Serial Killer Research Paper

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“Serial killing is a kind of macabre art perfected by psychopaths, who are either on a pleasure trip or a trial of revenge. The term “serial killer” however was not coined until the 1970s by FBI agent Robert K. Ressler in an attempt to label those who have committed multiple murders. “A Serial killer is someone who kills at least three victims one by one in a series of sequential murders, with a form of psychological gratification as the primary motive” (theravive. com). From this definition it is clear that there is a deep connection between the actions and the psychology of a serial killer. All serial killers are murderers but not all murderers are serial killers. The main difference apart from the number of murders is the motif. A serial …show more content…

A man/woman can be a serial killer by nature or by nurture. There lies the need of a psychological approach to really understand their minds by evaluating their behaviour and motivations. They may show various stages of mental illness in which they develop homicidal tendencies. Some of them are mentally ill and compelled to commit murder. Some of the serial killers show behavioral traits like sensation seeking, lack of remorse, lack of guilt and need for control(quora.com). There can be many other external causes also. Some were often abandoned by their dear and near ones when they were young resulting in social isolation and introversion. Environment in the family also is an important factor which affects the behaviour of a child. Almost all the serial killers are shown to have experienced some sort of family problems during their childhood such as broken family, lack of discipline, death and …show more content…

They know right from wrong but do not care and often lack conscience and empathy. They feel no guilt or remorse over their actions and kill because they want to; they like it. Dr. Joel Morris, psychologist, who is a founding member of the International Committee of Neuroscientists to Study Episodic Aggression, has distinguished seven different phases of serial killer activity. Stage one is titled the aura stage. This stage includes day dreams and fantasies about committing the murder and carrying out the crime. The second stage is known as the trolling stage. This is the time in which the killer goes out to find their potential victim and essentially hunts them and makes initial contact with them. The third stage of the serial killer’s activity is known as the wooing stage. This is the point in which, after trolling and hunting out their “prey” they lure the victim into their clutches. The Fourth stage after that is the actual capture of their victim. The fifth stage is the actual act of murder itself. The sixth stage of the killer’s activity after the kill is known as totem, which is when the killer collects trophies or souvenirs of the murder. They take something to remind them of the person that

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