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Psychology of serial killers
Psychology of serial killers
How domestic abuse effects childs behavior in early years
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The Urge to Kill: Development of a Murderer The majority of society would consider a psychopath as a criminal, but not all psychopaths are criminals (Brogaard, 2012, para. 5). Psychopathic traits could exist since the University of Wisconsin scanned the brains of psychopaths that committed crime and all had similarities, their brains had a lack of negativity stimuli (Brogaard, 2012, para. 3). But murderers are not considered psychopaths they are just murderers, they just have traits of a psychopath. They manipulate with people, they make others think that they are normal (Woollaston, 2015, para. 51). There is always a cause to a situation, so what is the cause for a murderer to kill a person? Although killing a person is very cruel, the …show more content…
Serial killers are known to manipulate people with their feelings (Woollaston, 2015, para. 13). They know how to do this so well because their emotions have been triggered, so they know the feeling. Growing up with bad role models, they led themselves to that way of life. Psychopaths who commit murder have no remorse for their victims (Woollaston, 2015, para. 57). They have no emotions because they were raised without the right emotions. While they are adults, some commit murder to get a desire they never got. A serial killer, Ed Gein, harmed girls to get their body parts so he could use them for a sex change or according to Brogaard he did it to replicate his mother (Brogaard, 2012, para. 11). So as adults, they finally get the thrill to commit murder to get what they always wanted; attention from …show more content…
There are some murderers who had no trouble with their family (Brogaard, 2012, para. 8). They have a bad damage in their brain, which causes a mental issue. So a person cannot be blamed for what their body decides to do. There are psychotic diseases like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Brogaard, 2012, para. 12). Some murderers harm others because they cannot control themselves. Which leads to saying some of these murderers or serial killers have a mental illness.
The beginning of a person’s life will reflect towards their future. Their childhood being chaotic, not getting the right attention for a child. It leads to having a desire that has not been sparked causing them to seek it out on others. As adults everything is “controllable”, now they get to do what they want, according to them. They could have been stopped when they were young if they got the right help. There would have been a lot of lives that could have been saved. There are a lot of reasons for a person to be a murderer or a serial
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
Freud (1940) was the first to do the link between sexual abuses during the childhood and adult abnormal behavior. As a result of that serial killer uses sex as a way to let out his or her anger and aggression. The sexually acts of the serial killer is not only about sex, but it is about revenge, power, and control. “Serial killers are unconsciously trying to kill off their repressed sexual pain and powerlessness. Every stab into the victim’s flesh is a stab against their own childhood sexual terror and pain, and the rage that accompanies it is a rage against those who tormented and terrorized” (Knight, 2006, p. 1199-1200).
What drives serial killers to kill their victims in the most brutal way possible? The answer to that question is still being researched today. The psychopathic mindset of serial killers tend to be influenced by abuse, insanity, and mental illness. In Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Capote shows great examples of mental illness and how being abused can affect their mind. An example of this is when Perry was abused by his parents, he had troubles wetting the bed and sucking on his thumb at ages “normal” people would consider troublesome. Serial killers are often portrayed as bloodthirsty monsters, when in reality, their psychological mindset needs to be considered.
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.
Taking the life of another person is one of the worst infractions of the law to commit. The Bureau of Justice defines serial killing as “[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events” (“Michigan” 1). Serial killers often commit extremely violent crimes; they usually become infamous for these crimes. The first recorded serial killers are probably Jack the Ripper in 1888 and Fritz Haarmann in 1924 (“Michigan” 1). Jack the Ripper is also one of the most well-known criminals, almost everyone knows who he is or has at least heard of him. Most people know what he is famous for and associate him with being a bad person. Serial killers are typically sadistic and sociopathic, meaning that they are unable to feel empathy for people who are suffering (“Michigan” 1). Whimsical sociopaths who have sadistic tendencies are very dangerous. They inflict pain because they do not care that someone else is suffering, they only care that it makes t...
Common psychological disturbances in the stages of making a serial killer are seen in childhood and are usually based upon mental and psychological abuse endured by a child.
