Motivation and emotion/Book/2023/Torture interrogation, motivation, and emotion

Torture interrogation, motivation, and emotion:
What are the motivational and emotional aspects of torture interrogation and how do these impact on the effectiveness of torture interrogation?

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Overview

Case study The following case study exemplifies how the motivational aspect of fear and pain, along with the emotional aspect of stress and anger can impact whether torture is an effective method of interrogation. A prisoner of war has been tortured for 27 hours in an attempt to gain information about his home country's war tactics and army. He has told his torturers everything he knows; however, he has been told this is insufficient information and that "he must know more". He is suffering from exhaustion, fear, pain, anger and stress. These emotional impacts have provided a motive for him to tell the perpetrators what he believes they wanted to hear. The information he shares is false.

Torture is the purposeful infliction of violence, suffering and pain on an individual with the intention of becoming aroused, powerful, or respected (O’Mara, 2018). However, torture is most commonly used to provoke confession and gain information; this is known as interrogational torture. Whilst many Western societies disapprove of the use of torture, there is debate throughout the literature whether this interrogation method is effective. The motives of both the tortured and torturer can have a strong influence on whether torture interrogation is effective in terms of success in gaining information and confession. Torture interrogation has been used historically across multiple cultures and societies, and has been seen to have lasting emotional impacts for both the perpetrator and the victim such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, insomnia and trauma. Torture interrogation can evoke fear, pain and exhaustion, which can lead victims to provide information and confession to their torturer, regardless of whether this is true or false (Schiemann, 2016). Although torture interrogation has been abolished legally within many countries, there are many that still accept torture both legally and illegally with "at least 30% and possibly more than 40%" (De C. Williams & Hughes, 2020) of the population having experienced a form of torture. This chapter explores, using psychological theory, why torture interrogation is heavily influenced both positively and negatively by the motivational and emotional aspects that surround it, whilst discounting the stereotype that torture is only a problem for less wealthy and conflict-ridden nations (De C. Williams & Hughes, 2020).

Focus questions: What is torture interrogation? What are the motivational aspects involved in torture interrogation? What are the emotional aspects involved in torture interrogation? How do the emotional and motivational aspects impact the effectiveness of torture interrogation?

Historical perspective

Torture interrogation has a historical presence globally. It is important to understand the history of torture to contemplate the surrounding legal and ethical framework.

Historical use of torture interrogation

Torture has been used historically throughout many eras. These include: ancient societies (such as Egypt, Greece and Rome), medieval societies, and modern societies (Einolf, 2007). Within these societies, torture was legal and considered justifiable as torture was most commonly against people "who are not full members of a society" (Einolf, 2007) such as slaves, those of a different race or religion, and prisoners of war. Prior to the 17th century, torture may have been legal for private use, but it was also legal to use judicially as a punishment for serious crimes or to extract information regarding further crimes or accomplices (Einolf, 2007). During the 17th and 18th centuries, society began to change and the practice of torture was becoming abolished in many Western countries. For example, Scotland criminalised torture in 1708 which led to other European countries also criminalising it (Rodley, 2023). Outram (2006) argues the abolishment of torture was due to the changing attitudes brought about by The Age of Enlightenment, which placed a greater importance on the value of human life and happiness. In 1948, the United Nations drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which details the rights and freedoms of every individual. This document states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (Delaplace & Pollard, 2006). Although this standard was set, there is evidence to suggest torture still exists in the modern world with torture interrogation being used in World War I, World War II, Cold War, Vietnam War, and other government facilities such as prisons and detention centres (Barela et al., 2020). Because of this continued use, many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) have been formed to help survivors of torture and to encourage legal action against the perpetrators (Delaplace & Pollard, 2006).

