Is a Serial Killer Born or Created?

1033 Words3 Pages

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. Many studies suggest that there are significant differences in the brain between individuals who possess antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy). While not all people who possess an antisocial personality disorder will become serial killers, every serial killer studied has an antisocial personality disorder; “Neuropsychological testing revealed abnormalities in all subjects tested” (Blake, Pincus, and Buckner 1642). Brain injury, brain abnormalities, or mental illness affects all the serial killers tested. Even if all serial killers had some type of abnormality in the brain, would that mean that they were doomed to become a serial killer? According to the experimental findings discussed in Neurologic Abnormalities in Murderers; 64.5% of serial killers have a frontal lobe dysfunction and 29% have temporal lobe abnormalities. The frontal lobes of the brain “control the essence of our human... ... middle of paper ... ...f brain abnormalities on psychosocial development, criminal history and paraphilias in sexual murderers." J Forensic sci 50.5 (2005): 1204-8. Culter, Mary Ann, Joanne Dombrowski, Michael Doughtery, Paula Henderson, and Laura McNicholas. “The brain: understanding nuerobiology. The brain-lesson1-What does this part of the brain do?” NIH publication, Mar.20120.21.Apr.2014. Miller, Laurence. "The predator's brain: Neuropsychodynamics of serial killers."Serial offenders: Current thought, recent findings, unusual syndromes (2000): 135-166. Mitchell, Heather, and Michael G. Aamodt. "The incidence of child abuse in serial killers." Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 20.1 (2005): 40-47. Raine, Adrian, Monte Buchsbaum, and Lori LaCasse. "Brain abnormalities in murderers indicated by positron emission tomography." Biological psychiatry42.6 (1997): 495-508.

Show More
Related

  • Nature versus Nurture: Criminal Behavior

    2165 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Development Dynamics And Forensics By Lawrence Miller

    1712 Words  | 4 Pages

    The article Serial killers: II. Development, dynamics, and forensics by Lawrence Miller dives in into the many aspects that encompass the psychological, neurological, and sociocultural elements that underline the average serial murderer. The elements involve childhood upbringing, types of aggression, typical neurochemistry, and subcultural theories. The article manages to include descriptions of the statistical patterns that involve the demographics, and motives that follow serial killers. It also discusses the validity and rationality of the insanity defense in prosecuting these extraordinarily vicious offenders.

    Read More

  • Hickey's Trauma Control Model Of The Serial Killer

    1640 Words  | 4 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Psychopathy And Culpability: What Is The Serial Killer?

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media generally portrays the prototypical serial killer through the lens of two extremes. They can either have an incapacitating mental illness or be brilliant, but severely troubled, geniuses. Yet, neither of these two stereotypes are accurate, as serial killers generally display signs of psychopathy, which is not considered a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Despite the erroneousness of Hollywood’s movies and television shows, many psychologists and lawmakers are still considering the degree to which psychopaths can be considered responsible for their actions. In “Psychopathy and Culpability: How Responsible Is the Psychopath for Criminal Wrongdoing?” researchers Adam R. Fox, Trevor H. Kvaran, and Reid Griffith Fontaine attempt to draw conclusions from evidence on whether or not psychopaths meet the criteria for full criminal responsibility. Other researchers, such as Scott E. Culhane, Sage M. Hilstad, Adrienne Greng, and Matt J. Gray, use a case study to demonstrate that psychopathy is not synonymous with serial killers and that mental illness cannot necessarily be used in criminal cases to justify murder in their research paper titled “Self-Reported Psychopathology in a Convicted Serial Killer.” In the remaining two articles

    Read More

  • Serial Killer Informative Speech

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Predestined Serial Killers

    2052 Words  | 5 Pages

    A startling amount of criminals on death row have been clinically diagnosed with brain disorders. A recent study has demonstrated that 20 out of 31 confessed killers are diagnosed as mentally ill. Out of that 20, 64% have frontal lobe abnormalities. (1) A thorough study of the profiles of many serial killers shows that many of them had suffered sever head injuries (to the frontal lobe) when they were children. To discover why damage to the frontal lobe could be a cause of serial killing, one must look at the function of the frontal lobe of the brain.

