Psychology Behind the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting: Critical Essay

On the afternoon of February 14th, 2018, Nikolas Cruz took an Uber to his old high school. After entering the school, he removed an automatic weapon from his bag and began shooting both students and teachers, leaving 17 dead. When his gun stopped working Nikolas ran with the other students out of the school and headed to the local Subway store to buy a soda and waited in a McDonald's restaurant before heading home, where he was arrested. Nikolas made a full confession to the police and discussed how a voice in his head was telling him to commit acts of violence. Being unable to ignore the voice any longer, Nikolas confessed to planning a mass shooting at his old school. In this essay, this event will be analyzed from a psychological point of view. This paper will look at the life experiences that led up to this event and, using theories in the field of social psychology, stress, learning and driving motivations, will aim to explore the reasons behind this attack. The primary piece of research in this paper is a recorded video interview between a detective and Nikolas Cruz, in which he confesses to the shooting and explains his motivations.

Foot-in-the-Door Phenomenon

During his police interrogation, Nikolas explained that he heard a voice that regularly told him to “Burn. Kill. Destroy” when asked what this was in relation to his first response was ‘everything’, although later explained in more detail. The voice had first told him to set fires, for which he used a fire pit, and to kill animals, so he shot birds. The detective in the interview pointed out that fire pits and hunting are both considered normal behaviors and are not necessarily illegal or destructive. Nikolas seemed to believe different. By complying with these initial requests, it made it easier for Nikolas to escalate. By using a fire pit, he was not causing any harm, but was still complying with the request, keeping both the voice and his morals happy. As his requests got more violent, he was more likely to comply. This behavior is often referred to as the foot-in-the-door phenomenon. The initial requests were small and did not cause anyone any harm or risk Nikolas getting into too much trouble. These small requests escalated and resulted in Nikolas shooting and killing 17 people. It is unlikely that he would have done this had this been the first request the voice gave him. Nikolas believed that the small actions were criminal and aggressive, and therefore was able to transition to extreme violence more easily. Had he considered that a fire pit and bird hunting are accepted behaviors within society, he may not have been able to escalate to the school shooting as easily.

Cognitive Dissonance

Throughout his interview, Nikolas is very insistent that the voice he hears is not his own. He refers to the voice as that of a demon, a separate entity to himself. He regularly refers to the voice as being inside him, but that it isn’t actually him. Throughout the interview, Nikolas is relatively calm, he stutters and appears low in mood, but is able to engage in conversation. When the detective suggests that the voice is his own and that Nikolas himself wanted to shoot and kill people in the school, he becomes visibly distressed and his demeanor changes entirely. He resorts to self-harm, and is seen rocking as a self-soothing technique. This change in behavior can be defined as Nikolas experiencing dissonance. Nikolas accepts his actions, but not the desire to act on them. It is easier to accept that he murdered 17 people because something else told him to rather than because he wanted to. When he is presented with the possibility that he alone wanted to commit this act, he experiences cognitive dissonance. His actions and his beliefs do not match up, and are therefore in dissonance. In order for Nikolas to accept his actions whilst maintaining his beliefs (that killing people is wrong), he must transfer the blame. Up until this point, Nikolas has found a way to distance himself from his actions, but when the detective places this blame on him, he struggles to accept the information. Nikolas also asks for an attorney at this stage for the first time, as he begins to realize the responsibility and consequences of his actions.

Observational Learning

In a series of videos that were filmed on Nikolas’ cell phone three days prior to the shooting, Nikolas is heard stating he is going to be “the next school shooter of 2019”. He goes on to state this his “goal” is “at least twenty people” (as cited in Time, 2018). Nikolas is referring to previous school shooters and the number of deceased victims. Nikolas has clearly studied previous school shooters to know what the death tolls were and where he would like to be ‘placed’. He goes on to say: “It’s going to be a big event, and when you see me on the news, you’ll know who I am” (as cited in Time, 2018). Nikolas knows that a school shooting will receive a large amount of press and his name will be known worldwide. Once again, this is knowledge that he has obtained from studying the responses of previous school shooters. Nikolas has observed the responses to previous individuals and is anticipating a similar response. He has learnt to admire these individuals and wants to be considered as one. What Nikolas has not been able to observe was the personal impact of their crimes, e.g., their guilt, the impact of their incarceration, etc. When Nikolas is seen in the police interview, he is experiencing what those he admired would have experienced but was unable to observe.

Association

In his interview, Nikolas informs the detective that he hears the voice at night when he is bed and early in the morning, and that physical movement helps make the voice go away, but it’s louder when he’s in bed. This is an example of ego depletion. “Ego depletion decreases prosocial behavior indirectly by reducing feelings of guilt” (Xu et al., 2012). When Nikolas is tired, he is less likely to be able to exert willpower and will have reduced feelings of guilt, making it the perfect time for the voice to be present. Subconsciously, Nikolas is aware that he is more likely to act on the requests given by the voice when he is tired, and therefore the voice is more likely to appear at those times. Nikolas learns that in order to fulfill his violent desires, these must be suggested when tired, so that these can be reinforced each time he becomes fatigued.

