What's Behind A Murderer Essay

In Psychology, there are perspectives and approaches that are looked into when trying to understand how the intricate human mind works. These perspectives are respectfully derived from different ideas and time periods, exemplifying different ways of thinking. These perspectives include: sociocultural, biopsychological, psychodynamic, behaviorism, cognitive, and humanism. These approaches are critically essential in solving something as serious as murder, or simply even why someone acts the way they do. There are many instances where there will be shocking news stories about people committing murders—people that are so unexpected to do such harm. However, when the six

Serial murder, defined by Holmes and Holmes (1996) as the killing of three or more victims, over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period between killings, is a highly complex phenomenon which comprises of various elements and characteristics. The definition includes any offender, male or female, who kills over time, generally with a pattern in their killing which can be associated with the types of victims selected or the method of killing (Lee and Choi, 2014). Various theoretical explanations have been put forward to try and pinpoint the driving motivation behind serial murder, with Hickey’s trauma control model at the forefront. This essay will assess Hickey’s theoretical conceptualisation of serial murderers by analysing its relevancy in the famous case study of Aileen Wuornos – America’s “first” female serial murderer.

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,

Homicide always will be an aspect of life, whether it is in the 16th century, 21st century or in the future. At times of extreme stress, people may turn to murder as an outlet of a greater problem they cannot fix or control. Presently, homicide has a greater value in society due to popular culture references through the media such as television, film and writing; society constantly has homicide and murder in the subconscious. In David M. Buss’ findings in The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind is Designed to Kill,

Mass murderers are a diverse group of people. They are a danger to society and it is important to understand the wide variability among these people. The kinds of mass murderers revolve around two central types that branch off to several subtypes. The profile of a mass murderer generally contains a specific set of traits. These people are often driven by one of a series of different motives. In order to achieve their goals, mass murderers have plenty of different methods and weapons at their disposal. Inevitably, the discussion of punishment always ensues when the subject of dangerously destructive killers arises. The study of mass murderers is one that requires analyzing and profiling all of the components that make up a killer, from

The question of whether or not man is predetermined at birth to lead a life of crime is a question that has been debated for decades. Are serial killers born with the lust for murder, or are their desires developed through years of abuse and torment? Many believe it is impossible for an innocent child to be born with the capability to commit a horrible act such as murder. But at the same time, how could we have corrupted society so much as to turn an innocent child into a homicidal maniac? Forensic psychologists have picked apart the minds of serial killers to find an answer as to what forces them to commit such perverse acts. Their ultimate goal is to learn how to catch a serial killer before

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

In order to maintain the calm and collected attitude when attacking a target, they do not let their conscience stop them from murdering their victim. To achieve this, the killer is “hard, impervious, [and] above feeling” (Tithecott 97). They separate their feelings in order to push themselves into a state of automata, similar to what soldiers experience when in a brutal war. This state allows them to kill without mercy when attacking their target. One of the main cause for separation of thoughts and feelings is the killer’s childhood.

Richard Ramirez once said, “Normal, ordinary people do not think like a serial killer. They have no conception of what is going on in a killer’s mind, how he operates.” Psychologists today have begun to investigate what areas of the brain bring about the characteristics of a serial killer to finally have the ability to understand a killer’s thoughts. Our world’s continuous advancement of technology is able to give us a better understanding of why these people do such heinous acts and also continue to become smarter with our 21st century technology. Many show childhood symptoms of these thoughts, while others do not.

A subject that is popular among television, movies, and books, is serial murder. Our society has romanticized murder, while scientists are trying to understand it. Infamous serial murderers studied in this paper are Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and John Wayne Gacy. Each of these murderers displayed characteristics of a psychopath from a young age. Some scientists are approaching this with neuroimaging technology; others are taking a serial killer’s past and drawing connections. Within each killer listed above, there was some form of trauma found in their early life. Dahmer experienced abandonment and had an extreme antisocial disorder. He ended up admitting to murdering 17 men. He raped them, dismembered them, and stored parts of their body in

