The application of psychology has historically enhanced the functioning of numerous domains within contemporary society
Constructing a concrete profile of a serial killer is arguably difficult, as there are many types of serial murderers (Lester, 1995, p. 186). However, the general consensus suggests that a serial killer can be defined as an individual who commits three or more murders in three separate events (Egger, 2002, p. 5; Ressler and Shachtman, 1992, p. 7). Since the early part of the century, the gulf between the disciplines of psychology and law has narrowed, and productive links have been identified (Kapardis, 2009, p. 17). For example, classifying serial offenders is often done using the organized/disorganized dichotomy which was
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53). Aamodt and Mitchell (2005, pp. 40-47) conducted research into the incidence of child abuse in serial killers, obtaining results which indicate that rates of abuse are significantly higher in serial killers in comparison to the general population, labelled the ‘societal norms’. 68% were found to have suffered some type of abuse – however, many incidences go unreported and it is connoted that on occasion, serial killers fabricate such events in order to provide an explanation for their criminal acts. Therefore, this figure may not be accurate. In addition to this, a correlation was found between the prevalence of sexual abuse and disorganized killings. On the other hand, Burton et al (1993, pp. 435-451) suggest that organized murderers are significantly more common than disorganized murderers in the case of childhood sexual abuse. They state that organized serial killers take pride in their crimes, which are often driven by fantasy; presenting well-planned and repetitive crime scenes. Aileen Wuornos is one example of a serial killer who was sexually abused in early life, yet she cannot be classified using the dichotomy as she depicts aspects of both an organized and unorganized serial killer (Dittmann et al, 2006, pp.