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Individualist

An individualist is defined by a person that has an independent sense of self. They are motivated by their personal goals and achievements rather than that of a group. Their identity is unchanged or strengthened when they are isolated from friends or family. Nikolas falls under the category of an individualist as he has a very strong sense of self and appears to remove himself from groups. Studies have found that “extreme individualism may be linked to several forms of social pathology” (Triandis et al., 1988), including homicide. By taking on more of a collectivism approach, he would have accepted the support of those around him and may have experienced much higher levels of guilt, which may have prevented him from being able to complete the attack.

Epigenetics

Nikolas and his brother Zachary were adopted together at a young age. They share the same biological mother and grew up in the same household with the same adoptive parents. Their adoptive father, Roger, died in 2004 and their adoptive mother, Lynda, died in 2017. When it comes to nature vs. nurture, the key areas of consideration are that of biological DNA and of the environment in which an individual is raised. Both Nikolas and Zachary share both. Epigenetics is the term used when certain environments or experiences can trigger or block genetic expression. So, although Nikolas and Zachary have the same genetics, certain traits may be visible in one and not in another. Looking at these two brothers there is a significant difference in how they both dealt with the death of their mother and their response to the negative feelings they experienced. To try and blame Nikolas’ actions on ‘bad genetics’ or on an unhappy home life would be dismissing the existence of an individual who although experiencing the same trauma has not shown any violent traits. Epigenetics played a part in making certain traits in Nikolas more prominent or hidden than in those of his brother, leading to a very different response.

Stress and Health: General Adaptation Syndrome

A lot of research has been undertaken into the fight-or-flight responses of individuals who have been present at events such as school shootings. General adaptation syndrome is a process to describe how stress affects the human body and mind in traumatic situations. Although the process is generally applied to victims, the process is applicable to Nikolas, who would have experienced high levels of stress during the attack, albeit in a very different way. The first phase of the syndrome is the alarm reaction. Increased blood flow moves to muscles to trigger the fight-or-flight response. It is likely that Nikolas was experiencing a similar reaction in the car on the way to the school and particularly as he entered the school. These reactions aim to keep the mind alert and the energy levels high. The second phase is that of resistance. The blood pressure and adrenaline levels stay high and ensure that the body and mind are fully engaged. Whilst Nikolas was in the school and was actively shooting, he would be in this high adrenaline state. This phase can only last so long before exhaustion kicks in. When his gun stopped working, Nikolas didn’t attempt to fix it and try and take down the police, nor did he have an escape plan to not get caught. Nikolas left the school, went to the local Subway and bought a soda. He was not in a fight-or-flight mode, he was merely experiencing a come down of adrenaline with nowhere for it to go.

Catharsis

Prior to the attack, Nikolas presented as very angry at the world around him. This is present in the videos he made and the messages he posted online. As Nikolas begins to act on the requests he hears from the voice in his head and begins setting fires and killing birds, he starts to experience a momentary emotional release. He experiences what is known as the catharsis myth, the belief that expressing aggression reduces aggression. When this behavior no longer provides the same sort of release, he escalates the violence. Scientists have been largely unable to demonstrate that aggressive outbursts reduce subsequent aggressive behavior, whereas the mass media continue to suggest that they do reduce it (Bushman et al., 1999, p.373). If Nikolas believes that he is releasing his anger through these violent acts, then he will continue to do so, escalating when necessary. In reality he is causing more anger and more guilt, but is trapped in a cycle.

Conclusion

Whilst it is important to note that every individual is different and no two people experience the same experiences in the same way, it is important to study cases such as this to help learn from these events. Had Nikolas Cruz received mental health support at an earlier stage, or had he not had access to the media stories of previous school shooters, his life and the lives of many others may be different now. It’s easy to consider violent individuals as monsters, but by studying their lives and trying to understand what they went through, it may be possible to identify and offer support to others that see Nikolas Cruz in the same way as he saw the school shooters before him.

References

1. Bushman, B. & Baumeister, R. (1999). Catharsis, Aggression and Persuasive Influence: Self-Fulfilling or Self-Defeating Prophecies? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 76. No. 3. 367-376.
2. Cullen, D. (2019). Parkland: Birth of a Movement. HarperCollins. New York, NY.
3. Griffin, D., Glover, S., Pagliery, J. & Lah, K. (2018, February 16). From 'Broken Child' to Mass Killer. CNN. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/16/us/shooter-profile-invs/index.html
4. TIME. (2018). Cell Phone Videos Reveal Florida School Shooting Suspect's Intentions: 'You All Will Die'. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHD_lS3WnfM
5. Triandis, H., Bontempo, R. & Villareal, M. (1988). Individualism and Collectivism: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Self-Ingroup Relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 54. No. 2. 323-338.
6. USA Today. (August 2018). Full Interview: Nikolas Cruz Breaks Down During Video Confession of Parkland Shooting. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1VaPS3dSBA&t=34125s
7. Xu, H., Begue L., Bushman, B. (2012). Too Fatigued to Care: Ego Depletion, Guilt and Prosocial Behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2012.03.007.