As this course requires students to write a paper related to the brain, the very first topic comes to my mind that is the brain of serial killers. Since my childhood, I have watched lots of different television programs about various serial killers. Most of these shows mainly focused on the different killing ways of those killers, but did not reflect why they want to do so and what encourage them to do so. Therefore, I would like to find out the answer to these questions and to better understand about serial killers. In this paper, we are going to investigate the brain structure and functional varieties between the serial killers and normal people. First of all, we have to define the definition of a serial killer and a murderer. The definition …show more content…
But we merely try to understand the root of the problem which is the brain of the serial killer. The first difference is that most serial killers are psychopaths, but not all psychopaths are serial killers. These serial killers mainly have two kinds of personality disorders, including antisocial personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder. According to the article posted by Clearview Centers, LLC, “Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms, people who have Antisocial Personality Disorder have a tendency to manipulate, exploit, or violate the rights of others. The symptoms of antisocial personality disorder include Aggression and getting into frequent physical altercations, poor impulse control and neglecting to consider consequences, irresponsibility (for example, the inability to hold a job or fulfill other obligations), deceitfulness (as evidenced by regular lying or misrepresentation), disregard for the safety of others and self, and general lack of remorse following mistreatment of others, inability to conform to social norms, often engaging in illegal behaviors. This pattern of violating others’ rights inevitably leads to an impaired ability to establish and sustain positive relationships with others.” And “The symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder, on the other hand, include the following efforts to avoid abandonment and rejection, whether this abandonment is real or imagined, poor impulse control, including reckless and self-endangering behavior such as substance abuse or binge eating, mood swings, characterized by bouts of unprovoked and intense anger, depression, or feelings of emptiness, poor self-image, including periods of self-doubt and self-importance, unstable interpersonal relationships (alternating between idealizing and despising others), recurring suicidal behavior or
This paper looks at a person that exhibits the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). In the paper, examples are given of symptoms that the person exhibits. These symptoms are then evaluated using the DSM-V criteria for BPD. The six-different psychological theoretical models are discussed, and it is shown how these models have been used to explain the symptoms of BPD. Assessment of
In order for someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, they must experience at least five of the following symptoms: 1) fear of abandonment, 2) a history of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, which often go back and forth between idealization (which includes love and extreme closeness) to devaluation (which includes extreme hatred or anger), 3) a disto...
Lieb, Klaus MD, et al. “Borderline personality disorder”. The Lancet, Volume 364, Issue 9432, Pages 453 - 461, 31 July 2004.
The term borderline personality disorder (BPD) was termed by Adolph Stern in the 1930s to describe a group of people on a “borderline” between neurosis and psychosis (SITE). Today, BPD is described by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as “a pervasive patt...
Most homicides are committed due to “disputes that range from family affairs, gang violence, financial difficulties, and disputes between lovers and between friends.” A regular murderer has a “vendetta” or a “specific personal thing against his victim,” while serial killers are driven by a passion for killing. The FBI defines a serial killer using several characteristics: a minimum of three to four victims with “cooling off” periods in between kills, the victim is usually a vulnerable stranger and may have symbolic meaning to the killer, murders exhibit a need to sadistically control the victim, and the kill is motivated by a psychological, not material, desire (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). The term psychopath is often used as a synonym for the term serial killer. However, to clarify, psychopathy is a personality disorder in which a person uses charisma, manipulation, intimidation, and sometimes violence to control others and get what they want.
Before Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) was clearly defined, it was called a “wastebasket” disorder. This meant a patient could be diagnosed with it if they didn’t fit clearly within another certain diagnosis. BPD was often confused with schizophrenia, non-schizophrenic psychoses, and anxiety and depressive disorders. This disorder was commonly said to respond poorly, if not at all, to treatment. Today mental health professionals have proved this remark false. Unfortunately though, BPD is still held under this stigma and is frequently thought to be “untreatable.” According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, BPD is a personality disorder, or Axis II disorder, in Cluster B. This essay will not only provide important information about Borderline Personality Disorder but it will thoroughly outline the etiology, symptoms and prognosis. It will also tell how one can be diagnosed with BPD, how it can be treated and it will highlight a recent study about the brain activity of this disorder.
