Describe the Stockholm syndrome. Under what conditions is it likely to occur?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers may vary.Successful hostage negotiation requires an understanding of the dynamics of hostage incidents so that these dynamics can be applied by the negotiator to contain and ultimately end the incident with a minimum of violence. For example, in many hostage situations, a strong sense of psychological togetherness and mutual dependency develops between the hostages and their kidnappers. These feelings emerge from (1) the close, constant contact between the participants, (2) their shared feelings of fear and danger, and (3) the strong feelings of powerlessness induced by prolonged captivity. This relationship, dubbed the Stockholm syndrome, involves mutually positive feelings between the hostages and their kidnappers.This term derives from a 1973 event in which hostages held in a Swedish bank developed a close emotional attachment to their captors. Hostages may come to sympathize with the lawbreakers and even adopt, at least temporarily, their captors' ideological views. The behavior of Patricia Hearst, a newspaper heiress who was kidnapped in 1974 and later helped her captors rob a bank, has been explained through this syndrome. It was also seen in 1985, when 39 passengers from Trans World Airlines (TWA) Flight 847 were detained as hostages for 17 days by hijackers in Beirut. Allyn Conwell, the spokesperson for the hostages in the hijacking, was criticized for his statements expressing "profound sympathy" for his captors' Shiite position, but he explicitly denied that he was influenced by the Stockholm syndrome.Hostage negotiators try to take advantage of this dynamic by becoming a part of it themselves. First attempting to become a psychological member of the hostage group who nevertheless maintains important ties to the outside world, negotiators will then try to use their outside contacts to persuade hostage-takers to bring the crisis to a peaceful end. Successful negotiators make contact with hostage takers in as nonthreatening a manner as possible and then maintain communication with them for as long as necessary. Generally, the negotiator attempts to isolate the hostage takers from any "outside" communication in order to foster their dependency on the negotiator as the crucial link with other people. Once communication is established, the negotiator tries to reduce the hostage takers' fear and tension so that they will be more willing to agree to a reasonable solution. Negotiators structure the situation in ways that maximize predictability and calm. For example, they may offer help with any medical needs the hostage group has, thereby fostering positive feelings associated with the Stockholm syndrome. Finally, through gradual prompting and reinforcement, the negotiator tries to encourage behaviors that promote negotiation progress (e.g., more conversation, less violence and threats as part of such conversation, and the passage of time without violence).