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Serial Killer Essay

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Recommended: Psychology behind serial killers

What makes a serial killer and What can we do about them? A serial killer is a person who has conducted two or more unlawful murders, in separate events. They come in all different shapes and sizes, all with one thing in common, murder.
According to Worldpopulationreview, the United states has over three thousand documented serial killers. “As of September 4, 2016, the database contains information on 4,743 serial killers and 13,105 victims of serial killers” People have become obsessed with the idea of serial killers and true crime is a huge interest across america. All the documentaries all the teen girls watch go over who these killers are and what they did, but never why. Why do these people do what they do? Why did Jeffrey Damher feel …show more content…

Looking through multiple studies and scans, killers brains either under or over compensate. The Dana Foundation conducted a brain study on twenty-two serial killers. In the PET scans they discovered a trend, abnormal prefrontal cortexes, under performing. Taking into account an under performing frontal cortex this causes a few things to happen in the brain. The amygdala, an almond shaped structure in the brain, responsible for controlling and feeling emotions, is one of the subcortical structures deep in the brain affected. “Abnormalities in the amygdala could accord with the fearlessness theory of violence, since offenders have been found to have reduced autonomic arousal” (Penttila). This malfunction causes a person to feel uncontrollable and outrageous, fits of anger, aggression, and violence. Fits of uncontrolled aggression tend to lead to violent crimes. The dana foundation explores more than just the neurological side of the killers, they state that “At a personality level, frontal damage in neurological patients is associated with impulsiveness, loss of self-control, immaturity, lack of tact, inability to modify and inhibit behavior appropriately, and poor social judgment. These, too, could predispose to violence”(Penttila). Now, having a baseline idea of what is going on inside the brain, we can begin to ask, how did they end up like

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