Psychopaths: The Two Types Of Evil

In high school, Dahmer was labeled as a weird kid who was very isolated and who showed bizarre behaviors. While in high school, Dahmer began to drink a lot and even went to school with alcohol on his person. Dahmer did well in school, however,

Jeffrey Dahmer was a notorious serial killer in the late 70’s throughout the early 90’s. What made him stand out from most serial killer’s was what he did to the bodies of his victims. During this research paper, I will cover his childhood life, what led to his lifestyle of killing and cannibalism and also the crimes that were committed during his murderous acts. I will also compare what theories relate to Jeffrey Dohmer and what could possibly be the reason why he did what he did.

Serial killers have fascinated the imaginations of people for a long time. One of the most notorious serial killers is Jeffrey Dahmer whose gruesome murders shocked the nation. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer also known as Milwaukee monster was a notorious American serial killer and sexual offender in the 1980s and early 1990s. Between 1978 and 1991 Dahmer had murdered 17 men. His victims were usually raped, tortured, dismembered, and cannibalism was also involved. Jeffrey was a troubled child psychologically and his social skills had a lot to be desired. All the way through his childhood he was ignored and had queer fantasies of cadavers. In his adulthood this psychosocial status quo didn 't change and was in fact aggravated.

Behaviorally, Dahmer showed symptoms that could be associated with impulse disorder from his behavior and desire to harm by drugging, murdering, performing sexual acts and dismembering his victims. Dominating his victims satisfied his feelings of being in control.

As a child Dahmer faced numerous obstacles to success: he was a poor student who struggled socially and turned to alcohol as early as high school. All of these factors culminated in a young man who had given up on many cultural goals of the time- he wasn’t attracted to women, so having a family of his own was out; he had no real ambition to contribute to the work force, was unable to get “desirable” jobs due to his lack of education and dishonorable discharge, and his family supported him financially most of the time. For a time, he was in the military, but discharge due to his

Jeffrey Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 in West Allis,Wisconsin. He and his parents, Lionel Dahmer and Joyce Annette, were an average american family who strived for the best. Jeffrey’s father was a graduate student who wanted to pursue a career as an analytical chemist. His mother worked as a teletype machine instructor. However, Jeffrey Dahmer’s mother was not a stable women. She had a history of psychological problems which meant that her son was susceptible to mental illness due to genetic factors. Growing up, Jeffrey had trouble with interacting with his peers. He also had a peculiar fascination with dead animals and “according to his father, his son was ‘oddly thrilled’ by the sound the bones made and instantly developed a fixation for playing with and collecting animal bones (“Jeffrey Dahmer” Wikipedia).” As he got older, he developed an addiction to alcohol. He started drinking heavily during high school which negatively affected his grades. Another issue that Dahmer faced in his early life was

Jeffrey Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 to parents Lionel and Joyce Dahmer (Davis, 1998). While living in his birthplace of Wisconsin, Dahmer was described by his father to be “’[v]ery exuberant, he liked to wrestle, liked to run around, ham it up for the camera and he liked to play with kids and get together with them’” (Harris, 1996). As Dahmer entered adolescence, his father earned a Ph.D. in chemistry and the family began to move around Ohio (National Center for Crisis Management, n.d.). After the move, his parents fought often and eventually divorced. During this period, Dahmer became “withdrawn and uncommunicative” (Jeffrey Dahmer, 2017) and

His classmates considered him a loner and an alcoholic, who brought liquor into the classroom (Bardsley Ch.14). At 15, Dahmer would scour the neighborhood, collecting the remains of animals for his own private cemetery. A fascination with dead creatures was evident from a young age (Bardsley Ch. 14). Also as a teen, Dahmer’s parents ended their relationship by divorce.