Types of torture

Type of torture	Explanation
Psychological	Psychological torture is the intentional infliction of mental suffering on an individual without using physical methods. This is often done by attempting to dismantle a person's self-concept and mind (Reyes, 2007). Methods of psychological torture include humiliation, sleep deprivation, exposure to phobias and removing senses such as hearing or vision. A less common example of psychological torture is the forcing of an individual to harm another person or witness the harm of another person (Reyes, 2007).
Sexual	Sexual torture can be the act of deliberately causing harm to genitals, having sexual intercourse without consent, or penetrating "the vagina or anus or mouth of another person with an inanimate object by forcible compulsion" (Dogra & Bodkha, 1999).
Physical	Physical torture is the use of force such as beatings, electric shock, burning and any mutilations to gain a desired response from the victim (Rodley, 2023). Devices that have been made with the purpose of torture such as the rack device [1] (see Figure 1) are in the physical torture category. Figure 1. Torture can be seen all throughout history.

Choose the correct answer and then hit submit

Quiz Sally is being purposefully sleep deprived with the use of loud noises. What type of torture is she experiencing? Physical torture Psychological torture Sexual torture

Motivational aspects of torture interrogation

Figure 2. Sigmund Freud

Motivation is "the process whereby goal‐directed activities are initiated and sustained" (Cook & Artino, 2016). To understand the motivational aspects involved in torture interrogation, it is vital to understand the different types of motivations we have as individuals. Extrinsic motivation is when an individual is motivated to do something due to external factors such as rewards and punishments (Hennessey et al., 2015).In the instance of torture, these external factors for the perpetrator include recognition from others, assuming power, and being rewarded with information or a confession from the victim, whilst for the victim, they include the experience of pain.

On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is when an individual is motivated to do something due to internal factors such as personal enjoyment (Hennessey et al., 2015). Internal factors for the torturer include sexual gratification and arousal, whereas for the victim it may be the experience of fear. Unconscious and conscious motivation are explored in Sigmund Freud's (see Figure 2) Psychoanalytic Theory. Conscious motivation is when the individual is aware of the motive that drives a behaviour, whereas unconscious motivation is when the individual is unaware of the driving motive. Freud argued that the mind is responsible for both conscious and unconscious motivation (Bargh & Morsella, 2008).

Perpetrators' motivations

Sexual pleasure

The motives of torturing a victim for sexual gratification include the release of mood increasing hormones such as dopamine and oxytocin, satisfying sexual urges, maintaining control and dominance over an individual, and sadism (Banerjee, 2020). Sadism is when a individual gains pleasure and arousal from inflicting pain, humiliation, or torture on the other person (Knack et al., 2020). This can be done with consent and without consent; however, Banerjee (2020) argues "sexual violence in any form ... has serious psychosocial consequences on the victim and cannot be medically or psychologically justified". This is due to the potential dangerous outcomes such as sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and declining psychological well-being (Dehghan & Osella, 2022). Sexual gratification as a motive contributes to the figures collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021) that show that 2.9 million people have been sexually assaulted in their lifetime. This motive is not seen as commonly for interrogation purposes.

Confession and information

Whilst torture for the purposes of confession or information technically differ from one another, Hassner (2020) explains that the two commonly merge into one motive. Interrogational torture is the use of torture to obtain information about a desired topic. The motive of gaining confession and information may be used to convict criminals, find witnesses, and complete a task set by a supervisor or boss (Hassner, 2020). Whilst this is now a violation of international law, there is discussion surrounding the ethicality of this motive of torture. The Ticking Time Bomb Theory aims to justify interrogational torture by posing the scenario that "a bomb has been placed in a city by a terrorist, and the only way to defuse the bomb in time is to torture a terrorist in custody for information" (Spino & Cummins, 2014). This scenario proposes a utilitarian justification by showing that interrogational torture can occasionally be for the greater good (Spino & Cummins, 2014).

Power

Torture can be used for perpetrators to assume power by spreading fear throughout a community to encourage people to stay uninvolved in crime, or by climbing the ranks within an organisation. David McClelland published his Theory of Acquired Needs in 1961, which explained that there are three sources of motivation; one of these is the need for power (Baptista et al., 2021). When someone is motivated by power, they are usually over concerned with reputation and social status (Wang et al., 2022). Wang et al. (2022) explains that the motive of power is responsible for the "obstinate, offensive, and reprehensible behaviours" that are destructive to society. For example, power is a significant motive when it comes to aggression and violence such as interrogational torture (Wang et al., 2022).

