Chikatilo's Psychopathy

As the literature on serial murder increases and becomes more common, it creates an essentialist stereotype, which forms specific notions about a serial killers ‘character’. These certain notions include that the serial killer is a male, the people he goes after are defenseless, his motives for killing are internal and he gets a psychological reward from doing it. Out of all the stereotypes, the most prominent is sexual fantasy. Sexual fantasy in killers was first discovered by Reinhardt in 1957 and since then serial killers have been classified as ‘sexual sadistic killers’. This name has become an emblem for them and has shaped the way they are defined and researched. Killers that blame their actions on this will repeat their fantasies until they are played out perfectly.

Psychopathy as a mental disorder or construct, although not included in the presently valid classification systems, is gradually fascinating the experts and investigators involved in the field of mental health. Curiosity in psychopathy has mainly grown after the declaration of the new classification system DSM V in which psychopathy is mentioned as a clear diagnosis in the context of six new personality illnesses.

Sometimes considered disgusting, cruel, terrible, or unforgivable, serial killers could arguably have a reason for their madness. Beaten as a child, raped, or even for left to die could spark what could soon become disastrous. Some serial killers do it for the fun of it, but for the most part they do it because of a poor childhood and upbringing. This is what some believe to be the reasons for the killings done by The Coed Killer, Edmond Kemper. After his conviction of killing ten people, prosecutors then found the real reason of the horrific murders. Seen as a gentle giant by some, Kemper was all but that.

According to “Dictionary.com” the definition of a psychopath is “a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior.” In the short story The Most Dangerous Game by: Richard Connell General Zaroff demonstrates these characteristics in the text and there are actual facts and information from the text that prove that Zaroff is a psychopath. On a yacht boat bound for Rio, Whitney points out an Island in the distance. Him and his friend Rainsford are are both big hunters bound for a hunting trip in the Amazon River. But When Rainsford falls into the sea trying to catch his pipe, his life had just instantly changed. He heard three gunshots and followed them to shore. Rainsford reaches the rocky shore and falls into a “very deep sleep.” As Connell explained.

In an article called “The Traits of A Serial Killer,” by Simon (2004), psychopaths are not “created” over night, but rather their behavior can be connected all the way to their childhood. What trauma a child experiences plays a major role in the rest of his or her life. A serial killer, most of the time,

They see these people as expandable and as a means to an end. They can be divided in two types of Hedonistic Serial Killers: killing for lust or for the thrill. The lust killer kills purely for sexual fulfillment. Their primary motive is sex, even after their victim is dead. They also get pleasure out of the murder. These murders are usually followed by cannibalism (eating the victim), necrophilia (sexual attraction to the corpse), or dismembering. They have a psychological need to be have absolute control and dominance over their victims, and the torture and ultimate death of their victim is an attempt to fulfill their need. They use weapons that require close contact with the victim (e.g. a knife or their hands) (Holmes & Holmes, 1998). Jeffrey Dahmer was a lust killer, after his victims were dead, he performed cannibalism, necrophilia and dismembering. The thrill killer kills purely for the pleasure he/she gets from killing. They usually take a long time to kill, they torture their victims before killing them. After their victims are dead, they lose interest. They believe that they will never be caught (Holmes & Holmes, 1998). Robert Hansen was a thrill killer, he took his victims to a secluded area where he would let them go and then hunt them

Throughout Andrei Chikatilo's childhood and early adult life may have been the reason why this man became such a vicious killer. Chikatilo had an awful childhood since day one. When analyzing Chikatilo one must start at his birth. He was born with water on his brain Chikatilo like any teenage boy felt a desire for girls, because he was so insecure and shy he probably felt more comfortable with younger girls. At an early age Chikatilo felt power over younger girls between age eight and age sixteen. When Chikatilo could not get an erection it caused him anger and frustration. When looking at Chikatilo's childhood, you would have to assume that he was traumatized and a product of all the horrible events in his later years. Going through these events alone would make anyone a psychopath.

