Is there really such thing as Stockholm syndrome? The term Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a psychological shift when a captor portrays acts of kindness to their hostage that the hostage deems hospitable

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Is there really such thing as Stockholm,what is its past and how does it affect our world?

In psychology, Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express adulation and have positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims. [1]
Psychiatrist Nils Bejerot expressed what we know as ‘Stockholm syndrome’ in a news broadcast after assisting police in 1973 with their enquiries in Normalmsmorg in Stockholm where a group of people were held captive in a bank. The hostages were held captive from August 23 to August 28, 1973. During this period the hostages became emotionally attached to their captors and when they were released defended their captors in a way that could be deemed as both irrational and inappropriate to an average individual. For example in 1934 Mary McElroy was kidnapped and held ransom, she was released unharmed yet when released defended her captors in court after they were given harsh sentences (including a death sentence). She said that the experience had been a positive one and that she felt no damage from the incident which occurred. Reports however stated that she suffered great grief and guilt which compromised her mental and physical health: because of this in 1940 she took her own life. [5]

        Contrary to stockholm syndrome is what has been identified as lima syndrome. Lima syndrome is the reverse of stockholm syndrom whereby the abductor begins to sympathize with their hostages. It was named after a kidnap of the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru 1996. After a few days however they releases many of their hostages due to sympaty [19]
        The term Stockholm syndrome can be seen as a psychological shift when a captor portrays acts of kindness to their hostage that the hostage deems hospitable and allows to foil the fact that they are still being subjected to a horrific ordeal. The fact that the acts of kindness occur encourage sympathy and the longer the period of time this continues the greater the bond becomes (this can sometimes even lead to a sexual interest). Psychiatrist Frank Ochberg was the first professional to define ‘Stockholm syndrome’: he stated that it is "a primitive gratitude for the gift of life," not unlike that felt by an infant.2]. It could be argued that he is expressing how like a child the individual is vulnerable thus very dependant. The captor has evidently removed the victims independence and thus gained control. It is possible that the hostages’ motivation to live outweighs their impulse to hate the person who created their dilemma.[4] The captive will form an attachment to the adult who is seen as the vital part of the hostages survival because of this it could be labelled as a strong defence mechanism (identification). It can be seen as a high psychological arousal which has become falsely linked to a feeling of attraction (through fear). [7]
        The development of the syndrome is still highly unclear and after thorough research it has been suggested that those victims whose captors have not subjected them to physical abuse, have been present the entire time of captivation and emotionally applied themselves to the victim will be more likely to develop the syndrome. Experts whom have conducted research and experiments have actually concluded that it is the emotional intensity of the ordeal and not the duration which encourages the syndrome. [3] This same research shows that 27% of victims develop the syndrome. “Initially kidnap victims are stunned, numbed and fearful,” said Prof David Alexander,from the Aberdeen Centre for Trauma Research at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. [12] After the victim has overcome the initial emotions of being kidnapped their survival mechanisms kick in, and the victim tries to concentrate on remaining alive not necessarily escaping. This is also apparent with domestic violence victims who continue to remain with abusive partners. However contrary to Prof Alexander is Geraldine Stahly, a psychology professor at California state University- San Bernardino; she says that 'people who spend long stretches of time with their captors often begin identifying with them. If they are held for a length of time, they begin to have distortion in their thinking, to take the side of the hostage-taker and see police
as a threat,”. [14] This coincides with the story of Elizabeth Smart whom was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City America on the 5th June 2002 by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee. She was taken to a camp by Mitchell and was forced into a robe so that he could conduct aceremony to marry himself and Elizabeth;he then repeatedly raped her. This ordeal became the norm for Smart thaty after a while they deemed it safe to take her out in Sandy, Utah. She was spotted by a member of the public who informed the police immediately. At first Smart refused to admit whom she was as she was terrified of the outside world, it was only when Mitchell told police he had kidnapped her that she felt safe enough to be truthful after 9 months in captivity. Gregg McCrary, a retired FBI profiler, agrees with Stahly and added that “They start to see the outside world as more threatening than the world they’re in,”[15] thus being very defensive when it comes to interacting with 'outsiders' especially the police.

