In psychology, everyone is different. While some things can be similar in people, there will always be differences. These psychological differences can differ in many aspects including social psychology: how an individual acts in social situations, personality psychology: where an individual’s personality determines how they act and perceive things, and developmental psychology: where and how a person develops psychologically. These differences are what makes us unique and special in our own ways, but it also can have a dark effect on us and in our society. These individuals who suffer from darker psychological differences can affect our society in horrific ways. Serial killers are a group of people among this type of dark psychology that makes …show more content…
A fact that psychologists have to remember is how serial killers think very highly of themselves. The reason is that not just anyone can commit a murder and have the ego to think they can get away with it. Serial killers like Dennis Radar and Ted Bundy have a huge ego to where they have a mindset that tells them they won’t get caught. Bundy was also known to be a compulsive liar to where he would be lying even days before he was going to be executed. The question is, why do they lie even if they have nothing to lose? Richardson’s explanation is that “lying makes them feel superior, powerful. Serial killers have an amazing grasp of human’s emotions, they ravel in manipulation” (16:35). Another way of stating why compulsive liars lie constantly is that its what makes them feel in control of the situation. Most serial killers are absolute control freaks who feel threatened by someone if they feel that they don’t have control of a person or a …show more content…
Bundy would call her “the love of his life” until she eventually ended the relationship a year later due to his immaturity. This break up left Bundy with his heart broken and caused him to drop out of school. Psychologists speculated that this might have been the first incident that pushed Bundy towards his serial murder tendencies although not the official incident. Bundy returned home shortly afterwards to find answers. While receiving his birth certificate, he noticed something odd, he saw that his mother on the certificate was Louise Cowell. This yet another incident is what could have sparked Bundy from it being another betrayal from a woman. Afterwards, Bundy began his killing spree that included women who has something in common. An interesting thing that investigators found was that all of Bundy’s victims fit the description as a brunette with their hair parted down the middle. Also, this description matched Lundy’s ex-girlfriend Diana who had left him feeling
Serial killers are people who kill three or more people. They don’t have a close relationship with their victims. They are mostly white, younger males, but this might not always be the case. Many serial killers have specific childhood experiences that contribute to their urge to kill. Genetics can play a role, for example; specific patterns of genes found in serial killer’s brains. Many serial killers do at least one of these things as a child: wet their bed, set fires, and torture animals. Child who have problems; for example, being abused either physically or sexually, parent troubles, and school problems can lead to someone being more likely to be a serial killer.
As years go on so will the research on serial killers and hopefully we as a society will fully understand them and one day be able to cure whatever inside that makes them have the urge to kill. Works Cited The Electronic Journal of Sociology, published by the University of Guelph, Ontario. http://www.scribd.com/doc/167086215/How-Serial-Killers-Work. According to the article “10 Most Common Traits of Potential Serial Killers By Hestie Barnard Gerber. According to Comrade Chikatilo: The Psychopathology of Russia's Notorious Serial Killer.
Taking the life of another person is one of the worst infractions of the law to commit. The Bureau of Justice defines serial killing as “[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events” (“Michigan” 1). Serial killers often commit extremely violent crimes; they usually become infamous for these crimes. The first recorded serial killers are probably Jack the Ripper in 1888 and Fritz Haarmann in 1924 (“Michigan” 1). Jack the Ripper is also one of the most well-known criminals, almost everyone knows who he is or has at least heard of him. Most people know what he is famous for and associate him with being a bad person. Serial killers are typically sadistic and sociopathic, meaning that they are unable to feel empathy for people who are suffering (“Michigan” 1). Whimsical sociopaths who have sadistic tendencies are very dangerous. They inflict pain because they do not care that someone else is suffering, they only care that it makes t...
Some psychologist believe that if a serial killer displays or kills his victims in such a way then it qualifies as fulfilling as sexual desire. These killers are usually diagnosed with a mental disorder referred to as sexual sadism. Psychologists refer to serial killers who kill in this manner as sexual sadist. A sexual sadist enjoys the ‘suffering or embarrassment of others to the point of arousal’ (Serial Killers and Sexual Sadism). Sociologists believe that a serial killer needs to “fulfil a sexual desire by turning a fantasy into a controllable reality” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). Sadist crave the dominance and control over their victims because they feel as if they cannot control other aspects of their life. Another biological factor derives within the DNA of the person. Many killers have the “MAO-A gene (monoamine oxidase A). This gene, which has been the target of considerable research, is also known as the "warrior gene" because it regulates serotonin in the brain. Serotonin affects your mood — think Prozac — and many scientists believe that if you have a certain version of the warrior gene, your brain won't respond to the calming effects of serotonin (A Neuroscientist Uncovers a Dark Secret).” With this gene psychologist and scientist alike believe that this can foretell a serial killer before he becomes a serial
A serial killer is a person who has killed three or more people over a month apart. Their motivation for killing is usually based on psychological issue.(Sanmartín,2001) In the U.S, the most reported serial killers are lower middle class white males, usually in their late twenties to early thirties (Skrapec,2001). Serial killers, often, are liars. They have no sense of remorse or guilt. Most of the time they are not in serious relationship or have any emotional obsession to any one person, besides their victims. Most of the well-known serial killers are: Robert Pickton, Charles Manson, Anthony Sowell, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, The Green River Killer, and The BTK murderer. (Sanmartín,2001). Often, women were never seen as even a suspect
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.