Victims' motivations

Figure 3. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Pain

The pain inflicted during torture can motivate a victim to provide a confession or provide information regardless of the truth. Pain can increase blood pressure, and release stress hormones which can enable decision making and cause anxiety symptoms. Torture interrogation relies on this response in order to gain information and confession. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943) provides a clear explanation of how motivation can be increased or decreased depending on the various needs being met (see Figure 3). Perpetrators rely on the motivation that a violation of these needs will provide. For example, physiological needs can be violated through starvation or sleep deprivation, and safety needs can be violated with pain and fear of death (Lonn & Dantzler, 2011).

Fear

Fear is a significant driving force for the victims of torture as it motivates individuals to take action to remove the fear they are experiencing. Fear "functions as a drive and that fear reduction serves as reinforcement" for behaviours (Brown & Jacobs, 1949). Fear is a biological human emotion that may arise from a "threatening situation or stimulus" (Witte, 1996). The Protection Motivation Theory (Rogers, 1975) highlights how "individuals are motivated to react in a self-protective way towards a perceived health threat" (Westcott et al., 2017). Perry (2022) describes how fear is vital to human survival as it invokes a fight or flight response. For example, during torture, fear of death may motivate the victim to source an escape (flight), or provide information to abolish the threat of death (fight).

Emotional aspects of torture interrogation

Torture interrogation can inspire emotions such as pleasure, joy, amusement, anger, sadness, guilt, fear, embarrassment and disgust. All of these emotions can impact both the victim's and the perpetrator's psychological well-being.

Psychological impact on victims

The psychological impact of all types of torture includes depression, anxiety, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulting from trauma (De C Williams & Van Der Merwe, 2013). These mental health disorders can lead to concentration difficulties, sleep disorders, shame, fatigue, and nightmares. PTSD, stress, and anxiety are disorders that can arise when someone has experienced trauma in the form of a frightening or dangerous event (Bhandari, 2022). PTSD can lead to the most common symptom of an impaired psychological well-being from torture, which is living in a constant state of fear. Based on the DMS-5, excessive fear from trauma can cause "alterations in physiological arousal and reactivity" (Gonzalez & Martinez, 2014). These alterations can cause symptoms such as "intrusive memories, distressing dreams, flashbacks or distress or physiological reactions upon exposure to cues of the trauma" (Gonzalez & Martinez, 2014).

Figure 4. Three hormones that allow for a balanced and content mood

Psychological impact on perpetrators

The psychological impact for the perpetrator can differ depending on the feelings experienced. These feelings can be of a positive nature, for example amusement, arousal and pleasure. These emotions can affect mental welfare in a beneficial way. For example, the release of hormones such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine (see Figure 4) can aid in decreasing stress and increasing happiness (Juárez Olguín et al., 2016). On the other hand, feelings can also be negative, for example, disgust, guilt, and detachment. These emotions can affect mental welfare in a detrimental way. For example, Miceli and Castelfranchi (2018) state that shame and guilt "involve negative self-evaluations and feelings of distress" elicited by one's wrongdoing. This level of self-consciousness can lead to mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis.

Case study Quilodran and Cottam (2018) conducted a study which involved interviews with the Chilean police and military who were responsible for the torture interrogation during the military regime in 1973 to 1990. The results varied depending on whether the perpetrators took responsibility for their actions or whether they felt they were simply following orders. However, there was a high number of participants who felt remorse, guilt, and shame for their actions.

Conversely, there may be pre-existing psychological impacts experienced by the perpetrator. These include psychopathy disorder. Psychopathy disorder is a mental health condition that can cause increased antisocial behaviours and decreased guilt, empathy, and sympathy traits (De Brito et al., 2021). Whilst the aetiology of psychopathy cannot be determined, De Brito et al. (2021) state that psychopathy can increase the risk of "physical health problems, educational and employment failure, accidents and criminality".