Kluft and Foote. Borderline Personality Disorder. American Journal of Psycotherapy, Vol. 53, No. 3, Summer 1999.
Borderline Personality disorder is a commonly misdiagnosed mental illness. The symptoms of borderline personality disorder are so closely related to other mental illnesses, that it is most often under diagnosed or misdiagnosed altogether. This illness can be completely debilitating to effected person. They do not understand that it is their mental illness that is making them feel the way that they do. They feel hopeless, like their lives will never improve from this point. Which is a major factor into why borderline personality disorder has one of the highest rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.
Serial killers are different (and more dangerous) than normal criminals. Most murders are done out of passion, but serial killers just kill for the joy of it. According to the FBI, a serial killer is someone who has killed a minimum of three people (Philbin 3), but there are a lot more characteristics that make someone be truly categorized as a serial killer. According to Scott, most of the victims of serial killers are strangers and the killings appear random, and killers often choose victims who are vulnerable (Scott). Many serial killers have a “type,” and their victims usually fit into that type.
Behavior is sometimes defined as the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment. Parents, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, and peers can all affect a person's behavior. Not everybody necessarily will have the behavior of a serial killer. In this paper, I will attempt to show the difference between the psychopath and the psychotic. Explain how the environment, upbringing, and treatment of serial killers led them to become who they are today.
The earliest warning signs of serial killers can be traced back to their childhood. It is believed that the mind of a murderer is charged with a turbulence of emotions stored from early childhood (Abrahamsen 18). When these often repressed emotions are activated, the mind, particularly when aroused or frustrated, becomes violent, and so it is that a person who may appear quite normal and well adjusted on the surface, becomes possessed by a mind that murders (Abrahamsen 18). The study of 36 incarcerated killers by Robert Ressler, Ann Burgess, and John Douglas, which can be found in their book Sexual Homicide Patterns and Motives, found many common behavior indicators in their childhoods. These behaviors include daydreaming, compulsive masturbation, isolation, chronic lying, bed wetting, rebelliousness, nightmares, destroying property, fire setting stealing, cruelty to children, poor body image, temper tantrums, sleep problems, display assault toward adults, phobias, running away, cruelty to animals, accident prone, headaches, destroying possessions, eating problems, convulsions, and...
Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile. Almost every major social, biological, psychological behavioural influence that has been seriously suggested as playing a role in causing crime has been thoroughly thought as potentially contributing to the behavior of serial killers (Levin, 2008). The time period and amount of killings fluctuate depending on the individual committing the crimes. Usually, the murders happen in different geographical areas. A mass murder has a separate definition than a serial killer, because a serial killer has a “cooling off” period, where mass murders kill several individual in a single event.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) hinders people’s security, makes interpersonal and interpersonal relationships difficult, worsens the person suffering from the disorder’s life and those around them, effects their affect and self-image, and generally makes a person even more unstable (Davidon et al., 2007). This disorder is a personality disorder which effects the people’s emotions, personality, and daily living including relationships with other and job stability. People with BPD may experience a variation of symptoms including but not limited to: intense contradictory emotions involving sadness, anger, and anxiety, feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and isolations (Biskin & Paris, 2012). This disorder makes it hard for the person with the disorder to maintain relationships since they have tendentious believe that people are either strictly good or bad. Also, they are sensitive to other people’s actions and words and are all over the place with their emotions so those in their life never know which side to expect. (Biskin & Paris, 2012)
There are numerous traits that each serial killer possesses, different, but very similar in some way, shape or form.
Nurture. Are serial killers born or created? n.d., para.1). One main psychiatric illness is the inactivity of the orbital cortex in the frontal lobe that holds the capacity to stop the urges to be violent to someone (IBID). The frontal lobe is where the responsibility of the behaviour of the person is located in (Rutigliano, n.d., para. 3). It is responsible for the behaviour of violence, self-control, planning, judgment, social needs, and many other social needs of a human (IBID). The orbital cortex inactivity is common in almost all serial killers (The Brain of a Serial Killer, n.d., para 4&5). This explains why serial killers tend to make bad decisions when it comes to violence