When he realized that he was a homosexual, the thoughts of naked men, with dead things would arouse him even more. It would not be until the age of eighteen, when Dahmer would lure his first victim, and then take his life. He picked up a hitchhiker, they drank alcohol, had sex, and then when Dahmer did not want the man to leave, he would hit him over the head with a dumbbell. In an interview he once had with a FBI profiler, he stated “the guy wanted to leave, and I did not want him to.” He now had a dead human being lying on his floor, for him to have his way with. He would masturbate on to the body; he cut him up, put him into trash bags, and dumped the bags into a ravine. His parents would soon be settling for a divorce, which did not go over well with Dahmer, especially with his abandonment issues. He started drinking, which would cause him to steal to get money to buy more alcohol, which led him to drop out of college, and down a path of self-destruction. With no other choices, he joined the army where he became a cook, which is where he picked up his butchery skills. The alcohol once again got the best of him, and he was discharged from the army. A few years later his urge to kill had grown stronger and could not resist it any longer. He started luring men to him apartment, where he would drug and disremember them. He would start to experiment with trying to

My Friend Dahmer explores the beginnings of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s mental sickness and how, though he tries to suppress his tendencies, he

Jeffrey Dahmer, a notorious serial killer and sex offender in Milwaukee, Wisconsin responsible for killing, dismembering, and consuming 17 male victims during 1978 to 1991. Jeff Dahmer was the child of Joyce and Lionel Dahmer; he was born May 21, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dahmer’s father was a graduate student working on his masters in analytic chemistry, and his mother worked as a Teletype machine instructor. The marriage of Dahmer’s parents showed signs of early problems with continuous fighting. Joyce Dahmer suffered from extreme psychological issues such as depression, and anxiety. Jeffery’s mother attempted suicide when he was a young child. Growing up, Dahmer seemed to be a very happy child until age 6, where he had a surgery to

Jeffrey Dahmer was a fun and active child. He liked to wrestle, run and play with other children. But when his parents started to fight, he felt alone in the world. He began hiding in the woods and collecting the carcasses of dead animals. These carcasses gave him the comfort his family and classmates did not. At the age of 31 he went to jail for the murder of 17 people, where he was killed by a fellow inmate a few years later. What drove such a happy child to become a serial killer?

This provided him with the opportunity to live out his fantasies, and after he had taken his second victim, he no longer attempted to control his urges (Jeffrey Dahmer 1996). His victims were gay males, fitting his description of the “Chip and Dale” body type, typical thin muscular young men, that fit his sexual preferences (FBI Part 3 1992). Due to the abandonment and helplessness that he had felt as a result from bullying and his mother sudden departure from the family home Dahmer felt the need to create “zombie” lovers who would service his needs and be able to leave him According to the FBI’s files Dahmer stated he would convince the victims to come back to a hotel, or his apartment where he would drug them, kill them then engage in sexual acts with the bodies. He stated he’d dismember the bodies to keep parts as “mementos” (FBI Part 4 1992). After dismembering the bodies Dahmer would take the flesh and cook then consume it, as part of experimentation that quickly turned into gratification that only he had complete control over the victim (FBI Part 4

Research into the darker side of human nature has increased exponentially, drawing particular interest into the Dark Triad of personality (Aghababaei & Błachnio, 2015). The Dark Triad consists of the three similar, but distinct constructs: Narcissism, Machiavellianism and subclinical psychopathy (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Narcissism is a personality trait related with elevated levels of self interest, grandiosity and sense of entitlement (Campbell, Rudich, & Sedikides, 2002). Psychopathy, on the other hand is characterised by high impulsivity, lack of empathy and irresponsibility (Poythress & Hall, 2011). Machiavellianism is marked by duplicity and manipulation (Jones & Paulhus, 2011). All three constructs are associated with a socially aversive style of interaction, correlated with negative emotional, social and legal implications for both the individual and others (Furnham, Richards, & Paulhus, 2013). Due to the phenotypical similarity in their anti-social style of interaction; the three constructs appear to be deceptively equivalent, when they are in fact distinct. Some theorists support unificationist approach, which presents the constructs as equivalent by drawing evidence from evolutionary theory and the Big Five personality model. On the other hand, multiple theorists cite research from behaviour and genetics studies, to highlight the distinct nature of the three constructs. This essay will argue that the three constructs are distinct by presenting and critically

Dahmer’s mother had pregnancy issues and took several different drugs to help; his mother was also extremely depressed--after a while, his mother developed an addiction to the drugs and abused them severely, which is extremely pernicious to the health, both physical and mental, of a growing fetus (Giannetakis). While growing up, Dahmer enjoyed to be by himself. He often took walks into the woods near his house. He would find dead animals and examine their innards; although he liked to dismember dead animals, he didn’t wish to inflict pain onto any living creature (Giannetakis).