Throughout history, America has been the home of serial killers, with more than 2,000 throughout history. In this country, America has encountered many different kinds of these sick people. One of the most infamous serial killers throughout American History was Theodore Robert Bundy, also known as Ted Bundy. On November 24, 1946, in Burlington, Vermont, Theodore Robert Bundy was born. When people think of serial killers, they usually see a dirty, insane looking person that would stand out from the average person. In Bundy’s case it was very different. Ted was a very smart individual who had attended 5 different colleges throughout the United States, studying law and eventually getting his degree in psychology at the University of Washington. Bundy was a very handsome and charming man, unlike most other serial killers. Looking helpless and using his good looks, Bundy was able to lure his victims and would knock them unconscious with an object such as a crowbar or a pipe, then would handcuff them inside his car. Once the victims were under his control he would then proceed in kidnapping, raping, sodomizing, and eventually killing them in very harsh ways. Throughout the 70’s, he raped and murdered young women all across the country. Bundy was said to be connected to at least 36 murders, and suspected to have committed one hundred or more.
According to federal law, the term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors. Throughout history, serial killers have always been a fascination among many individuals. On numerous occasions, law enforcement has tried to dive into the psyche of these killers to determine why they kill. There have also been numerous stereotypes placed on serial killers. Typical stereotypes are serial killers are all white males, loners, and that their crimes are driven by sex.
Serial killers have many frightening facets. The most frightening thing about them is that experts still do not know what makes a human become a serial killer. Many experts believe serial killers become what they are because they have a genetic disposition or brain abnormality while other experts believe that a serial killer is created by childhood abuse; and some other experts believe that it is a combination of both brain abnormalities and abusive childhood experiences that creates a serial killer. A murderer is considered a serial killer when they “murder three or more persons in at least three separate events with a “cooling off period” between kills” (Mitchell and Aamodt 40). When defining a serial killer, their background, genes, and brain are not mentioned; perhaps one day those aspects of the serial killer can be included.
'Serial murder'; has long been a term used to describe those human beings that repeatedly commit heinous crimes. It is rare that the average person probes the mind of a serial killer without bias. However, what lies behind the eyes of a serial killer deserves more than the cold hard look that society so often gives (Aaronson, Inter...
So what makes a serial killer? Levin points out that contrary to popular belief, serial killers don't just 'snap'; or 'go crazy'; (Douglas, p. 137). Many of the serial killers have been the victims of childhood abuse. Jack Levin stated 'Research shows many serial killers suffered abuse, incest or neglect as children and develop poor self images'; (Douglas, p. 137). Serial killers often have a childhood marked by the absence of any nurturing relationship. 'They often come from families where the parents were absent or ineffective, where authority was not defined, and where they could engage in destructive behavior undeterred-violent play, cruelty to animals, and incidents of arson being some of the childhood behavior patterns noted among many serial killers'; (Clark, p. 206).
Murder looked upon as a “crime of passion” that results from emotions of rage and jealously. In a twisted turn of fate, individuals are more captivated to gain an insight of the killer’s background than to know of his or her heinous actions. Unfortunately, serial killers appeal to people not in the most moral way but in an ambiguous, fascinating manner through the work of words, actions, and personality traits. A stereotypical description consists of psychopathic tendencies, lack of empathy, and a complex conscious. However, what we fail to notice is not every serial killer is intelligent or dark in nature, most appear normal the most petrifying characterization of a serial murderer. Serial killer’s ability to camouflage is what sets them apart distinctively, which I believe is their strong yet disturbing point in the maintenance of a wicked
Introduction: On the spectrum of criminal activity, serial killers are rather rare. Rarer still is a serial killer like Ted Bundy. Bundy confessed to killing 28 women in the 1970s in ghastly fashion and some believe he may have killed far more. It is hard to imagine what could cause any person to cross the mental boundary into such macabre behavior as Bundy perpetrated. Nevertheless, it is important to try to understand that behavior because only though such an understanding would society be able to identify and deter mass murderers in order to save lives.
Megan, K., & Courant, S. W. (2005, Mar 10). THE KILLERS (AND LIARS) IN OUR MIDST ; HOW DOES A SERIAL MURDERER LIVE UNDETECTED AMONG `NORMAL PEOPLE'? BY BEING A SOCIOPATH -- A PERSON WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE, WITHOUT THE ABILITY TO LOVE. Hartford Courant. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/256830354?accountid=10244
Ted Bundy: psychiatric testimony. Serial Murder: Through the Looking Glass. Retrieved March 12, 2003, from http://serial- killers.virtualave.net/bundy2.htm