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the psychology behind serial killers
the psychology behind serial killers
the psychology behind serial killers
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A serial killer is an individual who murders two or more people. Most serial killers have a distinct way of murdering their victims and what they do with their remains. The general profile with a serial killer all starts within their brain, all serial killers have an abnormal psychological gratification method. There are certain types of serial killers such as thrill seekers, mission-oriented killers, visionary serial killers, and killers that murder for power or control. All of the killer's victims will have something in common, this could be either age group, gender, appearance, or race. A serial killer's profile can change upon its specific type. For example, a serial killer has an abnormal brain and thought process that can affect his or …show more content…
Almost all serial killers have a tragic event that happened to them or a loved one during their childhood. Events like sexual assault or murder at a young age can really mess with one's mind. When a serial killer commits the crime of murder there is usually a “cool-off” time between the next murder. From pre-crime to post-crime I believe that serial killers feel a sense of relief after killing somebody. They kill for a certain reason and once they have killed, they have a feeling inside their bodies that makes them feel uplifted. Fantasy plays into a serial killer's crimes by the method they kill people or if they have certain sexual pleasures that controls their thoughts. The best way to build up a criminal profile for a serial killer is finding the connection between the victims. All of the victims will have something in common and once that is found, that is the criminal profilers first lead into finding who's responsible for the …show more content…
When Atkins was first apprehended he didn’t admit to the murders, saying that he was a homosexual. However, after hours and hours of police questioning he confessed to the murders of all eleven women. Atkins went to trial and was found guilty of his crimes. He was sentenced to serve 11 terms of life in prison without parole. He was found dead at the age of 29 in his cell from a disease called HIV, after only serving 5 years of life sentence. It is believed that he caught HIV from one of the prostitutes he raped and
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
Serial killers are interesting yet unnerving to the likes of American society. Serial killers commonly lack empathy and show no sign of guilt or remorse after they have committed a horrible act or crime. These characteristics are an indication of psychopathic tendencies. Although it may seem like these people would be easy to spot, it is actually much more difficult than normally thought. These killers have a special way of putting on a mask of sanity. They can act very charming and very intelligent when needed. Their talent in becoming a normal person is part of their manipulative mentality, which they use to capture most of their victims. These individuals usually get a type of psychological thrill or pleasure from their acts, which cause
The most common characteristics that many serial killers share are killing and abusing of animals during childhood, fetishism, anti-socialism, high I.Q.’s (while also doing poorly in school), and alcohol and/or substance abuse. Fictional character, Dexter Morgan, exhibited serial killing tendencies from a young age. He would kill neighborhood animals and was forced by his father to fake emotion and normality to fit in. It appears that Showtime hit the nail on the head with this one. One of the most well known serial killers, Ted Bundy, was infamously known for being cold and merciless. During interviews, he responded to questions about his victims by calling himself cold and explaining that he could not care less about his victims. Cannibalistic serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, started out by killing dogs and leaving their heads out on a stick for others to see before moving on to killing and eating people. These are just a few examples of many that prove that commonality is what makes a serial killer, a serial
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.
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
Ever wondered if there is a serial killer in your community? The characteristics of a serial killer may shock you or be surprisingly familiar to some of you. It is important for society to get informed about the various types of serial killers that are out there. It is essential for families to educate their children about strangers, to be careful with everyone they encounter on the streets, store, and even in their neighborhoods. A serial killer is defined as a person who murders three or more people in at least three separate events, with a "cooling-off period" between the kills. The big question is, what makes a person do these atrocious killings? We will analyze personal histories, categorized serial killers,
Serial killers commonly attack a single target at a time one on one. There also tends to be no or very little relation between the person being killed and the killer (murder 1). “The nature of this drive has been heavily debated, but there is a consensus on some points (Anderson 1).” Many researchers have noted sexual behavior in the murder.
Each serial killer can be classified as a specific type. The four main types of serial killers are thrill seekers, mission-oriented, visionary, and power and control. Thrill seekers kill for the sole purpose to entertain themselves. They also want attention from the media. Thrill seekers send messages and keep a record of their killings. Mission-orientated serial killers have a reason to be killing the type of person they are. They think that by getting rid of a certain group; for example, prostitutes, then they are doing a favor for the society. Their crime scenes are organized. Visionary serial killers have another personality, this is known as dissociative identity disorder. They tend to think that God or the demon has told them to do this. Power and control serial killers kill because it gives them power. They like to watch their victims suffer and scream. The tend to be abused when they are
Serial killers are a type person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern. Most of the time something triggers them and then they go on their serial rampage. Some things that can be part of a serial killer's profile is they are normally white males, late 20’s early 30’s, kills with in own race, method of murder is hands on, and their victims are selected because they share specific characteristics. The types of serial killers are disorganized asocial and organized nonsocial. The different types of serial killers are: missionary killers, power seeking, lust killing, visionary killer, thrill killing. The profiling of a serial killer's changes upon the
Serial murder as defined by the FBI is, “[t]he unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events" (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 9). Numerous people disagree with the definition, this researcher included, since it lacks the cool- down period after they murder, which various people feel stands necessary for serial killer status. Serial killers remain a rare phenomenon. The FBI states, serial murder accounts for less than one percent of killings per year (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 2). Nevertheless, throughout the years, countless people have researched serial killers since they commit such heinous crimes. Criminologists and researchers have been attempting to identify various
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.
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 own satisfactional 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 men and female serial kills, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts.
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 are usually young, white males who are quite intelligent and often come from broken homes. They may have been abused either physically or sexually during childhood and they have serious personality defects, such as low self-esteem and a lifelong sense of loneliness. Although no two serial killers are alike, they all fit this description somewhat. In the sixth edition of Crime and Criminality by Sue Titus Reid, a serial killer is defined as a person who commits more than one murder but at different times (Reid, p. 134).
Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam, the BTK Killer. The names and assumed names of these cold-blooded serial killers are forever branded into the cognizance of people everywhere. This is mainly due to the mass media coverage, including newspapers, movies, television specials and books. This media coverage brought to light that these killers were, on the surface, normal, successful, attractive, productive members of society – that is, until the time that their heinous crimes came to be discovered.