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A well known psychology experiment known as the 'Stanford Prison Exp[eriment' was carried out in 1971 by a team of researchers led by Psychology Professor Dr. Phillip Zimbardo, Ph.D, at Stanford University. [20] The idea of the experiment was to see how being taken and placed in an unusual place, under unusual circumstances affects individuals; both the abducted and those with the authority. On a quiet sunday morning twenty-four undergraduates were taken from their homes and arrested in a phoney sweep across the area of Sanford; these were to be randomly allocated the roles of either the guard or prisoner, in the fake prison in the basement of the university. Zimbasdo created a place of disorientation, dispersonalisation and deindividualisation (this can relate to the situation that a stockholm syndrome sufferer is subjected to): the fake guards were even given weopons such as batons to emphasise the fact that they had the authority, however they were not allowed to use them for any reason. In The Stanford Prison Study video Zimbardo is seen telling the guards, "You can create in the prisoners feelings of boredom, a sense of fear to some degree, you can create a notion of arbitrariness that their life is totally controlled by us, by the system, you, me, and they'll have no privacy... We're going to take away their individuality in various ways. In general what all this leads to is a sense of powerlessness. That is, in this situation we'll have all the power and they'll have none." [21] The experiment began to get very out of hand very quickly... the prisoners even began settling into a routine whereby they accepted humiliating abuse and sadistic treatment. A way in which they were humiliated is the recital of their prisoner numbers ( they like ' Patricia Hearst' aka Tania, a sufferer of stockholm syndrome, had their names removed and replaced). They were kept so isolated that they were unable to urinate or defecate. Some prisoners were forced to go nude as a method of degradation, and some were subjected to sexual humiliation, including simulated sodomy.[20]The experiment was aborted after only 6 days on the grounds of it being too uncontrollably inhumane. Its result has been argued to demonstrate the impressionability and obedience of people when provided with a legitimizing ideology and social and institutional support. Like stockholm syndrome this experiment is used to illustrate cognitive dissonance theory and the power of authority.[20]

In order for Stockholm syndrome to occur the captor threatens to kill the hostage and makes it apparent to them that he is capable of it, the hostage deems it safer to do as their perpetrator tells them rather than contradict them and face murder. [3]. The victim is kept isolated from the entire outside world thus enforcing dependency on the captor as they only have their perspective available for them to analyse. Also it is the perception that the perpetrator is showing a degree of kindness, this in itself must be present for the syndrome to develop; because hostages often misinterpret a lack of abuse as kindness and develop feelings of appreciation for this perceived benevolence, the victim will submerge the anger in response to terror and concentrate on the captors to protect themselves. [3] Finally one of the most poignant things is the view that the captors are in fact providing life and not taking it, again referring back to Frank Ochberg and his view of a child in comparison to the hostage in terms of both life and dependency. Isolation of the captive may also be apparent by the captivator threatening to cause harm or even kill the victims family and friends, if they have been particularly shown interest and favourability they may see cooperation as the only way everyone is safe and happy.

