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Psychology theories about serial killers
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Serial killers are the byproduct of many different things, such as trauma, death of loved ones, abuse, neglect, adoption, and even witnessing abuse (Are Serial). They have had to endure a massive amount of trauma or abuse to an unimaginable extent to become what they are. The extent of the abuse, the trauma, and the psychological damage they endure is incomprehensible to many. The destruction of one’s innocence can occur at any given time in their life, but they are more impressionable in their youth by the negativism of someone else’s actions (Scott, Shirley L. "What Makes Serial Killers Tick ~ Childhood Event"). People are susceptible to what they endure in their adolescence, and cruel upbringings, such as that of a serial killer’s, are possibly the determinant of their future. Many people encounter tragedies, trauma, abuse, and psychological damage in their life, but those who have said problems frequently evolve into serial killers later on in life. Statistics show that forty percent of people who withstand abuse in childhood develop into excessively abusive, violent, and sadistic criminals because they are burdened by problems for the rest of their existence ("Nurturing"). Generally, serial killers are violent and want to torture their victims. Those who were abused in their childhood rarely had any control over anything; as a result, in the future, they want to dominate and inflict the same pain on their victim that they encountered in their youth. The dominance serial killers hunger for is usually presented through sexual abuse ("Nurturing"). In childhood, if one has abusive, manipulative, or irresponsible parents that neglect them at home, a part of their brain, which controls emotions, is damaged, and they become more prone to violence and aggression (White, Sadie. "Making a Monster: The Biological, Social, and Artistic Construction of a Serial Killer From Psychosis to Sondheim").
The nurturing of individuals plays a role in the making of killers, as 94% of serial killers had experienced some form of abuse as children and 42% have suffered severe physical abuse (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010). A child abuse is a determining factor, in which supports the idea that serial killers and psychopath, are influenced significantly by nurture (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011). In most cases social, cultural and physiological determinants all play a role in influencing serial killers to grow into a mass murderer. It is important that physiological and social determinants can be identified, so they could be altered for the purpose of preventing the number of crime.
Knight, Zelda G. "Sexually Motivated Serial Killers And The Psychology Of Aggression And "Evil" Within A Contemporary Psychoanalytical Perspective." Journal Of Sexual Aggression 13.1 (2007): 21-35. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 1 May 2014.
Krafft-Ebing (1886) found that the serial killer had been through cruelty of animal; enjoy the torture and the pain of their victim during his or her childhood period. Moreover, the mothers of these serial killers were most of time working or doing other things and usually the father were absent. These children experience rejection and lack of attention, therefore, this child grows up having low self-esteem. Research show that adults that gone through abuse and violent behavior during their childhood were three times more likely to become violent as adult more than the non abused adults (Dutton & Hart, 1992).
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.
Hickey (1997), in his trauma control model of the serial killer, argues that various factors can contribute to criminality and in particular to serial homicide. These factors can be biological, developmental, demographic or familial, including childhood trauma (Hickey, 1997, as cited in Miller, 2014, p17). Hickey’s model includes 8 elements – Predispositional factors, Traumatic events, Low self-esteem and fantasies, Increasingly violent fantasies, Trauma reinforces, Facilitators, Dissociation and Homicidal behaviour (Hickey, 2016, p149).
The question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a question that has been debated for decades. Are serial killers born with the lust for murder, or are their desires developed through years of abuse and torment? Many believe it is impossible for an innocent child to be born with the capability to commit a horrible act such as murder. But at the same time, how could we have corrupted society so much as to turn an innocent child into a homicidal maniac? Forensic psychologists have picked apart the minds of serial killers to find an answer as to what forces them to commit such perverse acts. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to catch a serial killer before he commits his first crime.
Due to crime-inspired shows that air on television, fascination with serial killers presents itself more and more. People want to learn what makes a person break to the point of taking another’s life. Some suggest that killing releases a sexual desire, while others suggest that revenge may be the motive. A serial killer has the stereotypical look of a white male who tends to act socially awkward, not easily approachable, and possesses a mental illness. While the accuracy of this look tends to be true occasionally, the majority of the time a serial killer looks no different than anyone else and appears rather social. Some experts believe that a serial killer has codes in his DNA which causes him to kill; nonetheless, other experts believe environmental
Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are all violent, brutal monsters and have an abnormal urge to kill. What gives people these urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing? Is there a difference between mass murderers and serial killers or are they the same. How do they choose their victims and what are some of their characteristics? These questions and many more are reasons why I was eager to write my paper on mass murderers and serial killers. However, the most interesting and sought after questions are the ones that have always been controversial. One example is; what goes on inside the mind of a killer? In this paper I will try to develop a better understanding of these driven killers and their motives.
Serial killers are defined to “be driven by instinct and desire to kill.” In a study done in 2000, Dr, Richard Davidson says, “people with a large amount of aggression – in particular people who have committed aggressive murders or have a social disorder – have almost no brain activity in the orbital frontal cortex or the anterior cingulated cortex while activity in the amyglade continued perfectly. The orbital frontal cortex and the anterior congulated cortex control emotional impulses while the amyglade controls reactions to fear.” Davidson concludes his research claiming that although environment can and will affect a serial killer’s thoughts, it is a killer’s genetic makeup that inevitably creates murderous thoughts.
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.
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.
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).
Serial killers live and go through certain environments like many others in society but certain environments they have gone through cause them to become serial killers. Robert Hansen’s parents, like many other parents, would ignore him as a child, but this certain situation led him to become a serial killer. According to Douglas and Ressler's article published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence, adolescents who become serial killers" . . . experience an ineffective social environment. They have parents or guardians who ignore their behavior” (Dias and Dingeman). Evidence proves that serial killer’s parents will ignore them as
Many people with antisocial personality disorder are taught to have a lack of empathy in early childhood. There is a high number of serial killers with abusive pasts. Parents who abuse their children both mentally and physically at an early age are training their child to be cold and emotionless. Many killers suffered this fate at childhood and became heartless creatures with little to no remorse for their actions. In the article “What makes Serial Killers Tick?” it is said that Serial Killer Albert Desalvo was sold into slavery by his father and was sexually and physically abused for most of his you...
“According to Eric Hickey (Author of Serial Murderers and Their Victims), stress caused by childhood 'traumatizations' may be a trigger to criminal behavior in adulthood. It is important to understand that most people go through one or more of these traumatizations with no lifelong effects. However, in the future serial killer, the inability to cope with the stress involved with these trauma...