human behavior and crisis management
Crisis Management














Human Behavior And Crisis Management (Definition of Terms and Terminologies)


Automatic Cues or Fixed Action Responses - These are responses that are usually found or used among animals when you instruct them to do something. For example, in an animal show, animal trainers use a whistle to elicit a specific response from an animal.

Antisocial Personality Disorder - is characterized by a long-standing pattern of disregard for other people’s rights, often crossing the line and violating those rights. It usually begins in childhood or
as a teen and continues into their adult lives.

Anxiety - a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.

Apathy - lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.

Avoidant Personality Disorder - experience long-standing feelings of inadequacy and are extremely sensitive to what others think about them. These feelings of inadequacy lead to the person being socially inhibited and feeling socially inept. Because of these feelings of inadequacy and inhibition, the person with an avoidant personality disorder will seek to avoid work, school, and any activities that
involve socializing or interacting with others.

Borderline Personality Disorder - (BPD) is a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and emotions. People with borderline personality disorder are also usually very impulsive, oftentimes demonstrating self-injurious behaviors (risky sexual behaviors, cutting, suicide attempts).

Compulsion - A sudden and irresistible force compelling a person to do some action.

Conditions and Factors that surround and influence an individual that can cause certain behavior patterns.
1. Environment
2. Society                                                      
3. Heredity
4. Learning

Counter-Surveillance - any method either physical or technical employed by the offender(s) to detect Law Enforcement involvement or the use of surveillance.

Courier - the person(s) delivering the concessions(s), which, purports to be, that being demanded by the offenders.

Criminal Behavior - is intentional behavior that violates a criminal code; intentional in that it did not occurs accidentally or under duress.

Criminal Psychiatry - a branch of psychiatry that deals with the evaluation, prevention, and cure of criminal behavior.

Criminal Psychology - a branch of psychology that deals with the study of behavior and mental processes of the criminal.

Criminal Siege - is a result of a perpetration of crime that went wrong and the criminals were trapped or cornered by law enforcers. In many cases, hostage-taking is violent and unplanned.

Criminal Sociology - a branch of sociology that studies the criminal and its relation to the social structure of the organization of society as well the process of how the criminal learns the behavior, both criminal and non-criminal.

Crisis - Any situation that is threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt operations, damage reputation, and/or negatively impact the bottom line.

Crisis Intervention - focuses on studying an individual’s life in order to defuse the destructive effects of the unusual stress being experienced, and then assisting the individual in crisis to go back
to his or her normal condition before the crisis.

Crisis Management - is the expert handling of a situation to reduce or eliminate danger or destruction.

Crisis Negotiation - the use of communication techniques and strategies to influence a person to change his/her behavior in accordance with goals within legal, ethical and moral constraints.

      Crisis Negotiation Team - Composition
      1. Primary Negotiator - actually communicates with the subject.
      2. Secondary Negotiator - (Backup) assists the primary negotiator
         by offering advice, monitoring the negotiations, keeping
         notes, and ensuring that the Primary Negotiator sees and
         hears everything in the proper perspective.
      3. Intelligence Liaison/Recorder - interviews individuals
         associated with the suspect to compile a criminal history
         and a history of mental illness, as well as to gather other
         relevant information. He is also in charge of the recordings
         of all conversations.
      4. Negotiation Team Leader - the most senior member of the team
         act as a leader. His primary responsibility is to act as a
         buffer between command personnel and the Negotiation Team.
         He/She advises the Incident/On-Scene Commander on the best
         negotiating strategies and co-ordinates the process with the
         SWAT and the forward command resources.
      5. Board Negotiator - he/she maintains a visual display of all
         information relevant to the negotiations, i.e. deadlines,
         demands and details of persons known to be in the stronghold.

Deadlock - means no deal and no agreement—in other words, failure of the negotiation.

Debriefing - shall be conducted after each positive police action to evaluate and study operational lapses. Proper assessment of the situation is an important key to a successful operation during hostage-taking scenarios. Debriefing also assists in determining and establishing best practices.

Delusion - is a belief held with strong conviction despite superior evidence to the contrary.

Dependent Personality Disorder - is characterized by a long-standing need for the person to be taken care of and a fear of being abandoned or separated from important individuals in his or her life. This leads the person to engage in dependent and submissive behaviors that are designed to elicit caregiving behaviors in others. The dependent behavior may be seen as being “clingy” or “clinging on” to others because the person fears they can’t live their lives without the help of others.

Depressive and Suicidal - is an individual who has no contact with reality. He/She is characterized by the following:
a. Irritable depressed mood
b. Diminished interests
c. Weight loss and fatigue
d. Insomnia or hypersomnia
e. Psychomotor agitation or retardation
f. Feeling of worthlessness and guilt
g. Lack of concentration
h. Thoughts of death.

