Psychological Analysis Of Serial Killers: Ted Bundy

674 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Biological and psychological criminological paradigm

“We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands and we are everywhere." This was said by the infamous American serial killer Ted Bundy. Serial killers, mass murders and rapists roam our world behind smiling faces and a charming persona. No one truly knows their nature or characteristics. It is possible to detect a potienal menace to society by their actions, both physically and socially. There are two categories of murderers; Impulsive and premeditated. According to Robert Hanlon, a researcher at Northwestern University, these types diverge both mentally and physically. Impulsive murderers are "much more mentally impaired, particularly cognitively impaired, in terms of both their intelligence and other cognitive functions.” Premeditated …show more content…

James Fallon, an American neuroscientist has studied the minds of psychopaths for 20 years. In 2013, he conducted a research that showed a number of circumstances that can cause psychopathic behavior. A part of the brain called orbital cortex is the area that is thought to be involved in making moral decisions, control of impulse and ethical behavior. Low activity in this part of the brain is common among serial killers. He stated that "People with low orbital cortex activity is either free-wheeling or socio-paths." This means there would be less than normal of things like sex, violence and rage. Psychopathic tendencies are heredity so he also tested DNA in his family that is associated with violence, which led him to the zeroing in the MAO-A gene. It regulates the serotonin in your brain, which controls mood. A lack of this hormone can cause lack of sleep, suicidal behavior and schizophrenia. Dr. Helen Morrison found that serial killers never fully develop a sense of attachment or belonging in the world. This means they don’t give a crap about their victims, this allows them to experiment on them without feeling guilt. She also found that killers (who are men) show their murderous tendencies around puberty due to a chromosome …show more content…

In 2012, Radford University conducted a research into serial killer statistics. They found that, 52.1% of serial killers are white, 40.3% were black, 6.1% are Hispanic and 1.5% is Asian and Native American (0.7 and 0.8). The majority of serial killers are males with a whopping 90.8% while women are only 9.2%. The motive for these horrible acts against humanity is more likely for enjoyment (46.11%) or financial gain (31.68%). Serial killers have an average IQ of 94.7, and surprise guess which county has the highest rate of serial

Show More
Related

  • The Biological, Social, and Artistic Construction of a Serial Killer

    2451 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, the Boston Strangler, Jeffrey Dahmer. Despite the years of history that separate these names, they remain indelibly preserved within our collective societal consciousness because of the massively violent and calculated nature of their crimes. Serial killers, both men and women, represent social monstrosities of the most terrifying variety. They are human predators, cannibals in a figurative and, often, literal sense, and are therefore uniquely subversive to society's carefully constructed behavioral tenets. They frighten because they are human in form but without the social conscience that, for many, defines humanity. They capture the public eye because they terrify, but also because they elicit a sort of gruesome curiosity about the human potential for evil; as Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde alleges, wickedness lies within each heart, waiting only for the proper time and impetus to break free.

    Read More

  • Studies on The Childhood of Serial Killers

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Long Island Killer Research Paper

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States of America has more serial killers living in and on it's territory, than any other place in the world. Almost eighty-five percent of serial killers are housed in America. While most serial killers are men, women account for eight percent of the eighty-five in our country. Serial killers are very sick, distraught human beings when compared to others; the reasoning behind this tends to lean towards the mental stability and psychological makeup of the serial killer. Now there are plenty of serial killers to be talked about, but The Long Island Killer is a perfect example of a horrible, sick person.

    Read More

  • Serial Killer Myths

    1323 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite popular belief, serial killers are not always people that have that stereotypical “serial killer” look to them. Yes, most do not usually look happy and cheerful, but most of the time they just look like normal people. They are not always skinny, or have a long scraggly beard. There are some common myths about serial killers that many people believe to be true. For starters, most think that serial killers are male. The common belief is that the men are the aggressors, and women are always the victim; although that is found to mostly be the case, it is not one hundred percent true. “Approximately 17 percent of all serial homicides in the U.S. are committed by women”(Bonn). Another myth about serial killers is that they are always lonely,

    Read More

  • Is a Serial Killer Born or Created?

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Serial Killers: H. H. Holmes

    2489 Words  | 5 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Serial Killers

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    Serial killing is the rarest form of homicide; serial homicide is when an individual kills three or more people who are not known to them usually with a cooling off period in-between murders. Criminologists are constantly trying to figure out why serial killers exist and what shapes their behavior in the first place. Media shapes serial murders into celebrities, making society idolize them. Because there is so much adoration for them society has “become an inescapable point of reference in movies, television, novels, true cime books and video games” (social study article) making their influence a dominant cultural category. Serial killers can’t be controlled because of society factors that enable them to exist, not even strict punishments can derail them from committing. Although society has no control over their existence, patterns of how they came to exist are very clear. Serial murders are a complex stereotype that society has no control over but still we continue to shape society to enable them.

