The Mind of a Migrant: Analyzing the Logic and Psychology of High-Risk, Zero-Displacement Migration

ABSTRACTMigration is an intrinsic, evolutionary drive shared by all living organisms. While contemporary discoursethoroughly documents structural push-and-pull factors (e.g., conflict, economic deprivation, climatechange), it frequently overlooks anomalous migration patterns where individuals abandon baselinedomestic comfort or stability to pursue high-risk journeys that yield stagnant socio-economic returns. Thispaper investigates this phenomenon, termed here as "zero-displacement migration," expanding its scopefrom structural asset stagnation to operational hand-to-mouth continuity—where individuals merelytransition from earning "here" to feed to earning "there" to feed, failing to progress toward sustainablesystems building. Drawing upon comparative biological behaviors and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, thispaper investigates the underlying psychological and logical deviations. It posits that severe cognitivedistortions override basic survival instincts and mathematical logic, concluding with an advocacy fortargeted psychological interventions within migration management frameworks.