"Excess Luggage", USA, 1997. A car thief steals another BMW, not suspecting that along with the car he is also stealing a girl who hid in the trunk ...
“Tie me up”, Spain, 1989-1990. A film about the kidnapping of an actress by a guy, which subsequently gave rise to mutual feelings for each other.
"City of Thieves", USA, 2010. An exciting film about the relationship between a robber and his former hostage.
"Reverse Track", USA, 1990. A hired killer needs to deal with a girl artist who has become an unwitting witness to the mafia showdown. Knowing the girl better, he falls in love with her and goes on the run with her.
"Executioner", USSR, 1990. A girl is raped and, in order to take revenge, is forced to hire a bandit. However, a situation arises that forces the victim to forgive his offenders.
"Stockholm Syndrome", Russia, Germany, 2014. A young girl who went on a business trip to Germany is kidnapped right in the middle of the street.

Such a phenomenon as “Stockholm syndrome” is usually considered paradoxical, and the developing attachment of victims to criminals is unreasonable. Is it really?

stockholm syndrome

Not to be confused with the economic term "Dutch Syndrome".

stockholm syndrome(English) Stockholm Syndrome) is a term in popular psychology that describes a protective-subconscious traumatic connection, mutual or one-sided sympathy that occurs between the victim and the aggressor in the process of capturing, abducting and / or using (or threatening to use) violence. Under the influence of a strong shock, the hostages begin to sympathize with their captors, justify their actions, and ultimately identify with them, adopting their ideas and considering their victim necessary to achieve a "common" goal. Household stockholm syndrome, arising in dominant family relationships, is the second most well-known variety of Stockholm syndrome.

Due to the apparent paradoxical nature of the psychological phenomenon, the term "Stockholm syndrome" has become widely popular and has acquired many synonyms: such names as "hostage identification syndrome" (Eng. Hostage Identification Syndrome ), "syndrome of common sense" (eng. Common Sense Syndrome), "Stockholm factor" (eng. Stockholm Factor), "hostage survival syndrome" (eng. Hostage Survival Syndrome) and others. The authorship of the term "Stockholm syndrome" is attributed to the criminologist Nils Bejerot, who introduced it during the analysis of the situation that arose in Stockholm during the hostage-taking in August 1973. The psychological defense mechanism underlying the Stockholm syndrome was first described by Anna Freud in 1936, when it was called "identification with the aggressor."

Researchers believe that Stockholm syndrome is not a psychological paradox, not a disorder (or syndrome), but rather a normal human reaction to a severely traumatic event. So, Stockholm syndrome is not included in any international classification system for psychiatric diseases.

According to research, Stockholm Syndrome is a fairly rare event. According to FBI data on more than 1,200 cases of hostage-taking with barricading the hostage-takers in the building, Stockholm syndrome was noted in only 8% of cases.

Factors affecting the formation of Stockholm syndrome

Stockholm syndrome can develop when:

political and criminal acts of terrorism (hostage-taking);
military punitive operations (for example, when taking prisoners of war);
imprisonment in concentration camps and prisons;
administration of judicial procedures;
the development of authoritarian interpersonal relations within political groups and religious sects;
implementation of some national rituals (for example, when kidnapping a bride);
kidnapping for the purpose of enslavement, blackmail or ransom;
outbreaks of domestic, domestic and sexual violence.

The mechanism of psychological defense is based on the hope of the victim that the aggressor will show indulgence, provided that all his requirements are unconditionally met. Therefore, the captive tries to demonstrate obedience, to logically justify the actions of the invader, to arouse his approval and patronage.

The humanization of the relationship between the invader and the victim is key in the formation of the Stockholm syndrome and is determined by the following factors:

Knowing that the terrorists are well aware that as long as the hostages are alive, the terrorists themselves are alive, the hostages take a passive position, they have no means of self-defense either against the terrorists or in the event of an assault. The only protection for them can be a tolerant attitude on the part of terrorists. As a result, the hostages become psychologically attached to the terrorists and begin to interpret their actions in their favor. There are known cases when the victims and the invaders were together for months, waiting for the demands of the terrorist to be fulfilled.

In cases of particularly ill-treatment, the hostages psychologically distance themselves from the situation; convince themselves that this is not happening to them, that this could not happen to them, and they displace the traumatic event from their memory by engaging in specific activities.

If no harm is done to the victim, some people, being less susceptible to the syndrome in the process of adapting to the situation and sensing the potential inability of the invaders to harm them, begin to provoke them.