    Read More

  • The Four Different Types Of Serial Killers

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    When it comes to serial killers the one thing that comes to mind are males. You don’t see many female serial killers its more males when it comes to that. People also may think that serial killers are individuals who kill a lot of people, but there’s more to being classified as a serial killer. These killers usually don 't know their victims and they almost always have "cooling off " periods between the murders, they also usually derive sexual excitement from the killings but there’s still more to being a serial killer. There are four different classifications: power and control, visionary, mission, and hedonistic. What people don’t know is these men can be very smart which makes them become not only more dangerous, but a major threat to our families and society. Most “smart” serial killers prey upon certain victims who they think they can outsmart. These sick smart men unfortunately are very organized so they tend to plan their killings out to make sure everything

    Read More

  • Serial Killers: The Zodiac Killer

    2171 Words  | 5 Pages

    The term serial killer is defined as, “The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender in separate events” according to the F.B.I. It is clear that there is something not quite right about a person who can kill, and continue to do so. (Pemment, 2013) With serial killers there is no real reasoning behind their murders, they do not just snap one day, nor do they do it out of greed or even jealousy. There is time between the murders, and most of the time these people are active members of a community. While there are umpteen studies about why these people murder, there have been no actual breakthroughs. The studies go anywhere from a poor childhood, to brain damage. While everything is so unclear, there are many studies that point

    Read More

  • Serial Killers Essay

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    To truly understand serial killers we first need to define them. A serial killer has to have a minimum of three to four victims. The killer is usually a stranger to the victim however the victim has significant value to the killer. Statistically, the average serial killer is a white male from a lower-to-middle-class background, usually in his twenties or thirties. At a young age they often set fires, torture animals, and wet their beds. These type of actions are said to be red-flag behaviors. They are also fascinated with the police and authority. They have either attempted to become police themselves but were rejected, worked as security guards, or served in the military. Many, including John Gacy, theHillside Stranglers, and Ted Bundy, have disguised themselves as law enforcement officials to gain access to their victims.

    Read More

  • Serial Killer Sociology

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Serial Killer can be defined in multiple ways, but as my personal view of point is that they are simply people that have certain problems or that they are sick/ mentally issue. They are people that must be taken care of and be treated of their condition, and be handled with the utmost respect, though they killed or wounded innocent people. In the modern world of social study they have had connect towards each serial killer, that they all have a somewhat common background, a “certain classes of people are positioned as outcasts or ‘lesser’ humans. Such individuals, often singled out by modern institutions for reprobation, censure and marginalisation, are also disproportionately the targets of serial killers, who tend to prey upon vagrants, the homeless, prostitutes, migrant workers, homosexuals, children, the elderly and hospital patients. Gerald Stano likened the killing of his victims to ‘no different than stepping on a cockroach’ (Holmes and DeBurger, 1998).’’ (The Social Study Of Serial

    Read More

  • Becoming A Serial Killer

    1507 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite how disturbed these people are, our society seems to have a fascination with these criminals. Whether we’re repulsed by their actions or just yearn to learn about them, the minds of these serial killers intrigue our generation. We don’t know why they do the things they do, all we know is that as humans, we are capable of horrible things. Serial killers are always looking for their next victim, they kill again and again but never seem to be satisfied. They are often able to escape being caught for years, decades and sometimes they aren’t caught at all. We cannot simply point a finger into a crowd of people and pick out who’s a serial killer and who is not. They hide behind facades and their darkness is hidden deep within them until one day, they snap and their true colors show.

    Read More

  • Serial Killer Society

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    The events of the past can hold a great influence on the actions and behaviors of the future. From being raised in a supportive and loving home, to one that is full of neglect and abuse, each event can potentially impact the future of an individual. What is the psychological impact serial killers have on society? Serial killers in society and their media attention affect society and what people think they are movies, television, books, and how people deal with them. Serial killers are affecting people in society all the time even years after their death and because of this, there are implications. “Implications from the fact that America produces 85% of world's serial killers a statistic found from the USA today.”(David Schmid) Most of the

    Read More

  • Five Characteristics Of Serial Killers

    1820 Words  | 4 Pages

    During an interview with the Daily Mail Dr Elizabeth Yardley, Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University discusses the five key traits that the most famous killers have in common. First, they are power junkies “serial killers typically have a real affinity with power, even when they’ve been caught and know it is over they still seek the power position.”(Mail 2015) Second is a manipulator, “ some of the world’s most notorious serial killers have the frightening ability to manipulate those around them, pressing the right buttons in order to show themselves in a false light. They use this to hide their sinister personality.”(Mail 2015) Third, they are egotistical braggers, “these killers either take trophies or brag about their kill in some form.”(Mail 2015) An example of this see Tsutomu Miyazaki mentioned earlier, he wrote his victims’ families detailing the murder in great detail. Forth, they are superficial charmers, “serial killers tend to have a very good grasp on other peoples’ emotions and are quick to pick up on any vulnerability or weakness in order to convince them into doing things they would not normally do.”(Mail 2015) Finally, as I mentioned earlier the look of an Average Joe, “The scariest of all traits they have, most of these killers look like pillars of the community, it is a way of gaining trust only to abuse it in horrid ways. This attribute helps them get away with the stuff that goes on behind closed doors.”(Mail

    Read More

  • Non Serial Killers

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Serial killers in the mindset have very different ideals and thoughts that can contribute to some odd behavior. This article will compare the differences and similarities of serial killers and the general population.

    Read More

More about Psychological Analysis Of Serial Killers: Ted Bundy

Open Document