Aileen Wuornos Psychology

Aileen was born in 1956 to her 16 year old mother. She was not born with any physical or mental disabilities. At the time of her birth her father was incarcerated for child molestation and he was also believed to be a schizophrenic, he hung himself in jail and Aileen never met him. When Aileen was 3 years old her mother abandoned her and her 4 year old brother and left them with her own parents who legally adopted them. The family struggled economically and by age 11 Aileen would engage in sexual activities for food, drugs and alcohol. Home life was not easy for Aileen as she claims to be sexually abused by her alcoholic grandfather and beaten by her grandmother. She would also engage in

The film Girl, Interrupted focused on an eighteen year old girl by the name Susanna that was admitted into a private mental hospital after being accused of a suicidal attempt. The movie follows Susanna on her journey in the institution as she encounters women with different admittance stories. The one who intrigues Susanna the most is Lisa. Lisa is thought to be a sociopath with the way she manipulates those around her to get her way. She is constantly in and out of the institution causing those around to fear, yet admire her. My main focus will be on Lisa and although it was not specified in the film just how old she is, she seemed to be around the same age group as Susanna. This means that, according to Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages, she is on stage five or six. Stage five happens during adolescence where ones primary task is their identity versus their own role in society whereas stage six happens in young adulthood and one faces intimacy versus isolation. The article incorporated gives more insight on how Erikson’s stages play hand in hand with one another and can potentially affect the mental state of someone if not successfully fulfilled. There is also a possibility that, with the ‘symptoms’ of a sociopath, Lisa could have had past problems during what Sigmund Freud considered the anal stage of her childhood.

In discussion of the case of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, the attachment and life course theories can be applied. Ms. Wuornos was neglected and abused by her guardians multiple times, which led her to a life of criminal activity. She began with small-scale crimes at an early age and eventually escalated to murder. This paper explores how the attachment theory played a major part in the life (and death) of a serial killer and how many lives could have been saved had Aileen’s circumstances been different. This paper also explains how Aileen Wuornos was a career criminal and how that plays a role in her escalation of crimes.

A lot of human behavior patterns are based on genetics, including the human nervous system and brain, hormonal systems, neurology, and genetics. Andrea was diagnosed with depression and also took medication. She overdosed at her parent’s house in June 1999. Doctors told her she shouldn’t have anymore children because they saw the path she could be going down. They thought having more children would bring more stress and increase her depression and her trying to commit suicide. Despite what the doctor’s recommendation she had 5 children. She took care of her father as well who suffered from Alzheimer’s and “was completely out of it said Jutta Kennedy. Her mother also said how her father always doted on Andrea, she was

Charles Cullen, the Angel of Death, was the murderer behind the deaths of innocent civilians. A nurse’s duty is to care for the sick or infirm; however Cullen abused his rights as a nurse to cause slow, painful deaths to his patients. His traumatic background which spurred him to attempt numerous suicides, sparked the horrifying murder committed in America. Although an official psychological diagnostic was not given to Cullen, his actions, thoughts, and behaviors point to anti-social personality disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder.

David Berkowitz was an American serial killer taking the lives of many throughout NYC in the mid 70’s (Biography.com Editors 2013). Early on, Berkowitz adopted parents knew there was a problem within him. Although having above average intelligence, Berkowitz lost interest in school and began to focus on more rebellious habits such as petty larceny and pyromania (David Berkowitz: Son of Same Killer). The death of his adoptive mother to breast cancer at age 14 proved to cause major problems and resentment for Berkowitz. Lack of sleep, depression, and guilt are only some of the problem Berkowitz was faced with (Healthpsychologyconsultancy, 2012). Due to the supposed idea that one of Berkowitz’s neighbor’s dog was the mastermind behind the murders he

Charlie Sheen's self-diagnosis may hold true for himself, but some of those who are “insane” can be extremely dangerous. For instance, Ed Kemper, an insane child with a childhood fantasy of receiving the death penalty, killed his grandmother at the age of 13 because he “just wanted to see what it felt like to kill Grandma.” He later murdered his grandpa to make sure he couldn’t be mad at him. After being released from psychiatric care he continued to murder innocent people proving his insanity long lasting and very lethal. Bertha Mason, Rochester’s first wife, is also one of those insane who are extremely dangerous.

