Based on a study done by Schwartz-Watts and Morgan at the American Academy of Psychology Law, they found that stalking was far more prevalent than anyone had imagined: 8% of American women and 2% of American men will be stalked in their lifetimes. That’s 1.4 million American stalking victims every year.
The majority of stalkers have been in relationships with their victims, but significant percentages either never met their victims, or were just acquaintances - neighbors, friends or co-workers. I have broken down types of stalkers into three broad categories: Intimate partner stalkers, delusional stalkers and vengeful stalkers. Obviously, there is overlap.
Intimate partner stalkers are typically known as the guy who "just can’t let go." These are most often men who refuse to believe that a relationship has really ended. Often, other people - even the victims - feel sorry for them. But they shouldn’t. Studies show that the vast majority of these stalkers are not sympathetic, lonely people who are still hopelessly in love, but were in fact emotionally abusive and controlling during the relationship. Many have criminal histories unrelated to stalking. Well over half of stalkers fall into this "former intimate partner" category.
Delusional stalkers frequently have had little, if any, contact with their victims. They may have major mental illnesses like schizophrenia, manic-depression or erotomania. What they all have in common is some false belief that keeps them tied to their victims. In erotomania, the stalker’s delusional belief is that the victim loves him. This type of stalker actually believes that he is having a relationship with his victim, even though they might never have met. The woman stalking David Letterman, the stalker who killed actress Rebecca Schaeffer and the man who stalked Madonna are all examples of erotomanic stalkers.
The final category of stalker is not lovelorn. He is the vengeful stalker. These stalkers become angry with their victims over some slight, real or imagined. Politicians, for example, get many of these types of stalkers who become angry over some piece of legislation or program the official sponsors. But, disgruntled ex-employees can also stalk, whether targeting their former bosses, co-workers or the entire company. Some of these angry stalkers are psychopaths, i.e. people without conscience or remorse. Some are delusional, (most often paranoid), and believe that they, in fact, are the victims. They all stalk to "get even."
In general, for any type of stalker, the less of a relationship that actually existed prior to the stalking, the more mentally disturbed the stalker.
They believe that the survivor is also in love with them. The stalker sees the survivor as their most ideal partner and even any negative feedback or unwilling behavior seems like love from the survivor. The stalker sees his/her stalking time as an investment time of love for the survivor. The personality characteristics associated with this stalker type are shy and usually have no intimate relationships. The survivor maybe someone they know or just ant stranger. The stalking behaviors are loving and shows a lot of attention. Their behavior may turn violent if they keep being rejected. This stalker will get jealous if the survivor is in a relationship. Its very hard to stop this stalker type from stalking. They view all legal notices as challenges and obstacles that they need to cross and get to their love the
Identifying the mystery of the psychopath can prove to help the them and the general public. Early awareness of the common psychopaths among us will reduce the impact on society. Further research is still needed to better help the psychopath and the general population.
Richard Ramirez is an infamous serial murderer who terrorized Los Angeles, California in 1985. The media gave him the name the “Night Stalker” when he was on his vicious rampage of forcing himself into the homes of his victims late at night and committing his heinous crimes. Though he was only convicted of thirteen murders, he had many more victims. His crimes were so random, disorganized, and impulsive that the law enforcement officials of Los Angeles had no luck finding Ramirez for months as he grew increasingly more violent. (Tripod.com, 2012) Finally, in August of 1985, the police had enough information from many of his victims to release a sketch of him to the media. The sketch had only been on the news for one day before he was recognized while trying to steal a car, and he attempted to flee when the civilians began to shout that he was the “Night Stalker.” Before long, a mob formed and attacked him. One of the men finally subdued him by hitting him on the head with a pipe. The police arrived to arrest Ramirez just in time to keep the mob of angry civilians from killing him. (Bruno, 2012) He was convicted of forty-three counts which included rape, burglary, murder, and sodomy on September 20, 1989. The “Night Stalker” was sentenced to death on October 3, 1989. He is currently on death row in San Quentin. (Bruno, 2012)
By definition, a serial killer is one who has murdered three or more people with extended periods of time in between each victim, oftentimes with increasing frequency. Serial killers do not normally know who their victims are, so that they are complete strangers who fit their “ideal” type. More often than not, these victims are women because they are physically and mentally easier to manipulate than men. Through their smooth words and welcoming appearance, serial killers are able to lure their victims into their control (Schlesinger, 2000). There are various, grotesque ways that they go about murdering their victims, but they usually leave a trademark pattern. These patterns vary from how they leave the crime scenes, what “trophies” they take, the profile of their victims, and many other distinguishable factors (Zeigler, 2009).
