Threat Assessment

Topics include

• Understanding relevant personality and demographic variables associated with indoctrination, radicalization, and extremism
• Underlying motivations and elemental components of hatred by members of ideologically motivated groups
• Key differences between trained and untrained bad actors when engaging in acts of violence, and how those are different from that of suicide bombers
• Facial expressions associated with imminent aggression and violence.

Because of the focus on behavior, the topics covered are applicable to both international and domestic terrorism.

This groundbreaking and revolutionary workshop leverages the latest scientific research concerning behavioral indicators of immediate threats, including research that led to the identification of signs of imminent aggression.

Being able to recognize these signs could mean the difference between life and death for people in some professions that require security professionals to put themselves in the path of potential danger regularly.

This course is designed for all types of interactions and observational skills, such as those involved in perimeter scanning, engagement with security personnel applying brief, focused interviews (checkpoints, traffic stops, screening interviews, etc.), patrol, or surveillance.

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Learning Objectives

Participants in this course will:

1. Identify the various stages or phases of a bad actor cycle toward violence.
2. Deepen understanding of the psychological factors underlying the pipeline of indoctrination, radicalization, and extremism.
3. Identify the key elemental components of hatred of ideologically motivated groups toward other groups, and recognize those key elements in both speech and nonverbal behavior.
4. Describe key differences in behavioral indicators between trained and non-trained actors when conducting acts of violence, and to describe differences from indicators associated with suicide bombers.
5. Increase their recognition accuracy of facial expressions of imminent danger and aggression, and increase their knowledge of the scientific underpinnings of those indicators.
6. Raise awareness of observation and vigilance that will keep themselves and others safe.

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Scientific Background

Different modules of this course have different scientific bases. For example, material regarding terrorist motives come from Humintell’s work on the MINERVA project, a five-year project sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of Defense on the emotional bases of ideological motivated groups that commit acts of violence (Matsumoto et al., 2015; Matsumoto et al., 2013, 2014a, 2014b, 2016, 2017). Research on faces of imminent aggression serve as the backbone for our module on imminent aggression (Matsumoto & Hwang, 2013, 2014). Material on terrorist planning and preparation comes from studies of the Terrorist Research Analysis Protocol (Gill et al., 2016; Meloy, 2006; Meloy & Gill, 2016; Meloy et al., 2012; Meloy et al., 2015; Meloy & Yakeley, 2014). Material on behavioral indicators associated with checkpoint security and from engagement in terrorist acts come from studies sponsored by the Transportation Security Administration (Matsumoto & Hwang, 2020).

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Typical Length

One (1) day.

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Topics Covered

Overview of Threat Assessment and Management

This section focuses on being left of bang and an understanding that behavioral indicators are different at different phases of the threat cycle.

Identification – Who becomes a Terrorist?

This  section covers latest research findings on the psychological underpinnings underlying the pipeline of indoctrination, radicalization, and extremism.

Motives and Behavioral Signatures 

This  section covers research concerning the elemental components of hatred of ideologically motivated groups toward others, and discusses signs of how to recognize those elemental components in speech and nonverbal behavior.

Planning and Preparation

This  section covers the behavioral indicators associated with planning and preparation of terrorists and other bad actors as they move toward violence.

Perimeter and Checkpoint Security

When bad actors become operational, the first area of operation they encounter will involve perimeter and checkpoint security. Participants will learn of the behavioral indicators associated with suspicious behavior and mal-intent at this operational phase. Training can also encompass physical perimeter security reviews.

Baselines

Understanding baselines is incredibly important, and this brief  section covers not only individual baselines but also environmental baselines.

Engagement with Security Personnel

Knowledge and skills in this  section will leverage behavioral indicators of deception covered more comprehensively in Humintell’s Tactical Interviewing courses. Humintell was one of the contributors to the passenger screening procedures initially developed by the Transportation Security Administration and deployed in airports across the country and around the world, as well as in many private organizations. The techniques taught involve not only the observation of behavioral cues to malintent and deception, but also conversational and brief interview strategies designed to amplify the production of such cues.