The syndrome over recent years has been higly publicised in the media especially the cases of Jaycee Lee Duggard, and 2 cases in Austria concerning 18-year-old Natascha Kampusch and 42 year old Elisabeth Fritzl whom were both held captive in underground cellars.Natascha Kampusch born 17th february 1988 was abducted aged 10 on March 2nd 1998 and was held for 8 years in Wolfgang Priklopil's basement. To begin with the blame was placed on her family however the accusations were deemed unacceptable and were abolished. It was then suggested that she was sold to child pornography rings or a gang requiring her in relation to organ theft; her abduction was also linked to the French serial killer Michel Fourniret as she had her passport in her possesion when she was taken[23]. Kampusch escaped 8 years later on August 23rd 2006. Elisabeth Fritzl on the otherhand was held captive in a basement by her own father for over 24 years, in this time she was subjected to physical and verbal abuse and also raspe, which led to her becoming pregnant 8 times (giving birth to 7 children and having 1 miscarriage). The Fritzl scandal was found in 2008 and swamped the Austrian news, continuing throughout the globe.The emotion that backed the 'Fritzl' case was overwhelming and truely brought the syndrome to the forefront of our society. One newspaper bore the headline 'Fritzl Case Offers Hope, Warning for Jaycee Dugard' [22] this hightlights how one significant thing in a persons life is imprinted across the world and acts as a design of support from one person to another: from one country to another. Even though it is a trecherous condition to have it is apparent that it is part of our world, publicising it in the media can only aid in the improvement of erasing it from our society.
As well as being in the media, Stockholm sydrome has been present in popular culture. The term Helsinki syndrome has been used erroneously to describe Stockholm syndrome in the movie ‘Die Hard. Also actress Patricia Hearst who’s career includes roles in ‘Cry baby’ and ‘A dirty shame’ openly shares her experience and development of the syndrome at the time where she was held captive by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber. She is the Granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst and great-granddaughter of millionaire George Hearst: Among her few close friends she counted Patricia Tobin, whose family founded the Hibernia Bank, a branch of which Hearst would later aid in robbing. On February 4th 1974, Hearst then 19 was kidnapped from her Californian apartment by the Symbionese Liberation Army, on the grounds that they would swap her for their jailed comrades. This plan however failed and they demanded that the victims family distributed aid to every needy Californian. After the distribution of aid they refused to release her as they deemed it all poor quality. Hearst was held captive and then on April 3rd 1974 she announced on tape that she was now part of the Symbionese Liberation Army. She grew so attached to the group that she adapted the name Tania inspired by the nom de guerre of Haydée Tamara Bunke Bider, Che Guevara's comrade. [6]On the 5th of April Hearst was photographed robbing a bank and she announced that she was fully commited to the left parties goals, because of this a warrant was issued for her arrest. She was later arrested in 1975. At her trial her attorney F.Lee Bailey claimed that his client had been brainwashed whilst being blindfolded and imprisoned in a narrow closet. They claimed that she had been subjected to physical and sexual abuse, this was central to her defence: She was however found guilty. Although her defence was unsuccessful in their claim that Hearst was in fact suffering from Stockholm syndrome in 2001 she was given a presidential pardon from Bill Clinton on the grounds of the syndrome.

Now a basis has been established the main question is how does it affect people like you and I? People who in fact have never been kidnapped?... It could be said that all psycholgical phenomena e.g Stockholm syndrome and cognitive dissonance, highlight the general human condition that affects all of us in our everyday lives. [7] Everyone can at some point in their lives become inappropriately attached and attracted to an individual whom in someway tyrannize and manipulate them without even realising that it is occurring; this is in fact just a bizarre example of general human behaviour. Certain occurances in everyday life can be foreshadowments of the syndrome, 'the woman constantly falling for the typical wrong man' or even ' the addicted smoker in love with and held captive by his cigerettes'. Even though these can be seen as minor links the link is still apparent. We should not just passively observe such behaviour, but instead investigate the reason behind it and why we allow it to occur.

