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library / lib044531f4c1a70f07

On Killing The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society

Grossman Dave

In a sentence

An exploration of the powerful innate resistance humans have to killing each other, the modern conditioning techniques used by militaries to overcome it, and the profound psychological cost of doing so, both for soldiers and a society increasingly saturated with media violence.

Most people believe that any soldier will kill to save their own life, but historical data reveals a shocking truth: throughout history, the vast majority of combat soldiers have been unable or unwilling to fire their weapons at the enemy. In 'On Killing,' Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a former Army Ranger and West Point psychology professor, unveils the powerful, innate human resistance to intraspecies killing. He meticulously documents how modern militaries have developed sophisticated psychological conditioning techniques—desensitization, classical conditioning, and operant conditioning—to bypass this resistance, dramatically increasing firing rates but at a terrible cost. The book delves into the anatomy of the killing act, the stages of emotional response from exhilaration to remorse, and the factors like distance and authority that make killing possible. Grossman argues that the failure of society to provide post-combat rationalization and purification rituals for Vietnam veterans led to an epidemic of PTSD. Most alarmingly, he demonstrates how these same military conditioning techniques are now being applied indiscriminately to our children through violent movies and interactive video games, creating a 'virus of violence' that is devastating American society.

The four lenses

Science
Statistics
Systems
Strategy

The model

This model outlines the psychological levers and contextual conditions that are manipulated to overcome the innate human resistance to killing, leading to increased combat participation. This act of killing, in turn, exacts a significant psychological cost in the form of trauma (e.g., PTSD), a relationship that is moderated by the presence or absence of societal rationalization and support mechanisms. The model also applies to societal violence, where media-based conditioning enables aggression outside of military safeguards.

Demands of Authoritydesign lever

The degree of influence exerted by a legitimate, respected, and proximate authority figure who commands or expects killing behavior from an individual.

Group Absolutiondesign lever

The psychological phenomenon where peer pressure and the diffusion of responsibility within a group empower individuals to participate in violent acts they would not commit alone.

Emotional and Physical Distancedesign lever

The separation between a killer and victim across physical, cultural, social, and mechanical dimensions, which facilitates dehumanization and reduces the psychological trauma of killing.

Target Attractivenesscontextual condition

The characteristics of a victim that define them as a relevant, legitimate, and high-payoff target, thereby providing a motive for killing.

Aggressive Predispositioncontextual condition

An individual's innate temperament, personality, and past experiences that make them more inclined toward aggression and more likely to kill without remorse.

Conditioning and Desensitizationdesign lever

The systematic training process that uses classical and operant conditioning to create a reflexive killing response to stimuli while reducing the individual's natural emotional revulsion to violence.

Overcoming Resistance to Killingpsychological state

The psychological state in which an individual's powerful, innate inhibition against intraspecies killing is successfully suppressed or bypassed by a combination of enabling factors.

Combat Participation Ratebehavioral pattern

The behavioral manifestation of overcoming resistance, measured by the act of firing one's weapon at an enemy in a combat situation.

Experience of Killingpsychological state

The direct, personal act of taking a human life, which triggers a sequence of powerful emotional responses including exhilaration and remorse.

Societal Rationalization and Supportcontextual condition

The degree to which a society provides rituals, narratives, and affirmations (e.g., parades, public approval) that legitimize a soldier's actions in war, helping to mitigate the psychological trauma of killing.

Combat Effectivenessoutcome metric

A military unit's tactical success, particularly its ability to inflict casualties on the enemy and achieve military objectives.

Psychological Trauma and PTSDoutcome metric

The severe, negative, and often long-lasting psychological distress, including guilt, anxiety, and disorders like PTSD, that results from the act of killing.

Societal Violenceoutcome metric

The aggregate level of violent criminal acts, such as aggravated assault and homicide, within a civilian population.