Deviant Behavior - a behavior that deviates from the norms and standards of the society. It is not criminal behavior but it has the tendency to become abnormal behavior, it will become criminals
when it violates the provision of the criminal law.

Emphaty - is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It is where the negotiator tries to perceive the emotional state or condition of the subject and feedback a response that
demonstrates his/her understanding of the subject.

Hematophobia - an abnormal and persistent fear of blood.

Histrionic Personality Disorder - is characterized by a long-standing pattern of attention-seeking behavior and extreme emotionality. Someone with histrionic personality disorder wants to be the center
of attention in any group of people and feels uncomfortable when they are not. While often lively, interesting, and sometimes dramatic, they have difficulty when people aren’t focused exclusively on them.

Hostage - an individual who has been held by the perpetrators against his/her will.

Hostage-taker(s) - an individual or group of persons who hold another person(s) against his/her/their will as bargaining chips for purposes of demanding a certain amount of money, self-protection, thwarting any police action, or pursuing a personal interest or that of the general public.

Hostage Taking - is a situation that set of circumstances wherein a suspected law violator is holding a person captive by the use of force or threat of violence.

Hot Debrief - short debriefing conducted by the negotiating team prior to turning over to another set of negotiating team.

Human Behavior - refers to the manner, the way in which a human reacts to his environment.

Illusion - is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Though illusions distort reality, they are generally shared by most people.

Impulsion - a strong urge to do something.

Incident/On-Scene Commander - the senior officer in command of the incident.

Inside Agent - a person who is in any advantageous position (e.g. employed by the victim or victim’s organization) that allows them to gather intelligence or carry out counter-surveillance on behalf
of the offenders.

Intermediary - any person authorized by the Incident/On-Scene Commander to communicate with the hostage-takers either upon the request of the latter or to facilitate smooth communication between
the designated negotiators and the hostage-takers. All actions of the intermediary are supervised by the negotiators.

Kidnapper(s) - an individual or group of persons who kidnapped or held another person against his/her will as bargaining chips for purposes of demanding a certain amount of money, self-protection, thwarting any police action, or pursuing personal interest.

Learned - an operant behavior that involves cognitive adaptation that enhances the human being’s ability to cope with changes in the environment and to manipulate the environment.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder - is characterized by a long-standing pattern of grandiosity (either in fantasy or actual behavior), an overwhelming need for admiration, and usually a complete lack of empathy toward others. People with this disorder often believe they are of primary importance in everybody’s life or to anyone they meet.

Negotiation - to communicate on a matter of disagreement between two parties, with a view to first listen to the other party’s perspective and then attempt to arrive at a resolution agreed by consensus.

Negotiator - a trained PNP personnel or any person authorized by the Incident/On-Scene Commander to negotiate for and on behalf of the police.

Neighborhood Check – the process of getting information from a person who knew the victim, particularly in the neighborhood with the purpose of obtaining material information about the victim and probable suspect.

Obsession - an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person's mind.

Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder - (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry (obsessions), repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety (compulsions), or a combination of such obsessions and compulsions. Symptoms of the disorder include excessive washing or cleaning, repeated checking, extreme hoarding,
preoccupation with sexual, violent, or religious thoughts, relationship-related obsessions, aversion to particular numbers, and nervous rituals such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before entering or leaving a room.

Paranoid - is a mental disorder characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others.

Paranoid Personality Disorder - is generally characterized by having a long-standing pattern of pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others.  A person with paranoid personality disorder will nearly
always believe that other people’s motives are suspect or even malevolent. Individuals with this disorder assume that other people will exploit, harm, or deceive them, even if no evidence exists to support this expectation.

Pay-off – the act of exchanging an agreed amount between the family and the kidnappers at a designated time and place for the safe release of the victim.

Personality Disorder - is not a mental disorder. Individuals with personality disorders can function in the world to a high level, e.g. look after themselves, business, finance, etc. However, they fail to function normally in terms of their relationship with other people. They have dramatic/aggressive clusters of behavior.

