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Serial Killer Research Paper

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How Mental Disorders Contributes to Serial Killers

A serial killer and the reasons for their behavior are so unlike there is no basis to compare to other criminals and the reasons they commit their crimes. One reason why is that most serial killers are affected with various mental disorders, also known as a mental illness. A controversial theory is that certain mental illnesses make an individual more prone to becoming a serial killer, but there is evidence showing a correlation between the two. It is important to understand mental disorders may cause actions such as killing.

The question whether a serial killer is born or made has been a controversial topic and one that has been researched extensively for years. A child born is not …show more content…

The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that mental health conditions are seen in 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local prisoners. These numbers do not include the 70% juveniles with various mental health conditions. Statistics show that there is an obvious correlation between your mental health and crime. Serial killers are often born with some type of mental disorder, which can be an explanation to why they inhumanely take the lives of others. Their action is just natural instinct to their disorder and can explain why individuals do unthinkable things because they are genetically inclined to …show more content…

This is another disorder that can not be prevented. Individuals with borderline personality disorder are almost always aggressive and emotionally unpredictable. They tend to act violent towards themselves and others. In a study of 998 patients with BPD 75% were caucasians. In another study, Ansevics and Doweiko, both psychologist, researched 11 different serial killers in depth and determined that they all had signs and symptoms of borderline personality disorder. Borderline personality disorder cannot be cured, but certain treatments can help an individual who is experiencing it. Psychiatric consultant, Dr. Mark Saltat stated “there is an increasing body of evidence that individual and group-based therapy, carried out carefully and patiently by trained individuals, can make significant, enduring improvements in more than half of cases”. This supports that having borderline personality is something a person would have to deal with their whole life, many can, but in some cases people are not able to and the result can be

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Statistics show that serial killers in the United States often kill for fun and financial gains. (Serial Killer) In class we have been learning about serial killers and the psychological disorders that cause them to carry out the murders they commit. Andrea Yates mental stability and religious views altered her ability of life and caused five young children to lose their lives

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Now that I’ve discussed the first factor of making a serial killer I will discuss the second factor, which is brain damage. Some researchers theorize that serial killers have brain damage that contribute to their actions. If areas like the frontal lobe, the hypothalamus, and the limbic system is damaged it can cause extreme aggression, loss of control, and violence. The hypothalamus regulates the hormonal system and emotions and is located below the thalamus. It can be damaged through malnutrition or injury .Serial

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(like voyeurism and fetishism), which was connected to committing robberies. One study has shown that a fraction of serial murders are seen to be within the autism spectrum and some to have Asperger’s syndrome. A finding that is one of the more reliable in psychology is that in the mentality of serial killers is the existence of aggressive dreaming. For decades, there have been many theories that have sprung up about serial murderers, mostly coming from interviews. One theory is derived from a source of child abuse in the culprit’s developing years, whether it be sexual or alcohol related, or neglectfulness.

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There is never a simple answer for this question; many people think that mental disorders cause people to commit crimes and sometimes this is true. Other times people are just violent and need to take their anger out on someone or something which is why they kill people or inflict injury upon others. “Advocates of rehabilitation argue that many criminals engage in crime for reasons beyond their control. For example, they argue that some people commit crime because they grew up in dysfunctional families or because they have drug, alcohol, or mental health problems. If these problems can be fixed, then crime can be reduced and there will be fewer victims.

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“74% of serial killers said they experienced psychological abuse as a child” (Crimetraveller.org). This research does not include physical, sexual, or other forms of abuse that serial killers received as a child. All these serial killers experienced traumatic events that changed how their brain worked. These people’s brains were completely changed due to what they went through. This left them with mental issues that made them think what they were doing was okay.

