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Essays on the psychology of serial killers
Essays on the psychology of serial killers
Essays on the psychology of serial killers
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As I mention above the four key features of the typical homicides is that the criminals do not plan their crime but here is contradictory, some homicides are plan like serial killers. Serial killers plan their crime, it might not be all the way through but to an extend they plan their crime. Serial killers follow the three steps on how they kill. First, they interpret the scene and the behavior of the target in a specific way. Second, they transform their emotions into an action and third, the killer needs to uphold his or her behavior (Katz, 1988). No matter how they plan their crime, every crime or every kill has a background or a history to it. Whatever the circumstance may be, there is always an emotion that is presented through the whole process of the killer. For example the serial killer, Dr. Harold Shipman, one of the worst serial killers of United Kingdom. He was the suspect of 250 victims over the period of his 28 years doctor career. He would inject his patients with diamorphine (also known as heroin, it would made the patient feel high, relax and they would not know what ...
The question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a question that has been debated for decades. Are serial killers born with the lust for murder, or are their desires developed through years of abuse and torment? Many believe it is impossible for an innocent child to be born with the capability to commit a horrible act such as murder. But at the same time, how could we have corrupted society so much as to turn an innocent child into a homicidal maniac? Forensic psychologists have picked apart the minds of serial killers to find an answer as to what forces them to commit such perverse acts. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to catch a serial killer before he commits his first crime.
Due to crime-inspired shows that air on television, fascination with serial killers presents itself more and more. People want to learn what makes a person break to the point of taking another’s life. Some suggest that killing releases a sexual desire, while others suggest that revenge may be the motive. A serial killer has the stereotypical look of a white male who tends to act socially awkward, not easily approachable, and possesses a mental illness. While the accuracy of this look tends to be true occasionally, the majority of the time a serial killer looks no different than anyone else and appears rather social. Some experts believe that a serial killer has codes in his DNA which causes him to kill; nonetheless, other experts believe environmental
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.
While most of the violent crimes that happens most are them are belongs to men, women have not been the wilting flowers promoted so heartily by Victorian adorers and (right or wrong) often evident in today's society. Before we get into detail about the fascinating phenomenon of the Black Widow, it is worth a brief overview of women's escalating role in the world of violent crime, particularly in the United States.
Serial killer is a person who kills three or more people with a cooling off period between murders and these murders may go on for a period of months or years. The murders that this person commits may have similar fashion or the victims may have something in common, for example, occupation, race, appearance, sex, or age group. Psychology is the science and study of human behavior and mental processes. Moreover, it is the study of human minds and its function.
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.
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.
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.
Serial killers commonly attack a single target at a time one on one. There also tends to be no or very little relation between the person being killed and the killer (murder 1). “The nature of this drive has been heavily debated, but there is a consensus on some points (Anderson 1).” Many researchers have noted sexual behavior in the murder.
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?
There is no doubt that serial killers commit the world's most unimaginable crimes and their reasons for killing are known as motives. There are many different reasons why a serial killer chooses to murder and these motives can stem from revenge, depression or simply due to anger. Some claim that motives are correlated with childhood upbringing or some sort of childhood event experienced. However, either way you look at it motives are always present in every murder and the novels read over the last two weeks are no different. According to Schmid (2005), "In similar vein, Kathy McCarthy quotes psychologist Helen Morrison in the course of arguing that "the killer's motive and internal motive exists is 'highly irrational,
Serial killers have been a major problem in the United States for a long time. We don’t know why they kill human beings, but many people are trying to figure out why. A serial killer is a person that has murdered three or more people over a period of a month. There is also a period of time between the murders know as the “cooling off period”. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there have been approximately four hundred serial killers in the United States within the past century. The number of these murderers have increased over the past thirty years, with around eighty percent of them emerging since 1950.
A serial killer's murdering spree is methodical and extremely well planned, and the motive usually is to get even (Douglas, p. 137). A serial killer often plans his crimes extremely carefully. He looks for a certain type...
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
Contrary to the belief that all killers are insane, some kill when they did not intend to. One alternate motive for murder is emotional stress or, more specifically, anger. For example,