Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
Psychology of serial killers
Mental illness in serial killers
Psychology of serial killers
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Psychology of serial killers
Mental illness in serial killers
Psychology of serial killers
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
These traits can be seen in many people worldwide, but are also concealed by them. Their veiling of these traits makes it harder for those closest to them to identify these traits. One person with these traits is one of the Columbine killers, Eric Harris.
A prime example of a forensic psychology concept, psychopathy, is a television series called "Dexter". Throughout the whole show, but specifically season two episode eleven, titled "Left Turn Ahead", Dexter Morgan, the show's protagonist, represents the nature of psychopathy. Psychopathy is defined as a neuropsychiatric disorder marked by deficient emotional responses, lack of empathy, and poor behavioral controls, commonly resulting in persistent antisocial deviance and criminal behavior. In this specific episode, the main character begins to worry that his adoptive sister was showing psychopathic tendencies that may have been brought out by him.
John Wayne Gacy, Aileen Wuornos, Richard Ramirez and are all widely known notorious serial killers who in common, share the feeling of abandonment, neglect, and abuse during their adolescence years. Studies often show a traumatic experience can lead to mishap in one’s psychological and physical behavior which can cause anxiety, alcohol and drug use, low self-esteem, withdrawn, dissociation, difficulty with making and maintaining relationships, experiences flashbacks, hypervigilant, self-harm, and criminal activity. Since these killers had to endure a troublesome childhood, they were destined to become criminal masterminds. John Wayne Gacy was a U.S. serial killer who was found guilty of killing thirty-three boys and young men. He had an abusive childhood and struggled with his sexuality.
In order for them to be considered a serial killer each kill has to be a separate event that is controlled by pleasure or psychological thrill (Research Guides: Serial Killers: Introduction, 2023). Serial killers most often become egocentric due to their lack of guilt and empathy, these classifications characterize serial killers as psychopaths (Research Guides: Serial Killers: Introduction, 2023). To hide their psychopathic tendencies and appear to be normal most killers wear a “mask of sanity”(Research Guides: Serial Killers: Introduction,
(Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture, How Serial Killers are Born). The second part of this statement is accurate, they are really good at hiding their emotions. This allows them to appear among the population as normal. However, they are not doing this because they want to but because they have to. All they had to endure was tough so they must put up a shell or a front to keep people from seeing the harsh reality of what they have to go
Psychopath and sociopath are two terms classified as antisocial personality disorders in the world of psychology. Although many people have heard of these two terms, quite often people do not know what sets them apart from one another. A sociopath is defined as a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience. The definition of psychopath is similar in being a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior. By looking at the definitions, these personality disorders appear very similar; however, there are specific attributes that are more specific to one of the two.
Being a seriel killer also may have some sort of psychological gratification with the murder committed. The number one reason a serial killer murders is for some sexual reason others are motivated by anger, thrill, finanxial gain and because they crave the attention. Murders can be attempted or completed in the same manner. Victims would have either
According to the terminology serial killer adopted by FBI agents Robert Ressler and John Douglas in the Behavioral Science Unit, there are ten precise traits identifying a serial killer including; single white male (Kemper never developed a lasting relationship with a women; high IQ’s (Kemper was at one point diagnosed as nearly a genius); they do poorly in school (Kemper had a number of unskilled jobs); disorderly families (Kemper’s mom and dad divorced when he was nine); history of psychiatric problems (Kemper’s mother was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder; psychological and physical abuse (Kemper’s mother consistently teased him about his size and weird personality); hate towards women and absent male figures (Kemper killed his grandfather, and grandmother; psychiatric problems (Kemper tortured and killed animals at a young age); social isolation and extreme hate towards everyone (Kemper had attempted to commit suicide; deviant sexuality and obsessed with sexual gratification, and violent pornography (Kemper had developed a fantasy world involving violent rape and murder by the time he was
In this assignment the case study of Ted Bundy and how many biological, social and cognitive studies affect the perspective of criminals. In this case biological theories are our genetics and what we inherit from our parents and further on. These theories will be linked to Ted and if they affect how he performed the criminal acts. Introduction Ted Bundy is one of America’s most prolific serial killers who targeted brunette women in an attempt to get back at his ex-girlfriend, but also his mother who had lied about Ted’s paternity for a number of years. During Ted’s early life he went by the name of Theodore Robert Cowell.
In many cases, mirroring the society it portrays, psychopathic behaviour is simply equated with criminal behaviour, since criminality itself is seen as the litmus test of whether someone is “demented” enough to conduct criminal activity, which some would see as totally unnatural and outside of their scope of life. Other groups, and even sub-cultures within a larger culture, might see criminal activity as “normal”, since they grow up in a neighborhood where crime is an everyday occurance, and people in their own families may be involved. So behaviour that shocks one group of people may seem normal to another
Adrian Raine, criminologist and author of "The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime," has said before, is a very important factor in criminal behaviour that affects about 75% of a person’s criminal activity. In his book, Raine explores the many evidences that lead up to biological and genetic influences on crime
Animal abuse is a big part in determining a psychopath, even though not all psychopaths become serial killers, or even commit crimes. If a psychopath does, in fact, turn out to be a serial killer, when the FBI profiles them, one of the main things that they look for is people who abused animals when they were younger or, people who still abuse animals today. They do this because animal abuse is one of the most common things that serial killers share in common. Also, most psychopaths have this in common. More than half of serial killers, or psychopaths, abuse animals (Meyer 9).
A lot of serial killers have an aversion of rejection that is often irrational. 3. Power is a huge one. According to Twisted Minds the power to cause pain is the only power that matters(2007). C. Fun fact, the stereotype for a serial killer is a white middle age man who has no military background.
The show dramatizes the lives of many real cases where the majority of viewers are familiar with. For example, many people know about the case of the Zodiac the serial killer, Robert Berdilla, one of the most aggressive, bloody and torturing assassins who used to take photographs of his horrifying acts, and many other cases which are narrated in this show. According to the author of the book “The forensic psychology of criminal minds” Ramsland mentions that, “in criminal minds, we see not only the activity of crime scene analysis and reconstruction variety of criminal psyches.” (8) On the show psychopathic murders are portray as cold-blooding, lacking of rumour, and emotionless.
Psychopath are fearless and dominance which means that they are charming and a risk taker pair with the lack of anxiety they have no fear about getting rejected. II) ‘Sexual Behavior in Psychopathy’ a) Psychopath will tend to engage multiple relationships which are usually short term i) They don 't love sex but actually they love the powerful feeling they get which boost their egos when they engage in multiple partners. ii) Psychopath has many sexual partners because they can gain access to them at their most vulnerable and take advantage of them.