In the 1970's a study was carried out by psychologists Arthur Aron and Don Dutton called the 'Shaky bridge study'. The idea was to prove that meeting a stranger when physiologically aroused increased the probability that a romantic bond would form between them because of the strong link between anxiety, arousal and attraction. The study was carried out on a rickety bridge and tested the attraction that the male had towards the woman. The results found that they found the encounter more sexier because of the intensity of the danger, this was evident by the response of the high rickety bridge in comparison with a low stable one. Research also showed that men found photos of the opposite sex more attractive after they had just got off of a rollercoaster compared with men waiting to get on: and couples were more attracted to each other after viewing a suspense filled thriller than a love story. It could be interpreted that after the fear and rush of the danger they felt more inclined to be closer to the individual whom has some form of control over them just like the kidnapper has over their victim; they have heightened attraction under conditions of high anxiety. [8] Dutton and Aron argued that the condition is developed after the initial feelings of fear and confusion wear off and are replaced with the victim constructing a positive bond as a way to cope. Linking this study to today is the recent headlines concerning an American girl kidnapped from a bustop in South Lake Tahoe California on June 10,1991. Jaycee Lee Duggard was missing for over eighteen years however was found on August 26,2009 along with two children aged twelve and fifteen, whom she had given birth to in captivity. It was later reported that Phillip Craig Garrido aged fifty-eight and his wife Nancy Garrido aged fifty-four had been charged with kidnap and rape. Jaycee had been held captive in a large tent in the Garrido's garden and had been subjected to a series of horrific ordeals including rape which led to her giving birth twice. [9] Reports show that when Duggard was primarily deemed in danger she lied about her identity to protect the Garridos saying that she was in hiding from an abusive spouse in Minnesota; it was not until Phillip Garrido admitted kidnapping her that she confirmed police suspicion on her true name and identity. US psychologist Joseph Carver says Jaycee's circumstances meet those necessary to be diagnosed with the syndrome. Carver stressed that Jaycee’s survival mechanism was the main reason for her complicity, not romance.[10]. Duggard's stepfather confirmed that his stepdaughter was suffering with major guilt which is a sure sign of the syndrome.[11] But Dr. Marshall Korenblum, chief psychiatrist at the Hincks-Delcrest Centre for Children in Toronto, said those feelings of guilt are positive prognostic signs for her recovery, particularly given how long she was held.[12] A year later it is still evident that Jaycee has still not fully recovered from the syndrome however experts say that it may be a number of years before she is able to come to terms with what has happened and realise that she is no longer under his control, and therefor no longer feels inclined to defend him. Dr Korenblum insisted that Dugard will experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and will experience flashbacks and nightmares. Her recovery, he said, depends on how strong a personality she developed at the tender age of 11. [12]

Dr Claudia Herbert, a clinical psycholgist at the Oxford Stress and Trauma Centre, stated that it is possible Duggard acquired the syndrome due to what is known as a 'double bind' [11]. A double bind is defined as 'a situation in which a person must choose between equally unsatisfactory alternatives; a punishing and inescapable dilemma' this includes contradictory demands.[13]. Herbert argued that Jaycee totally depended upon Garrido for her survival however horrible the things were that he did to her, because of this her emotions will be very clouded. Duggard would experience pity, sorrow and misplaced love and on the other hand anger and trauma.[11]

Lalich who penned the 1994 'captive hearts, captive minds: Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Abusive Relationships' book mostly concentrated on the stories of religious cults and groups whom left their victims with the syndrome. Cult leaders control their subjects through giving them a new name, language, determining what they eat, style and indoctrining them to a religious belief system; Lalich labelled this the victims 'new reality' where they forget whom they once were. A cult mainly uses memes to implant 'falsified memories and feelings into the victims mind, these memes are what encourage Stockholm syndrome. A meme is a replicating information pattern (ideas which can be passed on). Memes like genes are in a Darwinian survival contest and they fight for the limited space we have within our brain which has evolved to be receptive to memes.[17] For instance when a victim is brainwashed their memes which would be deemed as rational are destroyed and replaced with others which are unknown. An example of this is the Milgrim experiment in

