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Biological factors and criminal behavior
Is there a relationship between genetics and a predisposition to commit crimes
Biological factors and criminal behavior
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The main character of Mr. Brooks is nothing short of a self-made man with a loving family and a productive business. However, not everything is what it seems. Mr. Brooks has a constant urge to kill. Like most real life serial killers, Mr. Brooks has a charming personality on the outside but a twisted brain on the inside. Every single action he took was thoughtfully played out, as if he were acting in a stage play with no chances of failure. Many psychopaths portray a high IQ and intelligence just like Mr. Brooks had. However, Mr. Brooks was not a psychopath. Deep down inside, he still harvested a strong familial love for his wife and daughter, and understood the mental and physical consequences of his actions. Instead, Mr. Brooks is the type of character that cannot be explained with just one theoretic analysis. The story illustrates that Mr. Brooks was a psychotic suffering from schizophrenia and that somehow his urge to kill could be passed down by generations. With this outline the …show more content…
psychoanalytic theory and generational theory come into play. Within the beginning thirty minutes of the movie, Mr. Brooks has a sudden “urge” to kill. Instantly, a man named Marshall sits behind him in the car seat, and his wife is completely oblivious to his existence. This shot was meant to show that Marshall Bert 2 lives inside of Mr. Brooks’ head- he is nothing but a hallucination, an “imaginary friend”. However, this does not stop Mr. Brooks from socializing with him as if he were actually there. Marshall is an example of a straight-forward psychopath. He enjoyed the thrill of hurting others and only cared about the consequences when it affected him (or Mr. Brooks). Mr. Brooks on the other hand had a superego. He understood what he was doing was wrong; however this sugerego was not strong enough to stop his “urge” to kill. Mr. Brooks created Marshall, the egoistic side that manifested inside of him, but was not the entirety of who he was. This shows that Mr. Brooks is a schizophrenic that molds into the psychoanalytic criminology theory. The issue isn’t that Mr. Brooks doesn’t get rewarded when he accomplishes something or that he needs to kill others in order to survive; Mr. Brooks simply has a dysfunctional personality. Mr.
Brook’s daughter was interrogated by the FBI for the murder of another fellow college student. Mr. Brooks himself concluded that his daughter did indeed kill the other student, and that she somehow inherited his killing instincts. His daughter was a portrayal of a biological theory- specifically the heredity theory. Research done in 2003 concludes that “genetic influences were extremely powerful determinants of antisocial behavior across diverse social settings...” (Criminology; p.51). Mr. Brooks having a hitch that his daughter “has what he has” may be right. What this also concludes to is that both of them have very low self-control. However, in the end, Mr. Brooks was able to think his way out of the situation he created for himself as a serial killer, while his daughter almost went to jail. It is unclear what becomes of Mr. Brooks and his relationship with his daughter, but what is clear is that both of them are dysfunctional and are silently deviant towards
society.
Before going to Alaska, Chris McCandless had failed to communicate with his family while on his journey; I believe this was Chris’s biggest mistake. Chris spent time with people in different parts of the nation while hitchhiking, most of them whom figured out that McCandless kept a part of him “hidden”. In chapter three, it was stated that Chris stayed with a man named Wayne Westerberg in South Dakota. Although Westerberg was not seen too often throughout the story, nevertheless he was an important character. Introducing himself as Alex, McCandless was in Westerberg’s company for quite some time: sometimes for a few days, other times for several weeks. Westerberg first realized the truth about Chris when he discovered his tax papers, which stated that “McCandless’s real name was Chris, not Alex.” Wayne further on claims that it was obvious that “something wasn’t right between him and his family” (Krakauer 18). Further in the book, Westerberg concluded with the fact that Chris had not spoken to his family “for all that time, treating them like dirt” (Krakauer 64). Westerberg concluded with the fact that during the time he spent with Chris, McCandless neither mentioned his
From a psychological standpoint, Dellen Millard’s actions and personality are clearly not typical of the average human. Millard was extremely affluent, yet committed murder in order to steal a car he could have easily bought. ‘Why?’ is the question which psychologists would ask. Millard was raised wealthy, educated, and privileged; he was not abused as a child, nor was he denied affection or care. Unlike many psychopaths, sociopaths, and murderers, Millard did not seem to have a troubled or traumatic life at all. What experiences in Millard’s life could have given rise to his manipulative, thrill-seeking and criminal behaviour- as well as his apparent lack of conscience- in spite of his indulgent and ordinary upbringing? Psychology studies- and attempts to comprehend- human behaviour: the human mind, personality, and thinking. As such, psychologists would find interest in understanding the thoughts and motivation behind Millard’s cold-blooded actions. They might look towards his childhood for answers, and endeavour to discover the events in his past that shaped him to be the person he
These two men, both coming from different backgrounds, joined together and carried out a terrible choice that rendered consequences far worse than they imagined. Living under abuse, Perry Smith never obtained the necessary integrity to be able to pause and consider how his actions might affect other people. He matured into a man who acts before he thinks, all due to the suffering he endured as a child. Exposed to a violent father who did not instill basic teachings of life, Smith knew nothing but anger and misconduct as a means of responding to the world. He knew no other life. Without exposure to proper behavior or responsible conduct, he turned into a monster capable of killing an entire family without a blink of remorse. In the heat of the moment, Perry Smith slaughtered the Clutter family and barely stopped to take a breath. What could drive a man to do this in such cold blood? The answer lies within his upbringing, and how his childhood experiences shaped him to become the murderer of a small family in Holcomb, Kansas. ¨The hypothesis of unconscious motivation explains why the murderers perceived innocuous and relatively unknown victims as provocative and thereby suitable targets for aggression.¨ (Capote 191). ¨But it is Dr. Statten´s contention that only the first murder matters psychologically, and that when
...ny requirements for a psychopath, even though a formal test like the PCL-R cannot be completed because he took away his own life before investigation was final. However, he is similar to a few psychopaths that this course studied over the past nine weeks making it possible to compare him. Some aspects are still questionable of Keyes’s, like his childhood, but otherwise he does represent much of what has been learned of the psychopath in this class.