Psychopaths have been around for more than a century, and have found themselves to be able to make the public fear them. Belle Gunness, the Zodiac Killer, and John Wayne Gacy are all examples for the character traits compatible with psychopathy and have been able to provide more reason to the research of psychopaths. Statistically, psychopathy is found in three percent of the male population and in one percent of one percent of the female population. A psychopath’s behavior of exploitation, lying, recklessness, and arrogance has been studied to further understand how their brain structure is different in MRI scans and how they are able to use special abilities to catch its victims. Many research studies have been able to provide more information

One motivation that quickly becomes apparent within a serial killer is that of psychopathy. Psychopathic traits include narcissism, irresponsibility, lack of empathy, promiscuity, poor behavior, lying, and impulsivity (Arrigo & Griffin, 2004). Because psychopaths lack the ability to care or feel for their victims, it is easy for the perpetrator to disregard them and perform whatever acts they wish upon them. A psychopathic person also feels a low sense of self-worth, which can be

Andrei Chikatilo, born on October 16, 1936, in the Yabluchne, Ukraine in the former Soviet Union. Convicted in 1992 of 52 murders, Chikalto had confessed to 56. Andrei Chikalto’s childhood was marked by mass famine. According to Chikatilo, his brother had been kidnapped and cannibalized by starving neighbors. During World War II, Chikatilo’s father was drafted and would later become a prisoner of war. Chikatilo would witness Nazi-occupied Ukraine and the ravages of war. Andrei Chikatilo’s home was destroyed during this occupation leaving Andrei and his mother living in a single room shack. Chikalto’s mother was likely raped by German soldiers which resulted in the pregnancy of Andrei’s little sister. Famine continued to plague Ukraine after World War II had ended. Due to malnutrition, Andrei was physically weak and often the target of ridicule at school.

Many believe that no one is driven to kill unless they do it with their free will for their own reasons with no ties to their mental health or past. However, those who have physical, sexual, and emotional abuse as children are three times more likely to be violent as adults. (Neurodevelopmental and Psychosocial Risk Factors in Serial Killers and Mass Murderers, 2014)

Introduction: This investigation examines the biological causes for serial killers’ psychopathic tendencies and examines those same biological factors in both men and women to find the correlation between a higher rate of male serial killers and the biology behind their actions. It is imperitave to first know what a serial killer is, and what makes them such a cold fish. There are sections of the brain that do have control over a human being’s personality, where that individual can either develop into an average person or join the other one percent of psychopaths living in the world today (due to physical damage or chemical imbalance in the brain). These specific sections of the brain are different in males then in females, some components of the brain vary in size etc. between sexes. It is crucial to have all these pieces, with this information its then possible to form a conlusion to the surfaced question.

“Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by an inability to form human attachment, aggressive narcissism, and antisocial behavior defined by a constellation of affective, interpersonal and behavioral characteristics, most of which society views as pejorative” [1]. Some of these characteristics include irresponsibility, grandiosity, cunning, deceitfulness, selective impulsivity, sexual promiscuity, lack of empathy, etc. People who are psychopathic display not only antisocial behavior but also emotional impairment such as the lack of guilt. They are able to prey on others using their charm, deceit, violence or any other methods that allow them to get what they want. A strong feature of most of the behavior

A psychopath is traditionally defined as someone with a personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, egotistical traits. In society, psychopaths display specific characteristics such as lack of empathy, which may identify and explain how they respond in certain situations.

Other authors talk more about the aspect of serial killers having a type of disease that makes it impossible for them not to commit these crimes. Cartel (1985) says that in addition to the lack or non-apparent compassion or guilt that the killers contain, they state that they experience a euphoric state during or after these murders. It is like an addiction that they cannot overcome, feeling the need to kill repeatedly to achieve this “high”. Lunde (1980) states that sexual sadism, “ a deviation characterized by torture and/or killing and mutilation of other persons in order to achieve sexual gratification”. Lunde says this in reference to the fact that many serial killers rape their victims before, during, and even after the murder has taken place. He also references that fact that in an extensive number of serial murders, the cause of death was strangulation. This is very relevant because in strangulation deals with total control over the victim. Ramirez’s method of death was sometimes strangulation, though he did choose to shoot many of his victims.