Psychopathy In Peter Vronsky's Female Serial Killer

This is one of the oldest arguments in the history of psychology. Each side indicates valid points, making it difficult to fully decide whether the motives of serial killers and criminals lie behind a subconscious intention routed from trauma over the course of their life, or if it is predisposed in their DNA. When nature and nurture outweigh other types of psychological trauma, a criminal can turn into a killer. These ideas can trigger psychopathic, sociopathic, and narcissistic behaviour (“Traumatic Experiences in Childhood and Psychopathy” 1). Analyzing these concepts help give probable reasoning for criminal actions.

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,

Throughout “Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters”, Peter Vronsky explores and identifies the many factors that go into the making of a serial killer. With his audience, he brings them through psychological, historical, and cultural research findings concerning serial killers along with investigating the minds of the serial killers leading him to understand why they commit gruesome crimes. Together, the research and observations led him to believe that serial killers are not born serial killers but become them due to them adapting to their social, psychological, and environmental traumas. Starting from the beginning, Vronsky continuously compares and contrasts patterns that are found within serial killers from birth to death. For example, the comparison of Ted Bundy and Jerry Brudos, who both were children with a confusing family dynamic and

One common feature is a lack of empathy and remorse, enabling them to commit heinous acts without emotional distress. Many serial killers display a pattern of escalating violence, often starting with cruelty to animals in their early years. A penchant for manipulation and deception is also prevalent, allowing them to blend into society while concealing their dark tendencies. Also, most serial killers are obsessed with power and control, deriving satisfaction from the dominance they exert over their victims. Notably, a troubled upbringing, marked by abuse or neglect, is a reoccurring theme in the backgrounds of many serial killers, contributing to the development of their violent inclinations.

There are many theories as to why people become serial killers. Almost all of these concepts are associated with the Nature vs. Nurture theory. Are serial killers born with the need to kill, or is it something that they learn to long for as they grew up? Many believe that the nurture theory is the likely concept to believe; that serial killers are created from bad childhood experiences including being abused by their parents, or molested at an early age. Psychologist and sociologist have interviewed serial killers and picked apart their minds, to find out what it is that makes them feel the need to perform these heinous crimes. It is the nature theory that they are looking for when

According to statistics 50% of Serial Killers suffered emotional,physical and sexual abuse and neglect during childhood. Often times family members were usually at odds with each other and had malfunction and debilitating relationships. As young children they would be often forced to witness violent sexual acts between parents and family members. The forms of punishment that many had to face would cause them to suffer from humiliation, were normal if not always unfair, unpredictable, destructive, and wicked. When a child is merely neglected huge developmental failures can occur. More than 20 known Serial Killers were forced to dress up as a girl as a wicked punishment. They would also be sexually abused by family members and punished for masturabating as children. Such experiences in a young child will create violent fantasies that go into adulthood. From these forms of punishment a child would and will become desensitized and will begin to believe that this emotionally barren world that he or she lives in is normal. Thus due to these punishments a child will become devoid of empathy for others. (Gerber

Traditionally the behavior of serial killer has been viewed through a psychological framework blaming customary factors like bad parenting, maladjusted brain chemistry or past abuse. As those stated the making of serial killers could be how you were raised or it is in your genetics but there could be other ways such as the

“What defines a serial killer? According to the FBI, a serial killer is someone who commits at least three murders over more than a month with an emotional cooling off period in between” (Brogaard). With this in mind, people like Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer are serial killers. What makes them this way? Is it genetics or is it the fact that their childhood was a nightmare? The debate amongst scientists for years doesn’t have an answer. There is plenty of evidence to support that fact that most serial killers are missing a certain enzyme in their body that dwindles their empathy senses. There is also plenty of facts about real life killers that show that environment and upbringing is what ruins them, and turns them from a happy child to the deranged adult they become. Serial killers are born and made because of genetics and the environment.