    Read More

  • Serial Killer Essay

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    The brain scan of a killer often lacks this, meaning that the activity in the frontal lobe is minimal. Without the activity, people often have emotional problems, personality changes, and trouble with their social behavior. Just because a person has frontal lobe damage doesn’t mean that they will grow into a cold blooded killer, there is often other factors that play into it, “Research shows that serial killers have long histories of violence, beginning in childhood with the targeting of other children, siblings, and small animals. They maintain superficial relationships with others, have trouble relating to the opposite sex, and have guilt feelings about their interest in sex” (Siegel 295). Abuse as a child or neglect can also play a role in shaping a killer ("What Creates Serial Killers and Psychopaths: Genetics or Environment?"). With seeing the abuse so much as a child, the person may accept violence into their everyday life and may think that it is

    Read More

  • Serial Killers Essay

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    They claim that serial killers are either born with brain problems, or they form them due to repetitive injury. “ 70% of serial killers received extensive head injuries as children or adolescents. Damage to the limbic brain, hypothalamus or temporal lobe may cause bouts of spontaneous aggression. These areas are involved with hormones, aggression, emotion and motivation.The prefrontal cortex does not function properly in psychopaths” (Gerber n.p.). The idea that killers are born surrounds the belief that the reason a child becomes overly aggressive with violent tendencies is due to anomalies of the brain, or chronic injury. If the lobes of the brain were functioning properly, the personalities and obsessions of the killer would not be present. Though based on that idea, conditions and circumstances would be irrelevant. In that case, someone raised in a loving and nurturing home would have the same chance of becoming a murderer as somebody raised in complete deprivation. The brain may play a role in the making of a serial killer, but if it does, it adds to the stress of the trauma. The brain itself does not define the

    Read More

  • Gender and Serial Killers

    2475 Words  | 5 Pages

    ..., Kim, Juhu. 2004. “Critical Characteristics of Male Serial Murders.” American Journal of Criminal Justice 29(1): 117-131

    Read More

  • The Cause of Serial Killers

    1915 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people encounter tragedies, trauma, abuse, and psychological damage in their life, but those who have said problems frequently, most likely 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 to 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 him or her at home, a part of his or her brain, which contro...

    Read More

  • Looking at the Life of John Wayne Gacy

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...theorize that serial killers have brain damage or other biological abnormalities that contribute to their actions. Damage to areas like the frontal lobe, the hypothalamus and the limbic system can contribute to extreme aggression, loss of control, loss of judgment and violence. Henry Lee Lucas, who was convicted of 11 murders, was shown to have extreme brain damage in these areas, probably the result of childhood abuse, malnutrition and alcoholism. Arthur Shawcross, another 11-time serial killer, was found to have had several brain injuries, including two skull fractures. While in prison, he suffered from headaches and often blacked out. Bobby Joe Long, convicted of nine murders, stated at one point, "After I'm dead, they're going to open up my head and find that just like we've been saying a part of my brain is black and dry and dead" [source: Scott].

    Read More

  • Serial Killers: The Brain Of A Serial Killer

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. Since the beginning of time, scientists and neuropsychologists alike have studies its composition and how it influences human behavior. However, no human behavior has baffled researchers more than serial murder. Serial killers are dangerous animals that act upon bizarre influences that have fascinated the human race for thousands of years. Many wonder what could cause a person to take the life of another innocent soul. Do internal factors cause them to do it? Is it their environment? What causes a serial killer to kill?

    Read More

  • The Creation of a Serial Killer: Nature vs. Nurture

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 2000 an article was published in Science by Dr. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. It showed a study conducted by Davidson on those who had previously committed violent crimes versus those who are considered for the most part, “normal.” The results showed distinct brain activity in the more violent offenders in the frontal lobe and limbic system. This leads us to conclude that those who are violent could potentiall...

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Serial Killing and Sexual Sadism Applying Robert Pickton as a Case Study

    2106 Words  | 5 Pages

    Simons, C. (2001). Antisocial personality disorder in serial killers: The thrill of the kill. The Justice Professional, 14(4), 345-356.

    Read More

  • The Serial Killer: Nature Vs. Nurture

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most serial murderers have been deprived of any control over their home, their body, and their entire life. “Psychokillers take their fantasies and make them a reality living their dreams” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture 2). Both physical and especially emotional abuse is the consistent, reoccurring factor among a majority of serial killers. Traumatic abuse in childhood has long been viewed as a primary cause of violent behavior in adulthood (Dolan 24). Abusive parents do not generally vent their anger equally on all their children. Such parents tend to unleash the anger and negative emotions on their more difficult children; this potential aggression and physical and emotional abuse of the child shapes the future criminal. “Most serial murders are not classified as psychotics, but rather as psychopaths- their perception of reality is clear except that they feel no social or moral obligations” () Killers are taking control of their own lives through their fantasies in the only way they know fit, through

    Read More

More about Is a Serial Killer Born or Created?

Open Document