In the 1980s the very first functional brain scanning study of killers was carried out by British neuroscientist, Professor Adrian Raine. The Professor and his team scanned the brain of many killers and found that all the scans were quite similar (Appendix D); they then compared them to the brain scans of people who weren’t convicted murderers (Appendix E). These scans support Dr Richard Davidsons findings related to the anterior cingulated cortex, orbital frontal cortex, and amygdale. The results showed that serial killers appear to have brains which make them more prone to anger and rage and unable to control themselves (Davidson. 2000). Raine suggested that childhood abuse may have caused physical damage to the brain, which caused the subjects to be predisposed to violent tendencies, however, only a small proportion of those who had a terrible childhood grew up to become murderers. In 1993, a family from the Netherlands found that all the men had a history of violence. After 15 years of research, it was discovered that all the men lacked the same gene which produces an enzyme called monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) which regulates the levels of neurotransmitters involved in impulse control (n/a. 2015). Jim Fallon, a professor of psychiatry in California, discovered that there were many murderers in his family tree and so decided to have himself genetically

Tommy entered the house, it was quiet, and he went to the kitchen to get a snack. Tommy dropped his plate causing a loud clattering noise, waking his mother. Tommy’s mom was furious, walked around the corner and started beating Tommy for waking her. As she was beating him a man came around the corner to stop her. It was Tommy’s dad. In a blind rage, Tommy’s mom grabbed the gun from the kitchen drawer; the one she used to threaten Tommy for all his wrong doings and shot Tommy’s father. Tommy’s experiences of regular, yet unpredictable beatings ending with a traumatic death experience forever changed Tommy’s life. After a traumatic experience, a chemical imbalance in the brain occurs; leaving this untreated can cause someone to become a serial killer. Traumatic life experiences, abuse, and an inability to have healthy coping strategies can lead to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Abuse, trauma, and poor coping skills combined can lead to the creation of a killer. Criminologists have identified several common life experiences that convicted serial killer have had in common. One identified experience shared by convicted serial killers is the witnessing a murder or death. Another is experiencing abuse from a young age. The kind of is not as significant a factor, but many serial killers reported higher incidences of sexual and emotional abuse. Abuse combined with a significant traumatic experience has been determined to cause a chemical imbalance in the brain. Another

In recent discussions of serial killers, a controversial issue has been whether they were born being the killer that they are or if it is impacted by the way that they grew up. On the one hand, some argue that serial killers are influenced by things in their lives that cause them to become these guiltless killers. From this perspective, porn and violence in the home are big factors in what people believe to be influencing these people. On the other hand, however, others argue that these people are born this way and the way they grow up has no influence. In the words of Helen Morrison, one of these view’s main proponents, “No matter what country, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic background, education, familial background, they are all exactly the same.” According to this view, despite if they are born this way or grew up being influenced by things, they are all the same. In sum, then, the issue is whether they are born this way or if their lives are influenced.

Though serial killer may have a fairly specific definition, there is no single precise profile for the serial killer. Each has a unique identity, set of motives and methods, and a unique psychopathology that would attempt to explain the mens rea, that is, the purpose or intent of the murder. “Psychological profiling is an investigative tool used strictly to answer the how of the crime, not the why” (Severence et al, 1992; Lanier and Henry, 1998). By examining the psychological make-up of the serial killer, it is often possible to explain the behavior, which might make it a useful tool in solving crimes.

In an investigation of sixty two male serial killers, criminologist Eric Hicky found that forty eight percent of them had been rejected as children by a parent or some important figure in their lives. Though this happenes to many kids, it certainly represents a turning point for those who become criminals. Once a child is rejected, they can begin to dive into their fantasies and be unable to understand who they are when going through puberty. These thoughts can go from developing paraphillias, a common trait in serial killers, to the killing of small animals. Arnold Arluke, a well-known sociologist from Northeastern University, compared the criminal records of one hundred and fifty three animal abusers with the same number of non-animal abusers. He discovered that those who tortured animals were more likely to commit acts of violence such as assault, rape, and murder. What is understood is that serial killers can turn to killing animals when they are children because they feel powerless against their parents and their abuse. Since they have no control in their household, they obtain dominance and power through this kind of activities. Then again, not all children who are abused become killers. It is the combination of a dysfunctional brain and an abusive environment which can be catastrophic and produce antisocial