Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques for Ensuring Global Security

Chapter 1

Analyzing the Malicious Individual

We are all as unique as our fingerprints. No two of us are alike. Even identical twins exhibit different behavior under different circumstances. We are born with a genetic design that dictates our eye and hair color, height, weight, temperament, musical ability, and an immense number of other attributes. However, through life's experiences we are molded by a combination of biology and environment to be who we are and to behave the way we do.

We all respond continuously to events and situations in our environment that precede our behavior. We continually respond to any environmental context in which we find ourselves. As stated in the Introduction, a behavioral perspective considers these preceding events and situations to be antecedents. When we do exhibit behavior in the presence of precursor events, our behavior has consequences. Antecedents prompt behavior to occur, and consequences maintain it, increase it, or decrease it in the future, based on the desirability of the consequences. I refer to the antecedent-behavior-consequence sequence as ABC simply to use a less wordy term. In this chapter, you will learn to use ABC principles to help analyze malicious behavior. In later chapters you will learn how to use the concepts along with new methods to accurately anticipate malicious behavior.

Analyzing the Unique Individual

The method of behavior analysis presented in this book may be used to analyze and anticipate the behavior of an ...