Are Serial Killers Born, Made or Both?

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Running Head: SERIAL KILLERS Are Serial Killers Born, Made or Both? Kortney Schaum Florida Gulf Coast University 07/21/19 Author Note This paper is submitted in partial fulfillment of the course requirement for Dr. Caroline Clark Rivera’s Scientific Process (ISC3120C).

SERIAL KILLERS Abstract The purpose of this study is to better understand the factors that contribute to the formation of a serial killer. Specifically, the study seeks to explore whether nature – the biological structure of the brain – or nurture – the upbringing environment – or both are statistically significant components of producing serial killers. The study will rely on inferential statistical analysis as the observations from the sample will be used to draw broader conclusions about the serial killer population. The subjects will be examined with a series of expert interviews to yield qualitative data on the nurture variable. The subjects will then be examined with neuroimaging technology to yield quantitative data on the nature variable. Researchers will then examine both data sets versus controls to identify common patterns and trends within the serial killer sample. Researchers can expect to find that both nature and nurture contribute to developing a serial killer. It is likely that subjects will demonstrate common structural tendencies in the brain correlated with a disposition to violent behavior and reduced self-control. Additionally, subjects will likely all have experienced traumatic events during their childhood upbringing such as abuse and neglect. The results of this study will be a key step in understanding the formation of serial killers and how to prevent it. Keywords: serial killer, nature, nurture

SERIAL KILLERS Are Serial Killers Born, Made or Both? 1) What is the overarching question you want to answer? For many years, the argument of nature versus nurture has become more and more controversial. Many wonder what causes someone to become a serial killer. Are people born to be a serial killer? Does the environment they grow up in cause them to be a serial killer? Many psychologists believe in today's society that nurture overrules nature simply because it is easier to see (Bragaard, 2016). It is easy to observe the effects of nurture through their friends and family; it is not easy to see the biological effects, including the genes and traits that they encounter. The proposed research study is focused on serial killers to prove they are provoked from both aspects of nature and nurture. 2) What are the key concepts, issues, terms, and definitions need to understand your proposal? Serial killers: A person who commits a series of murders over more than a month with an emotion cooling period. (Brogaard, 2016) Nature: The genetic code of a person. (Theravive, 2019) Nurture: The influence of the environment on a person. (Theravive, 2019) Genes: A unit of DNA (Gregorio, 2016) Traits: Distinguishing characteristic/ single feature (Gregorio, 2016) 3) Why are you going to do this research? Why is it important? There are many studies stating that serial killers are born or serial killers are mad, but there is not research proves either that one of them overrules the other. It is important to figure out what creates a serial killer to help further investigate them. Serial killers put a huge impact on society, so it is important to solve them quickly. Also, if there is proper

SERIAL KILLERS research done on what makes a serial killer tick can help psychologists down the road properly treat them. 4) What are your hypotheses? Hypothesis 1: Serial killer’s development is impacted by the biological factors that develop in their adolescence. Hypothesis 2: Serial killer’s development is impacted by the environmental factors that are around them in their adolescence years. 5) What is your research/experimental approach? Hypothesis 1: The research approach taken is to examine the brains and medical history of serial killers that have already been caught. Hypothesis 2: The research approach taken is to interview family, friends, teachers, etc. about the serial killer’s childhood. Literature Review The literature examined here has a focus on analyzing the development of serial killers. Some researchers tend to emphasize nature or nurture, while the majority emphasize the role of both variables in the formation of a serial killer. Of the material surveyed here the majority of research – four out of seven studies – indicates that physical or biological characteristics in addition to environment circumstances affect serial killers. One study focuses on the genetic roots of serial killers, and finally two studies cite the role of upbringing in the development of a serial killer. These materials provide a wealth of insights into the nature or nurture question. Above all else, the studies suggest that rather than nature or nurture, it is a question of nature and nurture in the formation of a serial killer.

SERIAL KILLERS The studies reviewed here share two methodological frameworks. They tend to rely either on physical examination using neuroimaging technologies to study the physical structure of the brain or on more observational analysis of the circumstances and behaviors of the serial killer. In three instances, researchers combined these methodologies when looking at their subjects. Each framework above plays an important role in developing a thorough understanding of the serial killer makeup. Nature: Emphasis on Physical and Biological Structure Only one of the studies focused solely on the nurture variable. Research from the Academy of Neurology examined 31 individuals convicted of murder (Blake, 1995). In each examination, the subject was given an EEG, MRI, and CT scan. It was found that all subjects suffered from some sort of neurological abnormality. Further, nine individuals shared a common abnormality in the temporal lobe. This study suggests that there are specific areas of the physical brain which may be correlated to murderous tendencies. While it is possible that conditions surrounding the subjects’, upbringings influenced the structural development of the brain, it is certain that the biological component is a significant influence in developing killers. Several other resources also support this claim; however, they propose mutually inclusive view of the nature versus nurture question. Nurture: Emphasis on Upbringing Environment Two of the studies reviewed focus on exclusively on the role of the external environment. Professor Ioana’s study, aptly titled “No One is Born a Killer”, proposes that external influences impact the formation of the serial killer (Ioana, 2015). Specifically, childhood trauma and abuse tend to drive the creation of a serial killer. Her research finds that the main tendency towards violence and reduced self-control comes out of traumatic childhood periods. Professor Sharma

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