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Psychology theories about serial killers
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What is a serial killer? Typically the average serial killer ranges between the ages of 20’s-30’s, usually male, and caucasian. During childhood they experience bedwetting past 10 years old, like to play with fire, are very cruel to animals, and experienced something traumatic as a child. There are four kinds of serial killer which include thrill seekers, mission oriented, visionary killers and power/control seekers. Serial killer's profile changes between these four options by the way they were raised and what they have been exposed to. The typical childhood for a serial killer involves physical and emotional abuse, a traumatic incident, and exploring sexuality. Serial killers are usually in and out of orphanages being considered the outcast …show more content…
Pre-crime they try to restrain themselves from it, fight the urges that are telling them to do it, but after the first strike they have to keep going. As they keeping killing the urge becomes stronger and stronger leading to horrific things like cannibalism and sexual urges with living and nonliving humans. They do it because they are searching for something to make themselves feel better whether it's the thrill, the power, their vision, or their mission. Serial killers have dream or fantasy that plays a role into their killings. Trying to redeem or fix what happen to them in the past. Urging them to push farther and farther into their dream. Criminologists base profiles of the killer on how they performed the murders, where they performed the murders, what was done to the victims, and how the victims were treated. They take all these factors to build up what they think the killer is like. The signature of the killer can say alot about him or her and will play a large role in the finding of the …show more content…
He came from a family that suffered from many mental illnesses. His father died at a young age and his mother would put him into an orphanage because she couldn't take care of him. We would be frequently be whipped and beaten there developing his sexual enjoyment for pain. He would be made fun of by the other orphans for this. His mother would obtain a government job which she could take care of him again but it was already too late because he had developed a homosexual relationship at the age of 12. His partner would introduce him to drinking his own urine and coprophagia. He would attend public baths where he watched boys undress. He would move to New York and become a male prostitute while also raping young boys. His mother on the other hand set up a marriage for him and he would be married in 1898. Albert Fish would have six kids. It wasn't long tho until he was arrested for embezzlement and would be sent to prison, where he would have plenty of homosexual relationships. His wife ended up leaving him in 1917. Due to the rejection it caused him to start hearing voices. Childhood set Albert Fish on a path of no return. With his father dying at a young age he had no father figure in his life but it didn't help that his mother gave him to an orphanage. This would lead him to developing is enjoyment when he was beaten, and his homosexual relationship at 12 years old. Alberts Adult life wasn't very successful due to
Serial killer is a person who kills three or more people with a cooling off period between murders and these murders may go on for a period of months or years. The murders that this person commits may have similar fashion or the victims may have something in common, for example, occupation, race, appearance, sex, or age group. Psychology is the science and study of human behavior and mental processes. Moreover, it is the study of human minds and its function.
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than their own satisfaction gain. In actuality, serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between male and female serial killers, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts. There have been many theories over the years about how a person becomes a serial killer, and how having an unstable childhood affects a person.
A serial killer is defined in Webster's Dictionary as someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short period of time. There is no one generic profile to identify a serial killer. They usually are people seeking for a sensation, a lack of guilt or remorse, a need for control, impulsivity, and predatory behavior. These traits make up a psychopathic personality disorder. Psychopathy is a disorder manifested in people who use a mixture of charm, manipulation, manipulation, and occasional violence to control others, in order to satisfy their own wants and needs. There are four main types of serial killers; thrill seekers, mission-oriented, visionary serial killers, and power and control killers. There may be other
Common psychological disturbances in the stages of making a serial killer are seen in childhood and are usually based upon mental and psychological abuse endured by a child.
Almost all people know who serial killers are, but what exactly defines a serial killer. The FBI defines serial murder as “a minimum of three to four victims with a ‘cooling off’ period between, the killer is usually a stranger to the victim, the murders reflect a need to sadistically dominate the victim, and the murder is rarely for profit.” (Vronsky, 2004, p.36) Serial killers are usually a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background typically in his twenties or thirties. Also, 85% of the world’s serial killers live in America, with at least twenty to fifty unidentified active serial killers plotting another one of their killings. On average, every person has seen or met at least 37 serial killers in their lifespan.