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What Makes a Serial Killer To this day there's controversy to what makes a serial killer; the upbringing by family and peers or the genetic heritability to a mental disorder. A twin study done by Professor of Psychology Thomas Joseph Bouchard, Jr., held the results of psychopathy being sixty percent heritable. There should be abnormalities in the brain if psychopathy is genetically determined. Brain scans have shown decreased connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex is related to psychopathy in criminals.

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Due to the absence of family or having family problems, many serial killers tend to have a feeling of loneliness and find fear in all relationships and have a sensation of seeking control and killing them to prevent rejections of any kind. Childhood trauma plays a significant role in shaping the psychology of a serial killer, and understanding these past experiences can help understand why serial killers become serial killers. Mental illnesses can also play a significant role in the psychology of serial killers. The FBI talks about how there is a myth of whether serial killers have a mental condition or if they are extremely

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How does a serial killer’s mental illness cause them to kill?. I decided to do my research on “How does a serial killer’s mental illness cause them to kill?” because for the past 2 years i have been engrossed with crime tv shows. For instance, Criminal Minds has had cases where the serial killers have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Shows where i can be able to think throughout , and be part of the investigators research of why the serial killer intended to kill gets me thrilled.

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Many killers want us to believe that we cannot do anything to predict murders, because they want total control of the lives around them. However, we know that through their personal history, and their character we are able to offer a kindness and helping hand, but that is about it. The diversity of people is also shown in the variety of serial killers, their reasons, and their histories. We will never have a clear outline as to why serial killers act, but nature vs. nurture is the one variable that is applicable to any serial killer. The audiences only call to help is to talk about the serial killings, in hopes to find new ideas, and for the community to band together in the prevention and research of such

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Serial Killers: Common Characteristics and Behaviors Jack the Ripper, the first notorious serial killer, has created a sensation that has never died out. Serial killers have since been promoted in television shows, movies, short stories, and novels (Methvin 2), being branded as a form of entertainment. Most people fail to realize serial murdering is a factual, growing, psychopathic craze. Potential psychotic murderers share characteristics that can be developed in early childhood and regrettably prosper through adulthood. Research has found and documented abnormalities in most repeating killers.

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(FBI) Serial killers are often painted as heartless, superficial people with no real motive as to why they carry out these unspeakable actions. In actuality, people who perform these kinds of violent crimes often have motives such as revenge, acquisition of adrenaline, or gratification. Wikipedia : Serial killers frequently lack empathy and moral culpability.

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Family is the most important part of the development of a kid, and these people get often traumatized by their own parents with big issues and problems. Some kids have to live with that and make the murders for their self satisfaction. There is something called Chromosomal make up and there have been only 2 cases in which serial killers like Bobby Joe Long and Richard Speck had an extra X chromosome and scientist think this explains their assassinations. Now I’m going to talk about the reasons serial killers kill, and there are a lot of them.

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These illnesses can also be caused by a brain injury. When a serial killer is born with one of these illnesses, it is called hereditary predisposition. For example, mental disorders such a schizophrenia can cause a person to kill. Symptoms of schizophrenia include hallucination, paranoia, and hearing voices all of which can be the root of the reason a person kills. Sometimes they kill because “the voices told them to”

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It is thought that some people become addicted to the sense of power they get from taking someone's life, which leads them to continue killing or committing other criminal acts, even if it is not for financial gain. Mental illness can also play a crucial role in why someone becomes a serial killer. For instance, between 50-80% of the serial killer population is diagnosed with some form of personality disorder. In addition, research indicates that many previous serial killers suffered from head injuries or brain defects, which could contribute to their eventual decline into extreme violence or fixations with sadism or violent sex. Ultimately, a combination of genetics and environmental factors contributes to someone becoming a serial killer.

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Most serial killers experience something traumatizing that likely impacts their psychological development. Children who have abnormal experiences growing up have trouble expressing and dealing with emotions (Peterson, 2018, para. 8). Children who are exposed to chronic stress are often unable to recognize or process the emotional impact of their experiences, resulting in the internalization of stress and the externalization of their

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