Serial Killer Theory

There is a pattern of dysfunctional family relationships in serial killers, as exemplified by the childhood of Richard Ramirez and John Wayne Gacy. The normal nurturing experience has not transpired between the parent and child so the child does not emotionally develop a sense of self, and has not the rational concept of right and wrong. When the serial killer acts upon their plan to murder, the superego is unable to counteract the wants of the id because his/her parents did not establish the morals and values that make up the superego during their neglectful childhood. Additionally, the serial killer does not experience the sense of guilt that the ego/superego is supposed to release if a sense of right and wrong is secured. The abused child that later becomes a serial killer feels they have no control over their hostile environment, so they imagine a different reality that they can control as a form of ease. This is where the thinking disorder begins. The child develops its own idea of empathy and right and wrong in this self-centered fantasy, which ultimately turns the child into a sociopath (Garrison, 1996, p. 5-6). Evidently a neglectful childhood experienced by a serial killer is the foundation of the internal process of the catathymic crisis.

The sociological theory founded by Albert Bandura called Social Learning Theory can explain why a child who observes an abusive parent (or whoever they regularly associate with) transgress in violence will result in the child imitating this violent behavior in the future. Social Learning Theory emphasizes observational learning by direct experience and through the model of humans. Observational learning takes the form of three different models: the demonstration of an actual individua...

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...Wayne Gacy and Richard Ramirez. The sadistic behavior of a serial killer implements as a direct result of physical and emotional abuse received from a parent. Individuals who were victimized in childhood will become a victimizer in adulthood because victimization was modeled to them during their learning stages of development. Furthermore, the normal bonding experience that should occur between parent and child has not, and the moral and ethical restraints that were not implemented during the development of the superego are lacking. Not only has a parent child bond not been secured, but also the bond between the individual and its society. Therefore, the catathymic crisis, social learning theory, social control theory, and the structural model of personality confirm that a neglectful childhood environment is the ultimate cause of the development of a serial killer.