A View of Jeffery Dahmer's Personality Why does a Jeffery Dahmer happen? How does a person become a serial killer, necrophiliac, cannibal and psychopath? There are probably very few convincing answers that come forth. Many of the theories would have you believe that the answers can always be found in childhood abuse, bad parenting, head trauma, fetal alcoholism and drug addiction. I don’t think Jeffery’s past paints a picture of these causes. However, no family is absolutely sterile and I guess there were some issues in the Dahmer family but where they enough to cause and individual to react as he did. There are definitely some factors that may have had a negative influence on Jeff’s life. His mother had various physical ailments and appeared to be high strung, coming from a background in which her father’s alcoholism deeply affected her life. His father stayed at work more often than he should to avoid turmoil on the home front. Eventually the marriage dissolved in divorce when Jeff was eighteen. Is this enough domestic discord to account for a serial murderer? Jeff was a child that was wanted and adored. He was a normal, healthy child whose birth was the occasion of joy. As a tot he was a happy bubbly youngster who loved stuffed bunnies and wooden blocks. He also had a dog named frisky, his much loved childhood pet. Jeff developed into a happy little boy. At the age of four, his father swept out from under their house the remains of some small animals that had been killed by crivets. Jeff seemed oddly thrilled by the sound they made. His small hands dug deep into the pile of bones. This can no longer be viewed simply as a childish episode, a passing fascination. This must of been the first sign of a ma... ... middle of paper ... ...t in neurotic symptoms of dreams—repressed sexual impulses and things lay dormant and dreams have true meaning. Jeff’s dreams had true meaning and they were carried out. All in all I have to say that all approaches seem to have a connection with each other and I think it is good to look at all theories and ideas when looking at a personality that was as disturbed as Jeff’s. The sad part is that I think there were signs of abnormality that went unrecognized and not treated with some type of therapy. There was something missing in Jeff and I think we call it a conscience. But where did it go or did he ever have one. Was it genetics or behaviorism or what that caused a personality such as the one that he developed. Bibliography: References The editors of Time Life Books (1993). Compulsion to Kill Crime library www.crimelibrary
As children, our parents tell us that monsters do not exist. The truth is that they do exist and they live among us, masquerading as one of us. Two examples of these monsters are serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. A serial killer is classified as a person who kills three or more people, in separate events, over a time frame of a month, with “cooling off” periods in between. While Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer both share a sick twisted mind and a penchant for killing, differences in their upbringing, personality, and preferences drastically set them apart.
killed by Mark for wanting to do the right thing and tell the truth. Jeff is one of the guys who helps with the kidnapping, He does whatever Mark tells him to do. Jeff is also a poor student in Mr.
were also very hard for the Dahmer family to deal with. To many it was
Jeffrey Dahmer, the Serial Killer When we look back at some "crimes of the century" some of that should. Definitely come to mind are the gruesome murders of the late Jeffrey Dahmer. performed. The sym This mysterious serial killer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal. probably accounted for one of the most famous cases in history.
Although the behavioral patterns of serial killers have long been attributed to external (that is to say, social) causation, psychologists have recently begun to examine the biochemical circumstances underlying behavioral precursors of serial violence. A British philosopher, G.H. Lewes, noted that, " Murder, like talent, seems occasionally to run in families" (1,2). The observation, while loosely empirical in nature, has proven common enough to catalyze widespread research to identify a genetic factor resulting in a behavioral predisposition to violence. As yet, no single gene that unequivocally stimulates socially maladaptive aggression and violence has ...
Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee on May 21, 1960, to Lionel and Joyce Dahmer. Despite the difficulties of Joyce's pregnancy, he was wanted and adored as a child. By all accounts, Dahmer displayed traits of a happy, bubbly youngster. However, several events from his childhood indicated that the young boy was becoming more and more disturbed. When Jeff was four, his father swept out the remains of some small animals from under the house. As his father gathered the tiny animal bones, Jeff seemed strangely entertained by the sound they made (Bardsley Ch. 13). At the young age of six, Dahmer suffered a double hernia and needed surgery to correct the problem. After the operation, he was never the same socially. Adding insult to injury, the family then moved from Iowa to Ohio where it became apparent Dahmer had grown distant, shy, and nearly uncommunicative (Bardsley Ch. 13).