1961 testing obedience to authority even in the most absurd situations, a rational person would not obey the demands of the experiment however the participants memes were replaced by others which encouraged them to act innappropriately . The experiment was mainly carried out to try and explain why some of the horrific incidents happened in the concentration camps of World War II. As Stockholm syndrome was not yet identified as an actual medical condition during the second world war it is hard to predict whether or not the german soldiers whom took part in the attrocities were in fact suffering from the syndrome. It could be argued that they had all of their rational memes wiped out and replaced by those of murder and suffering. Stanley Milgrim investigated the group phenomenon by constructing a fake 'shock generator' with 30 switches which increased by 15 volts each time. The voltage ranged from 15 to 450 volts and the machine had warning stickers placed on them with such things as 'danger: severe shock'. 40 male participants were used who believed that they were participating in an experiment on memory and learning. When they arrived they were introduced to the experimenter and the other subject( 47 year old accountant and confederate). The two subjects then picked paper to decide who would be the 'learner' and whom would be the 'teacher'; this was of course set up and the real participant would always be the 'teacher'. The participant then seen the confederate strapped to a chair and the electrodes attached; he was then led to another room . The dependant variable was 'the length of time an individual would continue to give shocks to someone else if they are told to even if they would be seriously hurt'. The experiment was based on word pairs, if the learner got a pair wrong the teacher was instructed to electrify them with the voltage increasing by 15 volts each time. Obviously the subject did not recieve any shocks and the screams of pain were in fact pre recorded on tape. Each time the participant refused to continue or questioned the experiment 'prods' were used such as 'please continue' making it more authoritarian each time. The results showed that although most were uncomfortable all 40 subjects obeyed up to 300 volts and 25 continued up to the maximum 375. This may be because even with our almost innate behaviour memes can be removed and replaced with the most irrational ones by an individual whom we deem in authority. [18] Because of this Milgrims study can in some way allow us to identify certain reasons for an individual to obey to a perpetrators demands even if they are extremely innappropriate.

After much discussion and exploration of a variety of case studies and field experiments, it is highly apparent to me that there is such a thing as 'Stockholm Syndrome' and its effect on an indivudual is extremely overwhelming. I believe there to be many parrallels between what we have come to know as 'Stockholm syndrome' and also what is known as brainwashing; the link between the two is clear in the case of Patricia Hearst in California. The concept of the syndrome has only come to light thanks to the survival of hostage victims: if they did not contract the syndrome then they may not have survived their ordeal. The only positive thing that evolves from the syndrome is the colection of people whom have escaped the clasps of their perpetrators because of it. In some way it could be seen as a hope for the young girls still missing today such as Madeline McCann (born 12.5.03; abducted 3.05.07 from praia da luz) whos defence mechanisms may have kicked in and she could still be out there right now. If the media continued to internationally recognise the impact that the syndrome has on even the most developed nations, then maybe the inhabitants of our world will aid in the demolishion of such controversy.

References

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4] Thomas Strentz, “Law Enforcement Policy and Ego Defenses of the Hostage,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, April 1979, 2-12
[5]
[6]

[7] www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk › ... ›

[8] Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 510-517

[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_of_Jaycee_Lee_Dugard

[10] http://www.examiner.com/x-1168-Crime-Examiner~y2009m8d30-Experts-say-Stockholm-syndrome-reason-Jaycee-Dugard-did-not-attempt-escape

[11] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/jaycee-lee-dugard/6106991/Jaycee-Lee-Dugard-may-have-succumbed-to-Stockholm-Syndrome.html

[12] http://www.rickross.com/reference/garrido/garrido3.html

[13] http://www.answers.com/topic/double-bind

[14] http://www.religioustolerance.org/brain_wa1.htm

[15] http://www.apologeticsindex.org/353-stockholm-syndrome

[16] Vincent J. Schodolski and V. Dion Haynes, Captive girl’s actions hint at brainwashing, Chicago Tribune, via the Contra Costa Times,
Mar. 15, 2003

[17] http://www.human-nature.com/nibbs/02/cults.html
[18] http://www.experiment-resources.com/stanley-milgram-experiment.html

[19] http://wikibin.org/articles/lima-syndrome.html

[20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

[21] http.www.psychology.nottingham.ac.uk/staff/msh/mh_teaching_site_files/a_lectures /c82sad%20l07%social%20influence%2011%20the%20bbc%20prison%20experiment%20handout.doc

[22] http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=8453222

[23] . . 24 August 2006. . Retrieved 2006-09-06.