After being released, the surviving hostages can actively support the ideas of the captors, petition for a commutation of the sentence, visit them in places of detention, etc.

Negotiation prevention and debriefing

In hostage negotiation, one of the psychological tasks of the mediator is to encourage the development of mutual sympathy (Stockholm syndrome) between the hostages and the hostage-takers in order to increase the chances of the hostages to survive. Director of Research Programs at the Center for the Prevention of International Crimes Adam Dolnik said about this in an interview with Novaya Gazeta:

The negotiator is simply obliged to provoke, encourage the formation of this syndrome by any means. Because if the terrorists and the hostages like each other, then there is less chance that the hostages will do something stupid that would lead to violent terrorist actions. And it will be extremely difficult for terrorists, in turn, to decide to kill the hostages for whom they feel sympathy.

Hostage-taking in Stockholm in 1973

On August 26, the police drilled a hole in the ceiling and took pictures of the hostages and Olofsson, but Ulsson noticed the preparations, started shooting and promised to kill the hostages in the event of a gas attack.

On August 28, the gas attack did take place. Half an hour later, the invaders surrendered, and the hostages were taken out safe and sound.

Former hostages said that they were not afraid of the invaders, who did nothing wrong to them, but of the police. According to some reports, they hired lawyers Ulsson and Olofsson at their own expense.

During the trial, Olofsson managed to prove that he did not help Ulsson, but, on the contrary, tried to save the hostages. He was cleared of all charges and released. In freedom, he met with Christine Enmark, and they became friends with families.

Ulsson was sentenced to 10 years in prison, where he received many admiring letters from women.

The case of Patty Hearst

Described in detail in the article "Patricia Hurst".

Patricia Hearst was captured on February 4th by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Symbionese Liberation Army). The terrorists received $4 million from the Hirst family, but the girl was not returned. Later it turned out that she joined the ranks of the S.A.O. under the threat of murder.

Capture of the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, the capital of Peru, December 17, 1996

This is the largest ever capture of such a large number of high-ranking hostages from around the world, whose immunity is established by international acts.

Terrorists (members of the Peruvian extremist group "Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement"), who appeared in the form of waiters with trays in their hands, seized the ambassador's residence along with 500 guests during a reception on the occasion of the birthday of Emperor Akihito of Japan and demanded that the authorities release about 500 of them supporters in prison.

Immediately after this hostage-taking, the public began to accuse the President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, of inaction and of not providing reliable protection of the embassy, the leaders of Western countries whose citizens were among the hostages put pressure on him and demanded that the safety of the hostages be a priority goal upon their release. Under such conditions, there was no talk of any storming of the embassy, or any other forceful measures to free the hostages.

Two weeks later, the terrorists released 220 hostages, reducing the number of their captives to make them easier to control. The released hostages puzzled the Peruvian authorities with their behavior. They made unexpected statements about the righteousness and justice of the terrorists' struggle. Being in captivity for a long time, they began to feel both sympathy for their captors, and hatred and fear towards those who would try to free them by force.

According to the Peruvian authorities, the leader of the terrorists, Nestor Cartolini, a former textile worker, was an exceptionally cruel and cold-blooded fanatic. A whole series of kidnappings of major Peruvian entrepreneurs was associated with the name of Kartolini, from whom the revolutionary demanded money and other valuables under threat of death. However, he made a completely different impression on the hostages. A prominent Canadian businessman, Kieran Matkelf, said after his release that Nestor Cartolini is a polite and educated man who is dedicated to his work.

The described case gave the name "Lim's syndrome" (Eng. Lima syndrome) . The situation in which the terrorists feel such strong sympathy for the hostages that they release them is a reverse example (special case) of the Stockholm syndrome.

Notes

Literature

M. M. Reshetnikov. Sketches for a psychological portrait of a terrorist.
M. M. Reshetnikov. Features of the state, behavior and activities of people in extreme situations with a vital threat.
. Karen Greenberg. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Stockholm Syndrome" is in other dictionaries:

stockholm syndrome- STOCKHOLM SYNDROME (p. 568) a paradoxical reaction of attachment and sympathy that occurs in the victim in relation to the aggressor. This phenomenon got its name in connection with a real case that occurred on August 23, 1973. Then… … Great Psychological Encyclopedia

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME- a condition experienced by some people who are forcibly held as hostages for a long period of time; at the same time, they may develop a feeling of sympathy for the criminals who captured them. It is named after the situation that arose in ... ... Legal Encyclopedia

- [gr. syndrome confluence] 1) honey. a combination of signs (symptoms) that have a common mechanism of occurrence and characterize a certain disease state of the body; 2) psychol. stockholm s. the desire that arises in some hostages ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Stockholm syndrome is a psychological condition that occurs during hostage-taking, when the hostages begin to sympathize and even sympathize with their captors or identify with them. If the terrorists can be captured, then the former ... ... Wikipedia

Based on the materials of the book by L.G. Pochebut
"Social psychology of the crowd" (St. Petersburg, 2004).

stockholm syndrome- a psychological state that occurs during hostage-taking, when the hostages begin to sympathize with the hostage-takers or even identify themselves with them.