The movie Monster released in 2003 is based on serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The second movie Dahmer also released in 2003 is based on the killings of Jeffery Dahmer. Both movies gave a fairly accurate view of both Dahmer and Wuornos. Although the movie Dahmer recreated actual events, the names are changed out of respect for Dahmer's victims. There were several similarities between Dahmer and Wuornos. Both killers struggled with substance abuse issues. Mental illness played a part in Wuornos’ killings, but at his trial Dahmer was declared sane. Another difference between the two killers were their upbringing. Dahmer had a stable loving family, whereas Wuornos childhood was full of instability and child molestation. Dahmer and Wuornos, different genders with very different childhoods, yet both struggled with substance abuse, and both Dahmer and Wuornos, tried unsuccessfully to use mental illness as their defense. In the closing scene of the lives of Dahmer and Wuornos, both end up dead, one at the hand of the executioner and one at the hand of a fellow inmate.

Some of the psychological effects of the crime on the victim in the vignettes "I fell into this deep, dark hole with no steps" are that the (direct) victim is in a constant battle with depression, anger and guilt (Zehr, 2002). She lives in constant fear and is afraid to go outside of her home alone and rarely ever feels safe for more than an hour at a time. Her entire life has been transformed; she feels as if she is an entirely different person after her attack; often referring to herself as a third party such as her statement that she thought her old self was gone and never coming back (Zehr, 2002).

Profoundly scarred and suspected to have committed 27 murders, “Patient 394” takes us deep into her perverted realm of mutilation, suffering and otherworldly guidance.

A major news headline this week involves a self made millionaire who committed an act of murder and suicide. Brian Short was a wealthy individual that made his millions off of a portal named AllNurses.com. The family was identified as Brian and karen Short and their children, Cole, Madison, and Brooklyn. The Short Family were found dead inside of their home by the local South Lake Police. Investigator’s also located a shotgun inside of the home, along with spent shell casing’s. My personal thought’s on this offense are put into consideration based on personal stress. I believe that Brian Short was suffering from a mental disorder and or a increase of rage. A decrease in personal finances and or struggles with marriage can put an individual

One of the most famous and iconic women in history, known by the name of Marilyn Monroe, lived a life of a star in the views of thousands of fans. From her beauty to her beautiful, bubbly personality, and the fame she acquired through movies and photographs might be the world to many, but for Marilyn it was worthless. Her exterior expressed happiness and pure bliss in front of the cameras, but nobody seem to pay attention to what was going on in her head much less her mental wellbeing. Her mental problems escalated with time and lead to her untimely death at the age of thirty-six (Bingaman, 2012). The news of her death shocked many, but more over the fact that she killed herself with an overdose (“A psychological”, 2014). During this time, therapeutic interventions used during her time were ill-conceived and implemented, which in a different setting could have possibly saved her life (Doll, 2007). After her death, information about her early life gave a sign that Marilyn Monroe had a predisposition to a mental disorder, which only worsen over time expressed in her inability to have a normal-stable life.

This ratio is the product of a research that was published on the journal “American Psychologist” by Barbara Fredrickson and Marcial Losada. The articles name being “Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing” which was cited more than 350 times in other academic journals. Fredrickson is a distinguished psychologist, a professor at the University of North Carolina, a winner of several notable psychology awards and bestselling author of several psychology books. She is the object of widespread admiration in the field of psychology, Martin Seligman, a former president of the American Psychological Association and a bestselling author in his own right, went so far as to call her “the genius of the positive psychology movement”.

Calkins devoted much of her research to the concept of the self in psychology. She believed that the self is a conscious and mobile force in the context of psychology. Calkins identified self psychology as the study of the conscious organism, focusing on the subject (or self), the object, and the relationship between the two.She established one of the first psychological laboratories in the country at Wellesley College, she published four books and over a hundred papers in psychology and philosophy. Mary Whiton Calkins was the 14th President of APA and the first woman to serve in that office. Calkins spent a large part of her career developing a system of scientific self psychology to which she was ardently committed. Calkins based her system

To the average person, the lives of certain people in this world can be ridiculously strange. Those who grow up with the extreme strains and pressure of society, sometimes end up following a criminal life. Certain frustrations, negative emotions and anger can build up over time from the societal pressure to live up to certain expectations. This is known as the strain theory. A prime example of the life of someone who grew up with such pressure is a felon named Aileen Wuornos. In her case, she wasn’t pressured to live up to a certain expectation, but her family mentally and physically abused her. She was a serial killer who earlier grew up in a life that consisted of child abuse, abandonment, neglect and teen pregnancy. These strains caused a mental breakdown and she turned to the life of a sex worker while using her murderous aggression towards her customers.