      Characteristics of a Person with Personality Disorder
      1. No conscience – lacks guilt or remorse, inability to love,
         no empathy. A Bully.
      2. Selfish, no loyalty
      3. Manipulative/charmer – likes power/controlling others
      4. Sexually experimenting
      5. Seeks immediate gratification, thrill seeker
      6. Low anxiety, blames others – never their fault
      7. Frustration tolerance low – may turn to his/her for stimulation
      8. Low self esteem, poor achievement history
      9. Poor planner – lacks follow through
      10.Probable marital and employment problems
      11.Chaotic family relationship
      12.Excessive/exorbitant and
      13.Changing demands
      14.Suicide potential high
      15.Seeks attention/audience
      16.Wants to prove can do something
      17.May like attention and not want to end incident

Phases of a Crisis
1. Pre-Incident Phase - is the period of time prior to an incident
   occurring. This Phase consists of the following:
   a. Prediction - determination of what incident is going to occur
      and when it is going to occur, is the key to minimizing the
      effects of the incident.
   b. Prevention - the best way to minimize the damage done by an
      incident is to prevent it from occurring. Not all incidents are
      preventable like natural disasters. Some preventable incidents
      may be detected too late to prevent them.
   c. Preparation - 2 Forms of preparation
         1. Preparation of the response designed to prevent the incident
         2. Preparation for the incident.
2. Incident Occurrence - is the instance in time at which the incident
   occurs or starts to occur if it has not been prevented.
3. Post-Occurrence Phase - during this phase, the incident may get
   worse. This Phase consists of the following:
   a. Recognition
   b. Response
         1. Initial Response
         2. Consolidation
         3. Stand down
   c. Recovery
   d. Investigation
4. Post-Incident Phase - incident is likely to have a finite lifetime.
   Most incidents will conclude without intervention. However, without
   intervention the effects of the incident may be worse or the
   incident may last longer. This Phase Consist of the following:
   a. Restoration - once the incident is over, normality returns over
      a period of time which can take months or years for very severe
      incidents.
   b. Investigation - may be performed after the incident concludes
      to provide information and evidence for any hearing, inquiries
      and criminal prosecution.
   c. Post-Incident Discussion Activities - activities include
      immediate incident debriefs and other types of incident
      discussions occurring some time after the incident concludes.
      The aim of the debriefs is to identify areas for improvement.

Phobia - is an overwhelming and unreasonable fear of an object or situation that poses little real danger but provokes anxiety and avoidance.

Proof of life - positive proof that the hostage is alive, obtained from a reliable or verified source.

Psychotic – (Paranoid Schizophrenic) is a mental disorder which means that individuals affected cannot function in the world adequately on a day-to-day basis. They see the world as disorder and they are desperately trying to make sense of it. They have odd/eccentric clusters of behavior and fear/terror may be their underlying emotion.

      Characteristics of a Psychotic Individual
      1. Disorganized Thinking
         a. Delusions, false beliefs – often of persecution or
            grandeur despite evidence to the contrary.
         b. Thoughts spill out in no logical order, leaps from one
            idea to another.
      2. Disturbed Perception - Hallucinations, all 5 senses with no
         known cause.
      3. Inappropriate emotions/actions - Laughs at funerals, cries when
         others laugh, performs compulsive or senseless acts e.g.
         rocking, rubbing, twisting hair.
      4. Socially withdrawn, aloof, detached
      5. Disoriented/confused/paranoid
      6. Argumentative, suspicious of others, over reacts
      7. Acts peculiarly such as collecting rubbish and talking to
         himself/herself
      8. Belief that his/here body/thoughts is controlled by
         external force.

Rapport - a close and harmonious relationship in which the people concerned understand each other’s feelings or ideas and communicate.

Schizoid Personality Disorder - is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, and emotional coldness.

Schizophrenic - is an individual who has no contact with reality. He/She is usually characterized by the following:
a. He/She is a psychotic;
b. He/She has a fundamental personality disorder;
c. He/She exhibits symptoms such as hallucinations, voices, obscene language, giggling, self-absorbed smile, and sudden breaks in the flow of thinking.

Stockholm Syndrome - a term that refers to a situation during hostage-taking where the victim develops rapport and becomes sympathetic with his/her captor.

Stronghold - any location or structure, fixed or mobile, where the hostage is being held.

Suicide Intervention - the use of communication techniques and strategies to influence a person to change behavior and reconsider his desire to commit suicide.

Tactical Interrogation - refers to the act of questioning or eliciting information from a suspect to produce information of tactical or operational value.

Time - is the most important element of hostage negotiation.

Victim -  the person/company/organization to whom the unwarranted demand or threat is directed or intended, or is expected by the offenders to respond.

Victim Communicator - the individual communicating directly with the people making the threat(s), demand(s) or issuing instructions.

Victimology – the process of obtaining a detailed account of the victim’s lifestyle and personality that can assist in determining the nature of the disappearance, the risk level of the victim, and the type of person who could have committed the crime. It also includes complete information regarding the victim’s physical description, normal behavioral patterns, family dynamics, and known friends and
acquaintances.


Related Pages:
1. Human Behavior and Crisis Management
2. Human Behavior Definition of Terms