Stockholm syndrome, or
capture-bonding, is a
psychological phenomenon in which
hostages express
empathy and
sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors for an act of kindness. The
FBI's Hostage Barricade Database System shows that roughly eight percent of victims show evidence of Stockholm syndrome.