The authorship of the term "Stockholm syndrome" is attributed to the criminologist Nils Bejerot, who introduced it during the analysis of the situation that arose in Stockholm during the hostage-taking in August 1973.

With a long interaction between hostages and terrorists, a reorientation occurs in the behavior and psyche of the hostages. The so-called "Stockholm Syndrome". It was first discovered in the capital of Sweden. The situation developed as follows. Two repeat offenders in a financial bank took four hostages - a man and three women. For six days, the bandits threatened their lives, but from time to time gave some concessions. As a result, the victims of the capture began to resist government attempts to free them and protect their captors. Subsequently, during the trial of the bandits, the released hostages acted as defenders of the bandits, and two women became engaged to the former kidnappers. Such a strange attachment of victims to terrorists arises when the hostages are not physically harmed, but they are subjected to moral pressure. For example, during the seizure of the hospital in Budyonnovsk by Basayev's detachment, the hostages, who had lain on the floor of the hospital for several days, asked the authorities not to start an assault, but to fulfill the demands of the terrorists.

"Stockholm Syndrome" is exacerbated if a group of hostages is divided into separate subgroups, unable to communicate with each other.

The peculiar situation that provokes the "Stockholm Syndrome" is repeatedly described in the literature, reflected in feature films. For the first time, the psychological attachment of a hostage to his watchman is presented in the film based on Lavrenev's story "Forty-First". Then, in the French film The Runaways, starring famous actors Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard, a tender friendship is shown between a failed terrorist (Richard's hero) and a former bandit who became his hostage (Depardieu's hero). In the famous American film "Die Hard" with the participation of Bruce Willis, the situation of the consequences of the "Stockholm Syndrome" is played out more dramatically. One of the hostages showed solidarity with the terrorists, betrayed his comrades, betrayed the wife of a police officer (the hero of Willis). After that, he was shot in cold blood by terrorists. This example shows us how risky it is for hostages to communicate with terrorists.

The psychological mechanism of the Stockholm syndrome is that in conditions of complete physical dependence on an aggressive terrorist, a person begins to interpret any of his actions in his favor. There are cases when the victim and the invaders were together for months, waiting for the demands of the terrorist to be fulfilled. If no harm is done to the victim, then in the process of adapting to the situation, some people, sensing the potential inability of the invaders to harm them, begin to provoke them. However, any statements about the weakness of terrorists, threats of revenge, imminent exposure and prosecution can be very dangerous and lead to irreparable consequences.

The "Stockholm Syndrome" manifested itself most clearly during the capture of the Japanese embassy in Peru by terrorists. At the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, the capital of Peru, on December 17, 1998, a magnificent reception was held on the occasion of the birthday of Emperor Akohito of Japan. The terrorists, who appeared as waiters with trays in their hands, seized the ambassador's residence along with 500 guests. The terrorists were members of the Peruvian extremist group Tupac Amar Revolutionary Movement. It was the largest ever capture of such a large number of high-ranking hostages from around the world, whose immunity is established by international acts. The terrorists demanded that the authorities release about 500 of their supporters who are in prison.

Immediately after the capture of Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, they began to accuse him of not providing reliable protection for the embassy. Western leaders, whose citizens were among the hostages, put pressure on him and demanded that the safety of the hostages be a priority in their release. But there was no talk of any assault on the embassy, or any other forceful measures to free the hostages. A day after the capture of the residence, the terrorists released 10 prisoners - the ambassadors of Germany, Canada, Greece, the cultural adviser to the French embassy. The terrorists agreed with the diplomats that they would become mediators in the negotiations between them and President A. Fujimori. The president could either join the negotiations with the terrorists, which they insisted on, or try to free the hostages by force. But the assault on the embassy did not guarantee the survival of the hostages.

