There are several different types of murderers, with one of the most popular in the media being a serial killer. A serial killer is someone who kills at least three people at different times with time in between murder described as a “cooling off period”. After killing, they feel a sense of relief for awhile, but when it wears off they feel the need to kill again to release their stress. People often times ask the question of why do the perpetrator’s feel the need to kill to relieve the stress they are feeling, and why they continue to do it. There are some factors that link brain anomalies, damage, and faulty genetics to the cause, but other factors include include the childhood development of the killer. Researchers Ressler and Shachtman …show more content…
They also had to be born and schooled in the United States. Seventy-seven possible contestants were found, although credible details and information relating to their childhood could only be found for fifty. Viable research was acquired through personal communication, the internet, articles, and books found in bibliographies. For the offenders being researched, a minimum requirement of three credible information sources must be provided. These included biographical books, psychiatrist reports, and portions of passages containing related data. The sources provided sizable amounts of beneficial information, however some sources included non-specific and contradictory information. The author wrote to the three inmates in prison, with two responding with their own personal explanations. One offender, Arthur Shawcross, revealed accounts of extreme abuse that could not be confirmed nor denied, thus his description was not …show more content…
While child abuse does not always result in a serial killer, the aftermath of the neglect and abuse is unforeseeable and can have many alternate routes. The researchers were trying to answer the question of if there was a common factor that many or all serial killers shared that could have attributed to their psychological issues. From the research gathered, it would appear that child abuse is a common factor, however it is not guaranteed that all serial killers experience child abuse and not all children that experience abuse will become serial killers. Some problems posed with this research is that an extensive amount of the information obtained was from an unconnected third party, therefore the truthfulness of the information must be scrutinized. Also, some criminals may lie about their past. Some may say that they were abused to have an explanation for their heinous crimes, or some may downplay their past because they do not wish to disclose vulnerable aspects of their life. In all, the child abuse among lust serial killers could be considered to be a factor in their murderous actions. It is warned, however, to not generalize these findings to all serial killers, as the information gathered was determined off a group of lust serial
Hickey (1997), in his trauma control model of the serial killer, argues that various factors can contribute to criminality and in particular to serial homicide. These factors can be biological, developmental, demographic or familial, including childhood trauma (Hickey, 1997, as cited in Miller, 2014, p17). Hickey’s model includes 8 elements – Predispositional factors, Traumatic events, Low self-esteem and fantasies, Increasingly violent fantasies, Trauma reinforces, Facilitators, Dissociation and Homicidal behaviour (Hickey, 2016, p149).
The present paper intent to enquire into a female serial killer. It shall describe and analyze the theories behind the occurrences and sequent offer explanations. The studies of criminology theories it is important to recognize why humans decide on living a life cycle of crime. Wikipedia.org defines serial killer as, “a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break (a “cooling off period”) between them.” Precisely of this, humans who tend to be a serial killer are prone to developmental and physical characteristics. Several of these trends could fit into a model standard of a crime. A good example of analyzing the life and crimes of Aileen Wuornos, an American female serial killer who killed
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.
Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile. Almost every major social, biological, psychological behavioural influence that has been seriously suggested as playing a role in causing crime has been thoroughly thought as potentially contributing to the behavior of serial killers (Levin, 2008). The time period and amount of killings fluctuate depending on the individual committing the crimes. Usually, the murders happen in different geographical areas. A mass murder has a separate definition than a serial killer, because a serial killer has a “cooling off” period, where mass murders kill several individual in a single event.
The mind of a serial killer can be very interesting in being able to find out what makes them want to do what they do. Knowing if someone was abused as a child and if this makes them more likely to become a serial killer or not become a serial killer is something I was very curious to learn about. Something that happens in a person’s childhood can affect the way they act when they become adults. I found two sources talking about childhood abuse and serial killers. The first source was an internet article entitled “Serial Killer Motives” found on the website How Stuff Works and was written by Shanna Freeman. The second source I found was a video entitled “Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer” which is found off of the website Big Think. This video was narrated by Michael Stone. Both of these sources are able to answer the question if childhood abuse or neglect makes someone more or less likely to become a serial killer later on in their lives.
Sexual homicide is one of the malicious acts of serial killers; various researchers have therefore postulated the various factors that lead to this. In highlight, these factors may be presence of tumors on the brain of the serial killer, various kinds of brain injury, cerebral dysfunction on one of the hemispheres of the head, or inadequate cortical arousal. On the other hand, some researchers claim that abandoning of the child during infancy, intense child abuse, and provision of inadequate social services to the child are the key elements to building a deviant individual. This individual is characterized by violence in all his or her endeavors. In addition, this kind of malicious behavior could be hereditary in nature or influenced and imposed by poor upbringing of the child. Thus the individual just do what his mind perceives is good and needs to be done.
Mitchell, H. & Aamodt, M. G. (2005). The incidence of child abuse in serial killers, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2005, 20(1), 40-47
Krafft-Ebing (1886) found that the serial killer had been through cruelty of animal; enjoy the torture and the pain of their victim during his or her childhood period. Moreover, the mothers of these serial killers were most of time working or doing other things and usually the father were absent. These children experience rejection and lack of attention, therefore, this child grows up having low self-esteem. Research show that adults that gone through abuse and violent behavior during their childhood were three times more likely to become violent as adult more than the non abused adults (Dutton & Hart, 1992).
There have been many theories over the years about how a person becomes a serial killer, and how does having an unstable childhood effect a person. It has been proven by psychologist and stated by serial killers that their childhood is one of the many problems they faced that led them to become a serial killer. The childhood of a typical young boy would consist of loving parents, a stable home and having friends. As for serial killers this is not typical at all. During the childhood of a serial killer it is not uncommon that he or she was abused, raped, or even attempted suicide along with many other harmful acts that a child should not be faced with. There have been many studies on the childhood of serial killers, and how they grew up compared to other young children. Some of the traits most male serial killers have as a child would include killing animals, auto-erotic activities, physical head injuries, and even bed wetting.
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.
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.
It has been believed for some time that an individual becomes violent because of traumatic childhoods that were wrought with neglect and abuse. Others have argued that one becomes violent because they are mentally deranged. There have been many studies over the years to find out what causes a person to become a serial killer, but still there is no definitive cause. All serial killers are psychopaths (a person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity), but not all psychopaths end up being serial killers. There is however, common traits among all psychopaths. These common traits include genetics and environment. Although a psychopath’s personal experience and environment does play a part, studies prove that genetic brain abnormalities or dysfunctions play a huge role in the making of a killer.
Mitchell, Heather, and Michael G. Aamodt. "The incidence of child abuse in serial killers." Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology 20.1 (2005): 40-47.
The brain is the most complex organ in the human body. Since the beginning of time, scientists and neuropsychologists alike have studies its composition and how it influences human behavior. However, no human behavior has baffled researchers more than serial murder. Serial killers are dangerous animals that act upon bizarre influences that have fascinated the human race for thousands of years. Many wonder what could cause a person to take the life of another innocent soul. Do internal factors cause them to do it? Is it their environment? What causes a serial killer to kill?
The nurturing of individuals plays a role in the making of killers, as 94% of serial killers had experienced some form of abuse as children and 42% have suffered severe physical abuse (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2010). A child abuse is a determining factor, in which supports the idea that serial killers and psychopath, are influenced significantly by nurture (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011). In most cases social, cultural and physiological determinants all play a role in influencing serial killers to grow into a mass murderer. It is important that physiological and social determinants can be identified, so they could be altered for the purpose of preventing the number of crime.