CNN -- Atran and his colleagues spent the past couple of years interviewing captured ISIS fighters, as well as Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members and other front-line fighters battling against ISIS, to better understand what drives anyone to willingly attack and die for a cause.

To examine what may drive someone's willingness to fight and die, the researchers analyzed their previous interviews with captured ISIS fighters and PKK members from 2015.

Many of those interviews were conducted on the front lines of war.
To get access to the front line, "we had to talk to the political leaders or whoever was in charge of the territory," Atran said.

The researchers discovered that three crucial factors motivate both ISIS fighters and those fighting them: a deep commitment to sacred values, the readiness to forsake family for those values, and the perceived spiritual strength of the group or community that the fighter represents.

The study could "help to inform policy decisions for the common defense" and fighting terrorism, the researchers write.
"The main thing that really matters to them is what they 'feel in their hearts,' as they themselves put it. Some of these guys are really committed," Atran said, adding that he found the same characteristics in the Kurdish fighters and others fighting ISIS.

"In our material world, we have underestimated or underplayed the spiritual dimension of human action," he said. "Doing so runs the risk of leaving ourselves open to people who are motivated by deeper spiritual and sacred values and virtues, and I think that's the greatest danger we face."

The sacrifices mentioned in their interviews were dying, letting their families suffer, killing civilians, undertaking a suicide attack or torturing women and children.
"This means that sacred values and strength of spirit are critical driving factors for ISIS fighters and the people fighting against them most successfully," Atran said.
"Now, what if, when push comes to shove, the values and the group divorce? Are you going to go with your buddies or the values? We found for the most devoted fighters ... those most willing to make sacrifices were those willing to sacrifice their group" or buddies, he said.

"What this study tells us is that there are three compelling reasons why someone would be willing to fight and die: They commit to and embrace some sacred value, they willingly forsake their own kin for those same values, and they truly believe in the spiritual strength of their own group compared to the enemy," he said. "This is an elegant theory that makes both intuitive sense but is supported by real-world data."

In other words, he said, "there are common psychological threads woven into the fabric of what motivates us all to fight and die for a cause."

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/04/health/isis-fighters-human-behavior-study/index.html

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