The hostage-taking lasted four months. The situation of the hostages began to deteriorate. Some hostages decided to break free on their own. And only A. Fujimori, for whom it was absolutely unacceptable to follow the terrorists' lead and release their comrades-in-arms from prison, seemed to be inactive. In the country, his popularity fell extremely low. The president's inaction outraged the world community. No one knew that a group of specially trained people were digging a tunnel under the embassy. On the advice of the previously released hostages, the assault on the embassy began during a football match, which at a certain time of the day was fought between terrorists. The capture group sat in a secret tunnel for about two days. When the assault began, the entire operation took 16 minutes. All terrorists during the assault were destroyed, all the hostages were released.

hostage syndrome- this is a serious shock state of changing the consciousness of a person. The hostages are more afraid of the storming of the building and the violent operation of the authorities to free them than the threats of terrorists. They know that the terrorists are well aware that as long as the hostages are alive, the terrorists themselves are also alive. The hostages take a passive position, they have no means of self-defense either against terrorists or in the event of an assault. The only protection for them can be a tolerant attitude on the part of terrorists. The anti-terrorist action to free the hostages poses a more serious danger to them than even to terrorists who have the opportunity to defend themselves. Therefore, the hostages are psychologically attached to the terrorists. In order to eliminate the cognitive dissonance between the knowledge that terrorists are dangerous criminals whose actions threaten them with death, and the knowledge that the only way to save their lives is to show solidarity with the terrorists, the hostages choose situational causal attribution. They justify their attachment to terrorists by the desire to save their lives in this extreme situation.

This behavior of the hostages during the anti-terrorist operation is very dangerous. There are cases when a hostage, seeing a commando, shouted to the terrorists about his appearance and even shielded the terrorist with his body. The terrorist even hid among the hostages, no one exposed him. The perpetrator does not reciprocate the feelings of the hostages at all. They are not living people for him, but a means to an end. The hostages, on the contrary, hope for his sympathy. As a rule, "Stockholm Syndrome" passes after the terrorists kill the first hostage.

Examples of Stockholm Syndrome

Sweden

In 1973, Jan Erik Ulsson escaped from prison. On August 23 of the same year, he took four hostages (three women and a man) in a bank in Stockholm. Ulsson made demands: money, a car, weapons and freedom for cellmate Clark Olafsson.

Olafsson was immediately brought to him, but they did not provide cash, a car and weapons. Now the hostages were in the company of two criminals at once and they spent more than five days in the room.

In the event of an assault, Ulsson promised to kill all the hostages. The criminal confirmed the seriousness of his intentions by injuring a police officer who tried to enter the premises, and forced the second one to sing a song at gunpoint.

For two days the situation inside the bank remained extremely tense, but after some time, more trusting and even friendly relations began to develop between the hostages and the robbers.

The captives suddenly began to feel sympathy for their guards and even began to openly criticize the police. One hostage even interceded with the Prime Minister of Sweden, telling him during telephone conversations that she did not feel unhappy at all and was fine with Jan Erik. She even asked the government forces to fulfill all their demands and give them freedom.

On the sixth day, the assault began, during which all the hostages were released, and the criminals surrendered to the authorities.

The hostages, having been released, began to declare in numerous interviews that they were not at all afraid of Ulsson and Olafsson. Everyone was frightened only by the police assault.

Clark Olafsson managed to avoid prosecution, but Ulsson was sentenced to ten years in prison.

This story became so popular that Jan Erik had crowds of female fans eager to take over his heart. While serving his sentence, he married one of them.

Clark Olafsson met at large with one of the hostages, and they became friends with families.

Capture of the Japanese embassy in Peru

On December 17, 1998, a magnificent reception was held at the Japanese embassy in Peru, where, under the guise of waiters, members of the Tupac Omar Revolutionary Movement group entered the ambassador's residence. More than 500 high-ranking guests turned out to be with the ambassador. The invaders demanded that the Japanese authorities release all their supporters who were in.

Of course, under the circumstances, there was no question of any storming of the building, because the hostages were not mere mortals, but high-ranking government officials.

Two weeks later, the terrorists release 220 hostages. Their statements after their release somewhat surprised the Peruvian authorities. Most of the released had a clear sympathy for the terrorists, but were afraid of the authorities, who could storm the building.

The hostage-taking lasted four months. At this time, the Japanese government seemed to be inactive, but in fact, specialists were digging a tunnel under the residence building. The capture team sat in this secret tunnel for more than 48 hours, waiting for the right moment. The assault itself took only 16 minutes. All the hostages were rescued, and all the terrorists were eliminated.