Many people present the proposition that a serial killer’s psychotic traits are mostly inheritable. In a 2011 study done at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Motzkin JC, who works for the US National Library of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry, claims that psychopaths often show “dysfunction in a circuit involving ventromedial prefrontal cortex” (Motzkin JC) Dysfunction in this area of the brain prevents strong negative emotions from being felt, which explains why serial killers are often unable to feel things such as sadness, empathy, or guilt. However, they are completely capable of understanding that what they’re doing is wrong, which is why they put so much effort into planning their crimes and cleaning up after themselves. Ted Bundy, an infamous serial killer who raped, assaulted, and murdered 30 or more women once stated "I don't feel guilty for anything.

The topic of serial killers was chosen for my research topic because of my interest in the psychological of why someone would murder another. This topic was then refined to researching 10 serial killers and identifying why they become serial killers, through a mind map that focused on the idea whether serial killers are born as killers or made into one. This therefore led to the overall research question for this project which is: “Do circumstances create a serial killer or are they born that way?” in order to answer this question the following five focus questions have been created. 1.

Unlike murderers, a psychopath's urge to kill does not come from average family affairs, financial disputes, or disagreements in relationships. Psycho killers are driven by a desire to kill that is often sexual and causes them to murder strangers and it is imperative to determine what makes a serial killer so distinct from homicidal murderers. It has been proved that genetics is the key role in determining who becomes a serial killer while criminologists and psychologists argue that abuse and abandonment create the foundation in which serial killers grow into vicious murders. The largest difference between a murderer and a serial killer is their desire to kill.

Most serial killers are white men. They may also have an above average IQ although they may perform poorly in school and usually hold jobs as unskilled laborers. Most serial killers also come from broken or troubled homes (Schechter, 2004). There may also be a history of mental illness or alcohol or drug abuse in the family. Most serial killers also experience some type of abuse in their childhood and because of that abuse hold resentment towards the parental figure that perpetrated the abuse(Schechter, 2004).

Around the world, several new cases of serial homicides are reported every year. (Vronsky 15). Ninety-seven percent of serial murders are committed by psychopaths: someone who lacks a conscience, feels no remorse, cares exclusively for his own pleasures and cannot empathize with the suffering of his victims (Levin and Fox 4). The psychopathic state is not a mental illness but is a behavioral or personality disorder (Vronsky 245). When these behavioral components are combined with the desire to kill, an addiction is triggered and rarely broken. The psychology of a psychopathic serial killer produces specific character traits that cannot be altered therefore rehabilitation and imprisonment will be unsuccessful in treatment.

The connection between psychopathy and serial killers is that most killers are diagnosed with this disorder after being caught and brought to justice. A study done by Michael Stone named, Personality disorders, psychopathy, and serial killers, states that, “with regard to personality characteristics, in a study carried out by Stone, 86.5% of the serial killers met the Hare criteria for psychopathy, and another 9% presented only a few psychopathic traits (not enough to be classified as psychopaths)”. People are diagnosed with this disorder by using the 20-Hare Psychopathy Checklist, which includes a list of certain aspects of the person’s life: the biggest “symptoms” or “traits” include: having no regards for morals or laws, feeling no remorse or guilt, a disregard for the rights of other individuals, and the tendency to display violent behavior to themselves or others. These traits are the most common and dangerous when it comes to serial killers with psychopathy, these personality traits are a key function and role when serial killers commit their crime. These are the most important factors to take into consideration when bringing the idea of letting serial killers back into our modern society.

There are many traits that make a serial killer, with abuse during childhood playing a major factor. The four main aspects of abuse that seem to make killers are: emotional, psychological, sexual and physical abuse. The serial killer group has six times more reported physical abuse during childhood than the general population. Research has demonstrated that many serial killers have much in common when it comes to their childhood experiences Emotional abuse often diminishes a child’s self-esteem, making it hard for them to adapt to their surroundings, such as situations involving school or work. Due to this factor, most serial killers often find it hard to keep jobs and intimate relationships for longer than a very short period of time. Emotional neglect also impairs a child’s ability to develop empathy, therefore lacking compassion. If the child grows up to become a murderer, having no empathy means they are able to kill someone without