Psychopathy In Serial Killers

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The concept of psychopathy can be summarized briefly as a “mental disorder especially when marked by egocentric and antisocial activity”. The term was first used in 1900, and throughout history went through changes and adjustments. It is further defined as a personality disorder, in the branch of an antisocial disorder. A person who has this disorder finds themselves with a lack of empathy and remorse towards others, and may act in daring and disinhibited behaviors. A common consequence to this disorder is the manifestation of serial killers. In no way is it a common occurrence of psychopathy to become a murderous being, but it is common to see in serial killers that they are suffering from this personality abnormality. The phrase “serial killer” came later on in the century, specifically in 1950, initially used in the …show more content…

In standard cases, a homicide is committed for reasons surrounding family matters, monetary complications, arguments between friends or lovers, or even gang violence. A serial murderer has a whole different agenda in mind; "A psychokiller, I should make clear, is not a regular murderer. A murderer has a vendetta, a nice specific personal thing against his victim". Lucy Corin, an American novelist, wrote this and was exactly on the mark. A psychopathic serial killer does not have anything against their victim on a personal stance. The victim is usually just unlucky and has been picked as a target of psychological gratification. These people do not affect the numbers of death in any way, for they only account for one percent of the total murders annually. This number seems insignificant when compared to all the coverage and attention these murders get. The reason behind this is the overall mystery surrounding it all. To view these people who commit such monstrous acts, and never even feel remorse or empathy for their crime; this confuses and scares