How they connect

demands of authority → influences overcoming resistance to killing
group absolution → influences overcoming resistance to killing
emotional and physical distance → influences overcoming resistance to killing
conditioning and desensitization → influences overcoming resistance to killing
overcoming resistance to killing → predicts combat participation rate
combat participation rate → predicts combat effectiveness
combat participation rate → predicts experience of killing
experience of killing → predicts psychological trauma and ptsd
societal rationalization and support − moderates psychological trauma and ptsd
conditioning and desensitization → influences societal violence

The story

The reader The reader is a thoughtful citizen—a parent, veteran, soldier, law enforcement officer, or community leader—who is concerned about the rising tide of violence in society and wants to understand the true psychological nature of killing.

External problem

Escalating violent crime plagues our communities, and the psychological trauma of combat, like PTSD, devastates the lives of veterans and their families.

Internal problem

The reader feels confused and disturbed by the act of killing, anxious about the impact of media violence on children, and frustrated by the societal taboo and ignorance surrounding the real costs of war.

Philosophical problem

It is fundamentally wrong that we as a society are both ignorant of the psychology of killing and are inadvertently conditioning our children for violence while failing to heal the psychological wounds of our soldiers.

The plan

First, understand the powerful, innate human resistance to killing through historical data showing that most soldiers don't fire their weapons.
Second, learn the specific psychological levers—distance, authority, group dynamics, and conditioning—that are used to overcome this resistance.
Third, grasp the profound psychological cost of killing and why it results in trauma like PTSD, especially when societal support fails.
Fourth, recognize how modern media and video games are replicating military conditioning techniques and spreading a 'virus of violence' among our children.
Finally, embrace the new field of 'Killology' to resensitize our culture and effectively confront the epidemic of violence.

Success

The reader will achieve profound clarity on the true nature of human violence.
They will be equipped to protect their children from the harmful effects of media violence.
They will better understand, support, and help heal the veterans in their communities.
They will become a voice for reason and contribute to building a safer, more 'resensitized' society.

At stake

The true psychological dynamics of violence will remain a mystery.
Our society will continue its downward spiral into violence, with our children as the primary victims.
The psychological wounds of our soldiers and veterans will continue to go misunderstood and unhealed.
We will remain powerless against the societal forces that are desensitizing us to killing.

Questions this book answers

Why have the majority of soldiers throughout history not fired their weapons at the enemy, even to save their own lives?
What are the psychological mechanisms and conditioning techniques that enable modern soldiers to overcome their innate resistance to killing?
What does it feel like to kill, and what is the psychological cost for the individual who kills?
Why did Vietnam veterans suffer from PTSD at such unprecedented rates?
How are violent movies and interactive video games conditioning our children to kill in a manner similar to military training?

Glossary

Demands of Authority: The psychological pressure to obey commands to kill, exerted by a legitimate, respected, and physically present authority figure.
Group Absolution: The enabling of violent acts through peer pressure, a sense of accountability to comrades, and the diffusion of individual responsibility across the group.
Emotional and Physical Distance: The separation between a killer and their victim that facilitates dehumanization and reduces the psychological difficulty of killing. This distance can be physical, cultural, social, or mechanical.
Target Attractiveness: The perceived characteristics of a potential victim that provide the killer with a motive, making the act of killing seem more necessary, justified, or tactically beneficial.
Aggressive Predisposition: An individual's inherent personality, temperament, and past life experiences that result in a lower-than-average resistance to aggression and killing.
Conditioning and Desensitization: The systematic process of using behavioral modification techniques (classical and operant conditioning) to create a reflexive killing response to specific stimuli while simultaneously reducing the natural emotional aversion to violence.
Overcoming Resistance to Killing: A psychological threshold state where an individual's innate inhibition against killing a member of their own species is suppressed by a combination of external pressures and internal conditioning.
Combat Participation Rate: The proportion of soldiers in a given combat situation who actively use their personal weapons against the enemy.

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