According to the “Hare Psycopathy Checklist” a psychopath is a person who knows right from wrong in our society but often feels no guilt, remorse or empathy when they engage in wrong actions. They lie easily, blame others for their actions and often hurt people who are close to them. David Berkowitz meets the criteria of Hare’s checklist and is believed to be a true psychopath. Berkowitz is known as the “Son of Sam”, a thrill seeking serial killer who terrorized the city of New York for over a year. Information about David Berkowitz’s background, personality traits and lifestyle and his serial killer profile help to prove that he is in fact a psychopath. In conclusion, this essay will prove to readers that David Berkowitz is a notorious serial killer that is also a psychopath.
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry is a book by Jon Ronson, where he investigates the idea of psychopathy and the many individuals involved. Psychopathy is defined as “a person who is mentally ill, who does not care about other people, and who is usually dangerous or violent.” Ronson visited mental health professionals and psychopaths in order to determine the right way to control the diagnosis of mental health disorders. Throughout the novel, Ronson focuses on three main themes, which are the definition of madness, unnecessary mental diagnoses and the problem with confirmation bias.
An analysis of the most famous murderers and serial killers in the Chicago area shows varying degrees of psychopathy or mental illnesses, which ultimately contribute to homicidal conduct. Analysis also shows that the paths of serial killers have a tendency to converge.... ... middle of paper ... ...
...res of the psychopaths and gives the reader various examples of these individuals playing out these characteristics in everyday life. A widely used checklist is provided so the reader can get a wide spanning view of what is accounted for when scoring a psychopath. This form of research is very important within the deceitfulness of this population; it allows the professional to ignore their words and examine their actions. Hare made it clear that it is not uncommon for there to be an emotional and verbal disconnect from their actions. With virtually no emotional functioning psychopaths feel no remorse for the offenses that they commit and it is very important that we work towards using the opportunities we have to study and assist these populations; not only for them but for ourselves.
“ You can’t handle the truth! Son we live in a world that has walls, and those have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it you, you Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury, you have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that Santiago's death while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence while grotesque and incomprehensible, to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you talk about parties; you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall! We use words like honor, code, loyalty, We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something, you use them as a punch line.
Writer Steven James once said, “The true nature of man left to himself without restraint is not nobility but savagery.” James explains that without the restraints of civilization, man will act savage. This quote can be used to accurately describe Jack Merridew, one of the young boys who becomes stranded on an unknown island during World War II in Lord of the Flies. The novel was written by William Golding and illustrates the dark side of humanity. Golding gives the reader a glimpse of man’s true nature without the restraints of civilization in the character Jack Merridew. Jack’s descent from civilization to savagery is evident from his sociopathic nature and personality; after letting his true nature run wild for a long time, Jack’s return to civilization would be conflicted. Jack is power hungry, envious, immoral, and manipulative to further his own agenda—to be the leader of the boys and control the island.
In the novel The Great Gatsby by American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jordan Baker portrays a professional golfer who is both Daisy Buchanan’s friend and a woman with whom Nick Carraway, the narrator, becomes romantically involved with. She is poised, blonde, very athletic, and physically appealing. Throughout the story, Baker represents a typical privileged upper class woman of the 1920’s Jazz Age with her cynical, glamorous, and self-centered nature. Despite the fact that she is not the main character, Jordan Baker plays an important role in portraying one of Fitzgerald's themes, the decay of morality, in the novel.
The Fosters makes me feel as though I am a part of the family every episode. Personally I do not consider having two moms is normal, but I can relate to some of the situations the characters go through because my family is not perfect. The Foster's deal with many different issues: break ups, hook-ups, romances, and important life lessons.
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.
In the story, Young Goodman Brown, the character, Goodman Brown changes throughout the story. In the beginning he was a kind man, loving husband with nothing holding him down, not even the warnings of his wife, Faith. As he walked and talked with the Devil, he became more aware of what had happened in the past with his own family. When he saw the Devil talk with Goody Cloyse on the path in the woods, he figured out by the nature of their conversation that the Devil was more mischievous than he thought. He started to have uncertainties about the errand he was on. At that point, Goodman Brown told the devil he was not going another step. Shortly after the Devil left him in the path, Brown found a ribbon on a branch of a tree
When Ronson wraps up his work in The Psychopath Test, a novel, he creates a theme of paranoia as he ventured into an industry of madness. He establishes his work’s meaning that any individual may appear normal, abnormal, or be a psychopath within. In other words, his theme follows the idea that life can be full of deceiving people. In order to convey his theme, he used four significant characters. They include himself as the narrator, David Shayler with Rachel North, and Robert Hare. These characters not only emphasize Ronson’s theme, but also help establish the purpose of his theme, which is to showcase that madness can be anywhere.