Engagement in Attack

Humintell has recently completed the most comprehensive survey of behavioral indicators of bad actors after they have entered an area of operation and are conducting an attack. The indicators are very different for trained and untrained actors, and for suicide bombers. Participants will learn to recognize these differences in this section.

Behavioral Signatures of Imminent Attack

In this  section, participants will learn the unique facial expressions associated with imminent aggression using Humintell’s proprietary training tool based on cutting edge research in this area. These studies are the only ones of their kind to isolate a unique set of facial expressions reliably associated with imminent aggression.

Disengagement

Research and fieldwork have demonstrated that behavioral indicators can be useful in identifying bad actors while they are disengaging from the attack and exfiltrating from an area of operation. This  section will review what is known in that area.

Pedagogy will involve ample audio-video examples, discussion, question and answer, and practical exercise throughout the course to exemplify the behavioral indicators discussed.

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References

Gill, P., Silver, J., Horgan, J., & Corner, E. (2016). Shooting alone: The pre-attack experiences and behaviors of U.S. solo mass murderers. Journal of Forensic Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13330

Matsumoto, D., Frank, M. G., & Hwang, H. C. (2015). The role of intergroup emotions on political violence. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(5), 369-373.

Matsumoto, D., & Hwang, H. C. (2013). Differences between individuals with and without experience with assault in identifying facial signs of imminent aggression. In K. Glass, R. Colbaugh, A. Sanfillippo, C. Corley, J. Li, L. Khan, A. Wynne, L. Coote, W. Mao, D. Zeng, & A. Yaghooby (Eds.), 2013 IEEE International Conference on Intelligence and Security Informatics (pp. 176-178). IEEE.

Matsumoto, D., & Hwang, H. C. (2014). Facial signs of imminent aggression. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 1(2), 118-128.

Matsumoto, D., & Hwang, H. C. (2020). Clusters of nonverbal behavior differentiate truths and lies about future malicious intent in checkpoint screening interviews. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. 

Matsumoto, D., Hwang, H. C., & Frank, M. G. (2013). Emotional language and political aggression. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 32(4), 452-468. 

Matsumoto, D., Hwang, H. C., & Frank, M. G. (2014a). Emotions expressed by leaders in videos predict political aggression. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 6(3), 212-218. https://doi.org/10.1080/19434472.2013.769116

Matsumoto, D., Hwang, H. C., & Frank, M. G. (2014b). Emotions expressed in speeches by leaders of ideologically motivated groups predict aggression. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 6(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/19434472.2012.716449

Matsumoto, D., Hwang, H. C., & Frank, M. G. (2016). The effects of incidental anger, contempt, and disgust on hostile language and implicit behaviors. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 46(8), 437-452.

Matsumoto, D., Hwang, H. C., & Frank, M. G. (2017). Emotion and aggressive intergroup cognitions: The ANCODI hypothesis. Aggressive Behavior, 43, 93-107.

Meloy, J. R. (2006). Empirical basis and forensic application of affective and predatory violence. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 539-547.

Meloy, J. R., & Gill, P. (2016). The lone-actor terrorist and the TRAP-18. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 3(1), 37-52. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000061

Meloy, J. R., Hoffmann, J., Guldimann, A., & James, D. (2012). The role of warning behaviors in threat assessment: An exploration and suggested typology. Behavioral sciences & the law, 30(3), 256-279.

Meloy, J. R., Roshdi, K., Glaz-Ocik, J., & Hoffmann, J. (2015). Investigating the individual terrorist in Europe. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, 2(3-4), 140-152. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000036

Meloy, J. R., & Yakeley, J. (2014). The violent true believer as a “lone wolf”–psychoanalytic perspectives on terrorism. Behavioral sciences & the law, 32(3), 347-365. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2109

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For more information

Our workshops are only for groups and organizations. If you’re part of a larger group interested in training please email us at info@humintell.com.

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If you’re just an individual looking for some training for yourself, we encourage you to view our Threat Assessment Products here.