Some psychologist believe that if a serial killer displays or kills his victims in such a way then it qualifies as fulfilling as sexual desire. These killers are usually diagnosed with a mental disorder referred to as sexual sadism. Psychologists refer to serial killers who kill in this manner as sexual sadist. A sexual sadist enjoys the ‘suffering or embarrassment of others to the point of arousal’ (Serial Killers and Sexual Sadism). Sociologists believe that a serial killer needs to “fulfil a sexual desire by turning a fantasy into a controllable reality” (Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture). Sadist crave the dominance and control over their victims because they feel as if they cannot control other aspects of their life. Another biological factor derives within the DNA of the person. Many killers have the “MAO-A gene (monoamine oxidase A). This gene, which has been the target of considerable research, is also known as the "warrior gene" because it regulates serotonin in the brain. Serotonin affects your mood — think Prozac — and many scientists believe that if you have a certain version of the warrior gene, your brain won't respond to the calming effects of serotonin (A Neuroscientist Uncovers a Dark Secret).” With this gene psychologist and scientist alike believe that this can foretell a serial killer before he becomes a serial
As participants in today's information obsessed society we are constantly being bombarded with the brutal actions that mankind is capable of. One watches the news and hears about a murder, or reads a book about a mysterious killer. The only time that the New York Daily News has ever outsold the New York Times was when the headline claimed the letters that proved the 'real' identity of Jack the Ripper. As you wade through these bits and pieces of reality, one can't help but be struck by the thought-- what causes a person to actively commit such horrendous acts? There have been many different studies done in hopes of finding an answer. For a crime such as serial killing there are two main schools of thought. The first idea is that serial killing is caused by an abnormality in the frontal lobe region of the brain. Another theory is that serial killers are bred by circumstance. However, I believe that with some analysis the evidence for both theories can serve to prove that serial killers are genetically different. Thus demonstrating that serial killing can find its origins in genetics.
Serial killers are the byproduct of many different things, such as trauma, death of loved ones, abuse, neglect, adoption, and even witnessing abuse (Are Serial). They have had to endure a massive amount of trauma or abuse to an unimaginable extent to become what they are. The extent of the abuse, the trauma, and the psychological damage they endure is incomprehensible to many. The destruction of one’s innocence can occur at any given time in their life, but they are more impressionable in their youth by the negativism of someone else’s actions (Scott, Shirley L. "What Makes Serial Killers Tick ~ Childhood Event"). People are susceptible to what they endure in their adolescence, and cruel upbringings, such as that of a serial killer’s, are possibly the determinant of their future.
The earliest warning signs of serial killers can be traced back to their childhood. It is believed that the mind of a murderer is charged with a turbulence of emotions stored from early childhood (Abrahamsen 18). When these often repressed emotions are activated, the mind, particularly when aroused or frustrated, becomes violent, and so it is that a person who may appear quite normal and well adjusted on the surface, becomes possessed by a mind that murders (Abrahamsen 18). The study of 36 incarcerated killers by Robert Ressler, Ann Burgess, and John Douglas, which can be found in their book Sexual Homicide Patterns and Motives, found many common behavior indicators in their childhoods. These behaviors include daydreaming, compulsive masturbation, isolation, chronic lying, bed wetting, rebelliousness, nightmares, destroying property, fire setting stealing, cruelty to children, poor body image, temper tantrums, sleep problems, display assault toward adults, phobias, running away, cruelty to animals, accident prone, headaches, destroying possessions, eating problems, convulsions, and...
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.
...e to murder over a period of time frequently show sociopath tendencies. Serial killer's have little self-esteem and a sociopath's inability to feel other people's pain or sorrow for any wrongful acts that they have committed (Casey, p. 80).
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
Raine states: “ So, in the 1950s, little toddlers were playing outside, putting their fingers in dirt, putting their fingers in their mouths and absorbing the lead. Twenty years later, they became the next generation of violent criminal offenders because violence peaks at about 19 or 20. Then what happens is in the 1990s violence begins to come down, as it's been doing. What's partly explaining that? The reduction in lead in the environment (Raine, NPR).” This shows a biological connection to serial killer behavior. Temporal lobe or amygdala damage can show signs of psychopathy, which can lead to serial killer behavior (Kiehl, Bates, Laurens, Hare, & Liddle, 2006). Violent behavior has also been linked to deficiency in serotonin and high level of testosterone. Growing up in an unhealthy environment is also common in most serial killers. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, and mental abuse in a childhood home breeds serial killers. If someone grows up witnessing violence, it ingrains in their minds that violent behavior is okay. Before a serial killer commits a crime, they may be quiet, reserved, and keep to himself. In this stage, they are usually going on with their regular lifestyle. After a crime, they may taunt the media/police with notes and clues, as well as go on a killing spree. This is because some killers become obsessed with the urge to kill. Some may go as far as contacting the victim’s family. A fantasy is an elaborate
Serial killers murdered because they are insane or evil geniuses. In fact, this is another misassumption about serial killers. Maybe they have been neglected or abused in their childhood? Well, it could be. According to Freeman, most serial killers have similar patterns of childhood neglect. Serial killers tend to grow up without a sense of empathy and love toward other people either because they were often physically or sexually abused as children. At the same time, however, many neglected and abused children do not become serial killers. Researchers have been working for many years to figure out what causes a person to become a serial killer or a psychopath, but they find no answer. Serial killers, in fact, are always psychopath, but not all psychopaths are serial killers. All psychopaths are not insane, and they tend to have many common traits. These traits involve family history, or genetics, as well as environment and experience (Freeman). Most research can show that there is no one cause for violent behavior. Although serial killers and other psychopaths may have brain abnormalities or dysfunctions, personal experience and environment also play a large role in how they become serial