This behavior feeds on itself and the bond becomes stronger over time. Seeing a woman in a submissive position could even make the male captor fall in love with her, leading him to care and provide for her. This is especially likely in situations where the captor is a man and the captive a woman or a child. But humans also have a paternal or protective instinct.Ī kidnapping where the captive becomes too helpless may trigger the paternal instinct of the captor. Predator turned protectorĬapturing someone and holding them hostage is predatory behavior. The status difference between them and their captives was huge. MTRA members were teenagers and young adults. There have been other cases of the Lima syndrome where the captors treated their captives well after learning they were well-respected in society. This cognitive dissonance may have led them to develop a positive connection with their captives to restore a ‘sense of respect’.
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After all, these high-status people are meant to be held in high regard and not held captive. It’s likely that MTRA members, upon capturing high-level officials, experienced some cognitive dissonance. Humans have a tendency to defer to high-status people. Harming these innocent hostages or keeping them hostage for long would’ve produced feelings of guilt in MTRA members. They’d gotten unnecessarily embroiled in the conflict. Most of the hostages who were quickly released were likely perceived as innocent because they had nothing to do with the Peruvian government. This innate sense of justice could be what triggered the sympathy of MTRA members. When criminals do harm innocents, they often have to justify the crime to themselves no matter how ludicrous the justification. Humans have an innate sense of justice that prevents them from harming innocents. The stronger the bond, the less likely it is that the captor will harm the captive.įollowing are the possible explanations for Lima syndrome, the opposite phenomenon: 1. One of the most compelling explanations for Stockholm syndrome is that the captive seeks to bond with their captor to ensure survival. The hostage crisis lasted for 126 days and ended when the Peruvian special forces stormed the embassy building, eliminating all 14 MTRA members. This phenomenon came to be called the Lima syndrome. MTRA members were reported to have felt sympathetic toward their captives. MTRA’s demand for the Peruvian government was the release of some MTRA prisoners.ĭuring the first month of the hostage, the captors released more than half of the hostages. MTRA members held hundreds of top government officials, diplomats, and business executives hostage at the Japanese embassy in Lima.
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Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MTRA) was a socialist group opposed to the Peruvian government. Let’s look at how the syndrome got its name and later we’ll ponder over the possible explanations of the phenomenon. Its opposite is equally intriguing but has received comparatively less attention. Stockholm syndrome has received wide media and research coverage. Lima syndrome is the opposite of Stockholm syndrome, where a captive develops a bond with their captor. The captor, having developed a bond with the captive, does things in favor of the captive.
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This positive connection could be sympathy, empathy, attachment, or even love. Lima syndrome is when a captor or abuser develops a positive connection with the captive.