How do motivation and emotion impact the effectiveness of torture interrogation?

The effectiveness of torture is a topic that has been debated widely through the media and literature and is a source of ongoing controversy. Scholars have argued that although torture works in regard to gaining information and confession, these can be unreliable (Lowth, 2017). Lowth (2017) conducted a meta-analysis of current literature and found that torture induces pain and fear which "undermine the brain’s executive functions, including recall and cognition, making memory fallible" and inducing false confession. An example Lowth (2017) cited was the torture of men in Turkey: these men recall giving the interrogators false information to make the suffering end. There are many motivational and emotional aspects of torture interrogation which deem the method a failure.

Firstly, emotions such as stress, guilt and shame felt by both the perpetrator and the victim can impact the effectiveness of torture interrogation. Yun-seo (2020) argues that stress and anxiety experienced by the victims of torture interrogation can cause temporary selective mutism and cause people to "clam up whenever they feel pressured to speak". On the other hand, guilt and shame are emotions that have been experienced by perpetrators. This guilt and shame can be a powerful predictor of reoffending, with Miceli and Castelfranchi (2018) stating that shame and guilt "are self-conscious emotions, implying self-reflection and self-evaluation". However, the emotions a perpetrator feels towards their victim may impact the level of shame and guilt they experience. Quilodran and Cottam (2018) suggest that torturers are able to justify their actions when they feel the victim has committed a violent crime or is a threat to the order of society.

Secondly, motives such as sexual pleasure, power, fear and pain felt by both the perpetrator and the victim can also impact the effectiveness of torture interrogation. Sexual pleasure as a motive dismantles the effectiveness of torture interrogation as torturers are not phased by the information they are required to gather, but more interest is placed into the intrinsic motivation of arousal (Dogra & Bodkha, 1999), which means they are more likely to reoffend and gather false information from victims. Similarly, the motive to gain power can cease the effectiveness of torture as for example; being offered a promotion in exchange for obtaining meaningful information from a victim may cause the perpetrator to use more violent methods for extracting information and have little regard for justice or truth. Furthermore, Quilodran and Cottam (2018) suggest that torturers are able to justify their actions when they feel they are simply following orders from a superior or someone in power. From the victim's perspective, the motivational aspect of fear can play an influential role in the effectiveness of torture (Costanzo & Gerrity, 2009) as escaping fear can be a motivator to lie and tell the torturer what they believe they desire as opposed to what is true. Similarly, Porreca and Navratilova (2017) explain that pain is a powerful motivator as it guides "the choice of an immediate behavioural response and influences future decisions of actions" to avoid the pain by giving false or unreliable confessions.

Conclusion

There are multiple motives and emotions involved in both the perpetrator's and victim's psychology which have detrimental effects on well-being. The motives vary from perpetrator to victim. For the perpetrator, these include sexual pleasure, confession and information, and power. For the victim, these include the pain and fear experienced as a result of torture. The emotions common to both perpetrator and victim may be feelings of guilt, shame, sadness, anger and fear. These can be seen to impact torture negatively as most literature argues that torture is ineffective. Although torture has been used historically, it has been since abolished and shunned morally.

See also

• Abraham Maslow (Wikipedia)
• What motivates the use of torture? (Book chapter, 2021)
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (Wikiversity)
• Torture (Wikipedia)
• What motivates engagement in physically or psychologically painful practices? (Book chapter, 2021)
• Psychological trauma (Wikipedia)
• Forced confession (Wikipedia)

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External links

• When is torture justified? (TEDxTalks, 2015)
• Investigations of the torture of a CIA prisoner (Davies, 2023)
• Torture protection organisation (Amnesty International, n.d.)
• The impacts of torture and how to prevent it (Rodley, 2023)
• Infamous torture devices (Little, 2023)
• Video explaining the impacts of trauma (Emerging Minds, 2018)