More handpicked essays just for you.
Psychology theories about serial killers
Serial killers and their backgrounds
The psychology of serial killers
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Serial Killers, what exactly is a serial killer, is it a label or a character, or an expression of human emotions. Serial Killer: a person who commits a series of murders, often with no apparent motive and typically following a characteristic, predictable behavior pattern. In short, it's a monster inside of a human body that can kills for fun with no expressions, and can possibly be followed by a certain pattern from his actions. To understand a Serial Killer, first need to know the origin of serial killing; serial killing are the rarest from homicide, they have the tendency of killed three or more individual that had whatsoever connect towards the killer. A positive indication what police officer or detectives know that they are dealing with a serial killing is the …show more content…
time periods between the victims, commonly know as ‘cooling off’, Police and academic experts accept this definition and is very useful for frame and reference. It’s very unlikely that serial killer will have that same intentions of killing people, but that will have somewhat the same M.O. ( Modus operandi), but diverse influences for the growing population of media including the serial killer will indulge on selecting victims from particular walks of life (The Social Study of Serial Killers).
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
Killers). The way on identifying a serial killer is a troublesome, killer has a way of masking their true identity and placing believable smiles. People can’t simply detect a killer, they would never suspect their neighbor, best friend, or post man to be a killer; including a female, now in the modern society thanks to “technology, psychologists and criminologists have defined and identified what makes a person commit such cold-blooded murders again and again.” (Woollaston). The five types of characters that serial killers have a common relation on approaching their victims: A POWER JUNKIE, A MANIPULATOR, AN EGOTISTICAL BRAGGER, A SUPERFICIAL CHARMER, AN AVERAGE JOE. These aspect of a serial killer can be easily be found; first, power junkie it's a term that the killer admires of having control or having dominance, some killer will have still have power junkie when their caught by the law enforcement. Next, a manipulator that place his cards in a certain order that allows his to get close towards his victims and plays with the people around him. An egotistical bragger, a characteristic that is not of my taste, mainly they simply go on and on about the murders that have committed, whether it’s aimed at their accomplices, the next victim, law enforcement, or just themselves. Therefore the word bragger was imbedded towards egotistical bragged.
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
A serial killer is someone who does three or more killings in a short period of time. However, not all serial killers are the same. There are many differences between a male and female serial killer. For example, a female serial killer tends to commit more premeditated murders because they either know their victims or they know their routines. Many women serial killers have a history of being sexually abused as they were growing up, while the men have been physically abused. Most female serial killers choose poison and strangling, a less messy approach.
According to federal law, the term ‘serial killings’ means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors. Throughout history, serial killers have always been a fascination among many individuals. On numerous occasions, law enforcement has tried to dive into the psyche of these killers to determine why they kill. There have also been numerous stereotypes placed on serial killers. Typical stereotypes are serial killers are all white males, loners, and that their crimes are driven by sex.
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted pain or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killers posses these characteristics, but most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people.
Typically, a serial killer is a person who murders three or more people, usually at different times and places. This also come with the murders taking place over a period of more than a month and including a break between the murders. This is not always true, but it is a relative definition.
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...
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.
A serial killer is a person who has killed three or more people over a month apart. Their motivation for killing is usually based on psychological issue.(Sanmartín,2001) In the U.S, the most reported serial killers are lower middle class white males, usually in their late twenties to early thirties (Skrapec,2001). Serial killers, often, are liars. They have no sense of remorse or guilt. Most of the time they are not in serious relationship or have any emotional obsession to any one person, besides their victims. Most of the well-known serial killers are: Robert Pickton, Charles Manson, Anthony Sowell, Ted Bundy, The Zodiac Killer, The Green River Killer, and The BTK murderer. (Sanmartín,2001). Often, women were never seen as even a suspect
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than own satisfactional gain. In actuality serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between men and female serial kills, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts.
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.
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
Who are these people? What makes them so different from the rest of us? Why do they commit these shocking crimes? There are theories but no answers. Serial killers are a disturbing piece of the puzzle that we must figure out to save numerous lives in the future.
Serial murder as defined by the FBI is, “[t]he unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events" (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 9). Numerous people disagree with the definition, this researcher included, since it lacks the cool- down period after they murder, which various people feel stands necessary for serial killer status. Serial killers remain a rare phenomenon. The FBI states, serial murder accounts for less than one percent of killings per year (Morton Robert J. Ed, & Hilts., Ed, 2005, p. 2). Nevertheless, throughout the years, countless people have researched serial killers since they commit such heinous crimes. Criminologists and researchers have been attempting to identify various
Serial killers are usually young, white males who are quite intelligent and often come from broken homes. They may have been abused either physically or sexually during childhood and they have serious personality defects, such as low self-esteem and a lifelong sense of loneliness. Although no two serial killers are alike, they all fit this description somewhat. In the sixth edition of Crime and Criminality by Sue Titus Reid, a serial killer is defined as a person who commits more than one murder but at different times (Reid, p. 134).
What is the definition of a serial killer? A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people, usually due to abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders totaling more than a month's time and including a significant break between each of them, but what makes a person become a killer?