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Antisocial personality disorder case studies
Antisocial personality disorder case studies
Antisocial personality disorder in criminal behavior
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There were two serial killers portrayed in the movie- Dr Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill. As far as diagnosis is concerned, they both have an antisocial personality disorder, and many similar characteristics, however each has his own array of psychological issues. Hannibal Lecter Undoubtedly somebody with the desire to eat another human has gone through some life altering event in which they're not the same after. During World War 2 in eastern Europe, Hannibal's parents were killed by burglars going through houses to steal supplies. Him and his sister were captured, and as the winter dragged on food supplies ran out. They grabbed his sister, and took her away. She never came back, and the group used her for food. From no treatment or support …show more content…
Whether it was in the form of sexual or physical abuse, something messed this character up very much. Kidnapping ladies after pretending to be injured and in need of assistance is already a terrifying thought – turning sympathy into torture. Buffalo Bill definitely had Anti-Social Personality Disorder, displaying the same lack of empathy for his abducted victims. His murders and acts of skinning the ladies wasn't without a point. He also likely had Gender Identity Disorder, as shown in his dance scene where he puts on make up etc... Hannibal revealed that he was rejected for the sex change surgery due to childhood trauma. He removed the skin of many, and in turn was going to create a suit of the women's skin so he could finally feel complete. Psychiatrist Lecter said of Jame Gumb: “Look for severe childhood disturbances associated with violence. Our Billy wasn’t born a criminal, Clarice — he was made one through years of systematic abuse. Our Billy hates his own identity, you see. He always has, and he thinks that makes him a transsexual. But his pathology is a thousand times more savage and more terrifying.” An important scene is when he refers to his victim as an 'It' while giving her directions. This in a way dehumanizes her, and is his personal justification for his actions. An interesting point to add is that when his victim got a hold of his small dog and was keeping
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
Erick Larson wrote in Devil in the White City, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing – I was born with the Evil One standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered in the world, and he has been with me since” (Troy, Taylor). This statement was a quoted confession from Dr. H. H. Holmes himself in 1896. Holmes was the first major serial killer in America, even though he came after many others in his time. Thomas Neil Cream, the Austin Axe Murderer, the Bloody Benders, and Jack the Ripper came before him. His name was originally Herman Webster Mudgett. He was born on May 16th, 1860 in Gilman, New Hampshire. He was raised by his mother and father, who was a wealthy and respected citizen for 25 years. As a boy, Mudgett was always in trouble and was well known in his community for his rather sociopathic behavior. He would show cruelty to both animals and other children. The only thing keeping hope to society was the fact that he was an excellent student. He later changed his last name to Holmes in order to pursue both his medical and criminal careers. He had many other aliases in which he would hide under and try to derail the cops from finding him (Juan, Blanco). Holmes was medically trained to be a doctor and received his degree from the University of Michigan. He was not just into insurance fraud scams. His evil doings included forgery, claiming to find the cure for alcoholism, real estate scams, and pretending to have a machine that turned natural gas into water. He was quite the ladies man, had many wives, whom often had become his victims. Many of his medical partners became subject to him, also. He once even had three wiv...
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
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
Dr. Hannibal Lecter a character in the film The Silence of the Lambs is portrayed as a brilliant forensic psychiatrist, an extremely refined gentleman with a charismatic and charming personality. Hannibal Lecter is meticulous in appearance, speaks very exactly, has immaculate wittiness, and astounding intellect (Demme, 1991). Though not directly indicated in the film, there is clear evidence of his educational background as he was a well-known forensic psychiatrist which requires an extensive amount of education. This film did not speak to Lecter’s relationship history nor his childhood background. Hannibal Lecter was sanctioned to the Baltimore State Forensic Hospital for cannibalistic crimes he committed against his own patients during his practice as a psychiatrist (Demme, 1991). At the start of the film it was indicated that he had been housed at the hospital for approximately eight years.
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.
In the movie “Silence of the Lambs”, the secondary antagonist, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, was interrogated by FBI trainee Clarice Starling on the whereabouts of the main antagonist nicknamed Buffalo Bill. Starling asked Lecter for his help on solving the case because he is a brilliant psychiatrist and psychopath, currently incarcerated at the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Buffalo Bill was kidnapping young women and skinning them in order to make a “woman suit” for him to wear, being a deranged transvestite. Starling asked for Lecter’s expertise because of his medical background and experience with his own personal disorder. Lecter was presently imprisoned because he is a ruthless cannibalistic serial killer. Before the audience actually meets Lecter, they are told he is dangerous, manipulative and an outright monster, calling him a “most prized asset”. Upon meeting him, Lecter appears to be subdued within his cell, a combined mixture of oddness and genuine care in his body language and facial features. When Starling introduces herself, Lecter listens intently, seemingly approachable and friendly for advice. Although the tone of his voice gives off a rather disturbing persona, he can easily be categorized as a disciplined, cultural and polite individual at first glance. In the 16 minutes total that Lecter appears in the movie, his presence automatically commandeers the flow of the conversation and mood of the environment that he is placed in.