In the case of stalking, which is relatively new in the research arena and thus has a limited evidence base to inform practice, SPJ appears to be the most appropriate as only a detailed and flexible risk assessment process that takes into account the different forms of potential damage can provide a basis for management that reduces the potential harm to the victim and the stalker both (Mullen et al, 2006). Further research into stalking risk factors and comprehensive assessment tools will aid the development of more accurate and detailed procedures specific to the assessment of risk in stalking.
According to Egan, serial killers may be grouped as psychotics or psychopaths. Psychotics are limited in number in the most of societies in the world. Th...
Wolak, J., Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K. J., & Ybarra, M. L. (2008). Online “Predators” and their Victims: Myths, Realities and Implications for Prevention and Treatment. American Psychologist, 63. Retrieved from http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/Am%20Psy%202-08.pdf
There are nearly two million psychopaths in North America, and these people are not murderers. They 're our friends, lovers and co-workers. They 're outgoing and persuasive, dazzling you with charm and flattery. Often you aren 't even aware they 've taken you for a ride -- until it 's too late. Psychopaths exhibit a Jekyll and Hyde personality. "They play a part so they can get what they want," says Dr. Sheila Wilson, a Toronto psychologist who has helped victims of psychopaths (CITE). For example, the guy who showers a woman with excessive attention is much more capable of getting her to lend him money, and to put up with him when he strays along with the new employee who gains her co-workers ' trust has more access to their checkbooks. And so on. Psychopaths have no conscience and their only goal is
...res of the psychopaths and gives the reader various examples of these individuals playing out these characteristics in everyday life. A widely used checklist is provided so the reader can get a wide spanning view of what is accounted for when scoring a psychopath. This form of research is very important within the deceitfulness of this population; it allows the professional to ignore their words and examine their actions. Hare made it clear that it is not uncommon for there to be an emotional and verbal disconnect from their actions. With virtually no emotional functioning psychopaths feel no remorse for the offenses that they commit and it is very important that we work towards using the opportunities we have to study and assist these populations; not only for them but for ourselves.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines a serial murder as the killing of several victims in ten or more separate incidents over an extended period of time (Dietz 483). Serial murderers are often classified into specific categories. One category is motive; motive killers are sexually sadistic killers or spree killers. The psychology of the killer is another category used to characterize these criminals. These types of killers are classified as sociopaths and psychopaths. This paper will focus mainly on killers of the psychotic and sexually sadistic kind, for these are the ones on which the public and media tend to focus.
Psychopaths and sociopaths will still interact with others even if their motives are most likely negative and to use them for their own benefits. Although both types manipulate others,
A sociopath in Hollywood is often defined as a sadistic, self-indulging serial killer, which can be seen in the movie Psycho, or the movie, Silence of The Lambs. In reality, it is a single part in a variety of social disorders causing the individual to have different traits then a “traditional” persona. Since the social disorders can, and often accompany sociopathy, it is worth learning about them in order to distinguish the different disorders a person may have. There are four clusters that hold different types of personality disorders, each type with different traits. The clusters that social disorders are grouped into are Cluster A, Cluster B, Cluster C, and non-specified/uncategorized. Disorders do commonly crossover in the form of subtypes,
Stalking is when someone harasses or make threats to someone over and over again. An example of this would be showing up at a persons home or
Mental health care professionals compared to other citizens have a higher chance of being stalked, typically by their own clients for a variety of reasons. In fact, in 2002, a survey was conducted by Sandberg and colleagues on clinical staff that were employed in a psychiatric unit. What they found was out of those surveyed, half of the staff experienced some form of stalking or threatening behavior from their clients during their career (Sandberg, McNeil, & Binder, 2002). Mental health professionals are typically victims of erotomanic stalkers, who are known to have the de Clerambault’s syndrome, which is delusional loving (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 338). Individuals who have this syndrome tend to think someone of qualified standing
There are four different categories for a serial killer. These categories are visionary, hedonistic, power control, visionary and mission orriented. A visionary serial killer suffers from psychological breakdowns with reality and sometimes believes they are another person and are compelled to murder by the word of god or the devil.