Later that year Jeff was just getting ready to leave when he heard something fall when he turned he screamed so hard his face went red he backed up to the wall as the nightmarish Mr Barton and mark came closer Jeff pleaded for mercy butt what he didn’t know is that they planned to kill him and Cody who was in the next room who had grabbed his gun from his coat he burst through the door he went pale with horror as he saw what was Jeff's body that had been electrocuted by Mr Barton and Mark Cody thought that Jeff must have been struck by lighting or got shocked by the machinery.
One of the things that changes during Jeff's journey is his character. In the beginning of the
To begin, it is often said that all serial killers are born with the aggressive or violent gene but that’s not necessarily true. Nature versus Nurture has always been a huge argument in the psychology community. Nature is described as the genetic code of a person. For example, it is often argued that genetics is the cause of obesity or high blood pressure. Nurture is the complete opposite. Nurture is where the environment determines who a person is and what they will become. An example would be that poor eating can cause obesity and limited coping skills can lead to high blood pressure. Almost everyone knows the story of Jeffrey Dahmer. He is often seen as this monster who got a kick out of eating the remains of his victim. You see, Jeffrey wasn 't always this way. Jeffrey Dahmer was born May 21st, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jeffrey Dahmer lived what you could consider a “normal” life up until his family began to move around from state to state causing him to
Data has been collecting reporting that “31% of people who had both a substance abuse disorder and a psychiatric disorder (a "dual diagnosis") committed at least one act of violence in a year, compared with 18% of people with a psychiatric disorder alone. This confirmed other research that substance abuse is a key contributor to violent behavior” (Harvard Health Publishing). This can be applied to Dahmer’s case. It is said that after getting hernia surgery when he was four, Dahmer was never the same. He went from a regular playful child to a distant anxious one. When becoming an adolescent, one will develop an interest in concepts and hobbies. For Dahmer it animal carcasses. He would find roadkill, “dissect and dismember them. He explained that he wanted to know how each animal "fitted together"(Cahill). This could come off as creepy and off-putting, but he was not hurting anyone. It is believed that his parents’ constant fighting and moving was the catalyst in making his obsession with carcasses into a dangerous one. “Children from broken homes are nine times more likely to commit crimes than those from stable families” (Bloxham). His drive to kill could quite possibly be linked to the fact that he simply linked to his familial issues. These problems in the family are definitely linked to his drinking problems as well. Dahmer’s
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.
Dahmer was a pretty normal, but very lonely kid. His loneliness followed him throughout the course of his life. Never having an intimate friendship or relationship, along with being consumed with confusion over his own sexuality eventually led him to become the household name he is today. From 1978 to 1991, Dahmer murdered 17 boys and men. Not only is he considered a murderer, but he committed (on several occasions) rape and dismemberment. After his later murders, he was found guilty of necrophilia, cannibalism, and permanent preservation of body parts. He is arguably the most well known, gruesome, and intriguing criminal in American history.
Miller, Laurence. "The predator's brain: Neuropsychodynamics of serial killers."Serial offenders: Current thought, recent findings, unusual syndromes (2000): 135-166.
In the aftermath of the horrific crimes of serial killers, psychologists attempt to analyze the defects in their personalities that make them commit these atrocities, in order to learn more about the human psyche and its dangerous potential. Jeffrey Dahmer, the “Milwaukee Cannibal” whose crimes were discovered in 1991, is a unique serial killer in his willingness to completely expose and explore the reasoning behind his crimes, which include the rape and murder of 17 men and boys, necrophilia, dismemberment and cannibalism. Dahmer’s honesty and exposition of his crimes have allowed psychologists the opportunity to explore his personality, and allowed them to break new ground in the exploration of the minds of serial killers.
The biographies of most serial killers reveal significant psychological trauma at an early age, but that is no excuse due to similar biographies of successful people as well. Whenever the case of an infamous serial killer is examined, we invariably search for clues in the childhood that might explain his or her seemingly senseless murders.