You’d be hard pressed to find one in a crowd. The average serial killer generally blends in with everyone else (Directory Journal, 2010). In fact, most are soft-spoken and even polite. Their monstrous nature only comes through when you dig deeper into their personalities, actions, and habits. Most seem to have come from dysfunctional family settings and were emotionally, sexually, or even verbally abused as children (Directory Journal, 2010). It is almost as if this background activates some psychological trigger that increases their feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness that led them to seek out their own heinous form of release.
Serial killers kill because of three patterns we see develop throughout their lives. These patterns are the development of youthful characteristics and habits, abusing events in their lives, and the final push. To be qualified as a serial killer one must murder more than three victims, one at a time, in a relatively short time period. The most common serial killers are white, heterosexual, sexually frustrated, young adult males with low self-esteem. Lester Ballard, the main character in Child of God, by Cormac McCarthy, displays these patterns as I have found it described in texts on serial killers.
Serial killers differ from other types of murderers. The number of serial killers in the U.S. is staggering. Differences are clear between serial killing and conventional murders. Serial killing can be classified as either motive based or organizational and social based. The Holmes Typology helps to understand the motivations behind serial killing. Serial killers may be even motivated by fame as part of their motivation for killing. John Wayne Gacy could be seen as evil due to his repeated violent acts. Jeffrey Dahmer was also evil by committing his acts of serial murders. Both Gacy and Dahmer had police records prior to their arrests for serial murders. Serial killers are poor candidates for rehabilitation. Their acts are evil.
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 killers can go on for months and years before they are usually caught. The victim is usually the same for every killer - prostitute, hitchhiker etc. Their victims may also have the same or similar attributes in gender, age, race, general look, residence etc. Serial killers also stick by their modus operandi very closely and may change it with experience. Most murders occur by strangulation, suffocation, stabbing etc. Serial killers act by a sex-murder fantasy based with their control, they usually live in this dream world in their teens until they act it out for real when they get into the adult stage. As each murder occurs a serial killer may be disappointed by his murder fantasy and may act it out again to achieve it to there own satisfaction. CHARACTERISTICS OF A SERIAL KILLER: 1. Killings are separate ('serial'), occurring with greater or less frequency, often escalating over a period of time, sometimes years, and will continue until the killer is taken into custody, dies, or is himself/herself killed.
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).
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted pain or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killers posses these characteristics, but most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people.
There are many traits that identify the behavior of serial killers. However, not all those traits might qualify to make them serial traits. A person can contain on of those traits and at the same time not become a serial killer. It takes all of the traits together to identify if they are capable of such thing. As described in article, What makes serial killers tick?”, it mentions that many serial killers were physically or emotionally abused by parents. Other traits as mention in other studies say that antisocial behavior could be an indicator why they might have problems. As defined in article, Early signs of serial killers, it says that “Other signs that one suffers from antisocial disorder include: patterns of lying, aggressiveness, failure to conform to social norms, and irresponsibility.” This demonstrates that these could be
There really isn’t a set definition for the term “serial killer.” “The term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the Untied States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” (as quoted by Robert J. Morton and Mark A. Hilts 5) At first, some psychologists thought it was a series of two to ten murders, each with a cooling off period in between; this cooling off period is used to recover both the emotional and physical mindsets of the killer; his period of time is also used to determine between mass murder and serial murder. (1c: SV; SV; SV.) This has been the method for determining the definition of “serial killer.”
Serial killers have been a cause of concern since the dawn of the civilized world. A serial killer is traditionally defined as someone who kills more than three people in a time span of over a month. Even though we can put a definition on the term “serial killer” it is a blanket term used for all people that kill. However, there are many types of killers out there such as cannibals, cult killers, and mercy killers; all three very different, but kill for the same season of personal gratification.