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Biological theories to criminal behavior
Is criminal behavior biological Determined
Is criminal behavior biological Determined
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As police walk into an abandoned house, a foul stench overtakes them. The room is dim and looks as though no one has been here for months. They walk further into the house and begin to see spots of blood on the floor. They follow this trail down the stairs into the basement where the smell becomes overwhelming, causing some of the officers to gasp and run back up the stairs. In the basement, they find the remains of several young boys who have been molested and badly mutilated. What could cause someone to participate in such horrendous deeds? What sort of person is able to perform such wicked acts?
Serial killers always have aroused the curiosity and concern of the public. People seem to be both fascinated and repulsed by their horrendous crimes. The stories make newspaper headlines, and their gruesome murders are the subject of popular movies and best-selling books. In this paper, I will discuss what causes a human being to become a serial killer. Although social scientists have developed many theories to explain the mind of a serial killer, the scientific evidence supports the theories of sociopathy, psychopathy, sadistic fulfillment, childhood abuse, and genetics.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines a serial murder as the killing of several victims in ten or more separate incidents over an extended period of time (Dietz 483). Serial murderers are often classified into specific categories. One category is motive; motive killers are sexually sadistic killers or spree killers. The psychology of the killer is another category used to characterize these criminals. These types of killers are classified as sociopaths and psychopaths. This paper will focus mainly on killers of the psychotic and sexually sadistic kind, for these are the ones on which the public and media tend to focus.
According to James Fox and Jack Levin (19), serial killers are most always Caucasian males who are in their twenties or thirties. Although there are reported cases of female serial killers, the field is predominantly composed of males. There are two key characteristics of a serial killer, one being the presence of sociopathy or aggressive antisocial behavior. It has been estimated that nearly three percent of males in our society may be sociopaths. Most socio-paths are not violent: they may lie, cheat, or steal, but rape and murder are not nec...
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...ts continue to study genetics, they undoubtedly will provide more information about the genetic makeup of a serial killer.
The public is disgusted by the bloody deeds that serial killers have committed, but they will forever intrigue us. The fascination stems from the fact that in most cases the killers are so similar to the common person. On the outside they seem as normal as the next. Fortunately for humanity, the next person is not capable of such ghastly deeds. These serial killers are often psychopathic or sociopathic persons who were abused as children. Others may be trying to fulfill their own sadistic fantasies that were brought on by their childhood experiences. The most recent reason identified is a link to a genetic predisposition to violence. The inherent goodness of humans can sometimes go awry and lead to a person who is as evil as a serial killer. No matter how one analyzes the killers, they are not normal in any sense. Edmund Kemper when asked what he thought when he saw a pretty woman walking down the street replied, “One side of me says, 'I'd like to talk to her, date her.' The other side of me says, 'I wonder how her head would look on a stick?'” (Ming Ho).
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 ... ...
In a Google search of “serial killer memorabilia”, approximately 135,000 results would appear. While the U.S. produces over eighty-five percent of the world’s serial killers (“Why do Americans Idolize Serial Killers?” 11), Americans still tend to treat these murderers as icons and celebrities. As defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a serial killer is expressed as the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events. While it is no secret that serial killers have a different mindset than that of a normal person, do these murderers have genetically different minds? Although there is no exact answer as to what causes certain people to have the urge to kill, studies from the “Minnesota Study of Twins
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
A serial killer is traditionally 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. Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile.
The stereotype that exists for individuals who commit serial murder is one that mainly includes males of a specific race. However, it is now known that white males are not the only individuals who commit serial murder. Men and women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic statuses have been found to be serial murderers. Although this information has been presented to society, the cultural schema of the white male serial killer is still prevalent. The assumptions that involve serial murderers often include two aspects, the serial murderer is male and the serial murder is a type of “lust murder”, often involving sexual crimes committed by a sadist (Keeney and Heide, 1995).
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 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.
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 murder'; has long been a term used to describe those human beings that repeatedly commit heinous crimes. It is rare that the average person probes the mind of a serial killer without bias. However, what lies behind the eyes of a serial killer deserves more than the cold hard look that society so often gives (Aaronson, Inter...
There have been many serial killer cases that have attracted the attention of not only the media but of mental health experts as well. Many experts from a variety of different fields have come together to answer one question: Why did they do it? It is believed that most, if not all, serial killers have a mental illness, motives, and/or trauma during their lives that made them start killing. Serial killers are not only the effect of nurture but also nature. The environment of their country, the United States is our focus, can cause the number of serial killers to increase especially if the country itself is unstable.
Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are all violent, brutal monsters and have an abnormal urge to kill. What gives people these urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing? Is there a difference between mass murderers and serial killers or are they the same. How do they choose their victims and what are some of their characteristics? These questions and many more are reasons why I was eager to write my paper on mass murderers and serial killers. However, the most interesting and sought after questions are the ones that have always been controversial. One example is; what goes on inside the mind of a killer? In this paper I will try to develop a better understanding of these driven killers and their motives.
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.
So what makes a serial killer? Levin points out that contrary to popular belief, serial killers don't just 'snap'; or 'go crazy'; (Douglas, p. 137). Many of the serial killers have been the victims of childhood abuse. Jack Levin stated 'Research shows many serial killers suffered abuse, incest or neglect as children and develop poor self images'; (Douglas, p. 137). Serial killers often have a childhood marked by the absence of any nurturing relationship. 'They often come from families where the parents were absent or ineffective, where authority was not defined, and where they could engage in destructive behavior undeterred-violent play, cruelty to animals, and incidents of arson being some of the childhood behavior patterns noted among many serial killers'; (Clark, p. 206).
Serial killing is a common phenomenon in the post-modern society that requires the killing of three or more unknown people. Popular culture defines serial killers as a ‘evil monster’, who are indifferent to normal human beings; as presented in Roberts Resslers’ book ‘whoever fights Monsters’. For centuries, the physiological aspect of serial killers have been the main object of study, however as more studies have shown that serial killers are impacted greatly by the societal forces, sociologist perspective has become very valued in understanding serial killers. This essay will focus on two sociological explanations of serial killers from Kevin; who explores the notion that serial killers are the consequent of modernity; which sets out