Behavior is sometimes defined as the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment. Parents, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, and peers can all affect a person's behavior. Not everybody necessarily will have the behavior of a serial killer. In this paper, I will attempt to show the difference between the psychopath and the psychotic. Explain how the environment, upbringing, and treatment of serial killers led them to become who they are today.
A serial killer is traditional defined as the separate killings of three or more people by an individual over a certain period of time, usually with breaks between the murders. (Angela Pilson, p. 2, 2011) This definition has been accepted by both the police and academics and therefore provides a useful frame of reference (Kevin Haggerty, p.1, 2009). The paper will seek to provide the readers with an explanation of how serial killers came to be and how they are portrayed in the media.
Dr. Hannibal Lector, one of the main characters of the story is a psychiatrist, but also happens to be a cannibalistic serial killer. Dr. Lector is introduced into the NBC series as a psychiatrist who occasionally helps the FBI with their murder cases. Whereas in Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Lector was being held in prison until he eventually broke loose. It is made clear to the audiences the Hannibal is definitely the killer, there is no mystery to that, which can make things interesting for this character in the Hannibal series of whether or not he’ll be caught.
Throughout history, America has been the home of serial killers, with more than 2,000 throughout history. In this country, America has encountered many different kinds of these sick people. One of the most infamous serial killers throughout American History was Theodore Robert Bundy, also known as Ted Bundy. On November 24, 1946, in Burlington, Vermont, Theodore Robert Bundy was born. When people think of serial killers, they usually see a dirty, insane looking person that would stand out from the average person. In Bundy’s case it was very different. Ted was a very smart individual who had attended 5 different colleges throughout the United States, studying law and eventually getting his degree in psychology at the University of Washington. Bundy was a very handsome and charming man, unlike most other serial killers. Looking helpless and using his good looks, Bundy was able to lure his victims and would knock them unconscious with an object such as a crowbar or a pipe, then would handcuff them inside his car. Once the victims were under his control he would then proceed in kidnapping, raping, sodomizing, and eventually killing them in very harsh ways. Throughout the 70’s, he raped and murdered young women all across the country. Bundy was said to be connected to at least 36 murders, and suspected to have committed one hundred or more.
Serial killers are everywhere! Well, perhaps not in our neighborhood, but on our television screens, at the movie theaters, and in rows and rows of books at our local Borders or Barnes and Nobles Booksellers” (Brown). When people think of serial killers, names such as Dahmer, Gacy, Bundy, and Gein are cited. During the time Jack the Ripper was executing his victims in London, Holmes began his gruesome career in Chicago (America’s Serial Killers). “Despite being America’s first serial killer, Holmes is hardly a familiar name and until now we haven’t had any popular visual record of his crimes: (Spikol). Why is it that people only think of the more popular killers with higher known profiles? They are all very similar to one another because they share characteristics. H.H. Holmes was a successful serial killer because he was well educated, cunning and charming. Those are just a few traits Holmes ...
John Wayne Gacy,Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer; What do these infamous serial killers have in common? Though one may think that these killers are different and incomparable they all share a disturbed and damaging childhood that led them to their notorious fame that is still talked about today. Serial killing is defined as someone who murders 3 or more people in which the murders take place over at least one month and the killer has to take a “cooling off period” (physicality np). In case you were wondering these 3 serial killers exceeded the qualifications of being defined as a serial killer. While all these serial killers are unique in their own why they all have childhoods that have affected the way they kill in some way, shape, or form.
Serial killers have captivated the attention of scientists from the first signs of their existence to modern day. Interested by these killers’ inhumane actions, researchers set out to determine the cause of such graphic, horrific crimes. The brain has been brought into question regarding the motivation of these cold blooded killers. After extensive research, abnormalities of both the chemical composition and material makeup have been identified within the brains of numerous serial killers. These differences are more than mere coincidence, they are evidence that killers do not think in the same way. The killers’ drives and motives are irregular, just as their brains are. Not only are these variations interesting, but they are also crucial to the justice system in regards to the punishment of past, future, and present sequential murderers. It is important that as a society we learn the differences in the mind of a killer, and also recognize and understand them. A serial killer’s brain greatly differs in function from the average citizen’s brain due to physical variations in the brain and a different chemical makeup.
One of the biggest traits of psychopath serial killer is their inability to empathize with human feelings. There is no generic profile for psychopath serial killer. Serial killers differ in many ways, including their motivations for killing and their behavior at the crime scene. They will use people for excitement, to build self-esteem. In the movie the behavioral science doctor mentions that Dr. Lecter ate a nurse’s tongue and during the ordeal his pulse rate never raised above eighty-five, which is usually a pulse pate of a regular person that is resting. The calmness he displays is a shallow emotional response, as well as lacking empathy or remorse.