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

Indicative of The Psychological and Emotional Effects of Killing, soldiers experience stages of grief in the aftermath of a kill. Due to The Impact of Training and Conditioning, more modern soldiers kill in combat. The military has increased firing rates via the successful use of classic and operant conditioning. Soldiers are trained to reflexively shoot at targets that look like humans and are rewarded for doing so with badges and weekend passes. They learn to associate killing with positive outcomes. For this reason, the act of killing is automatic and reflexive. For the soldier, it is just like practice—a target has been taken down.

In the immediate aftermath of the killing, the soldier experiences exhilaration or euphoria, perhaps consistent with training or because of the adrenaline rush. However, in close killings, that feeling is quickly replaced with revulsion and remorse. Grossman explains that this is a normal psychological reaction and provides comparisons to non-combat violence to make his point. However, many soldiers feel guilt for having experienced euphoria after killing someone. To move past the revulsion and guilt, soldiers must have societal support. They will never reach rationalization and acceptance without it and, for that reason, will experience PTSD, with all the negatives that entails. In making the comparison to non-combat violence, Grossman is humanizing the soldier. Soldiers are asked to kill, and that is an extremely difficult thing to do. They react similarly to civilians. This phenomenon reinforces The Importance of Societal Support for Combat Veterans.