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The role of both nature and nurture in serial killers
Psychopathy in modern personality research
The role of both nature and nurture in serial killers
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After reading chapters one and two of the Psychology in Everyday Life book and learning about the four big ideas in psychology, and also while trying to figure out the contributing factors of Andrea Yates’ murder of her children. I have to focus in on and think about big idea two, the biopsychosocial approach, that integrates three levels which are biological, psychological and social/cultural; all together these factors influence and give insight into behavior and mental processes. (CITE BOOK) After reviewing these, the psychological factors that I believe to have contributed to Andrea Yates’ murder of her children are, firstly biological, Andrea had a genetic predispositions, which means Andrea had an increased likelihood of developing
The city of Vancouver had a dreadful reputation early in the 21st century when the world ascertained that there was a serial killer living in the area. The man responsible for this, known as Robert William Pickton, soon became notorious for the crimes he committed on the women who lived in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Often, individuals who engage in severe criminal activities have some sort of personality disorder brought about by either biological characteristics, environmental factors or both. An individual's upbringing also plays a critical role in future deviant behaviour. If one's parents show love, support, and trust, then that individual is much less likely to engage in deviant activities, On the other hand, if one's parents do not care what their children do and act like they do not exist, then that individual is much more
The episode delves into the complexity of psychopathy and the multiple factors that can contribute
However, a serial killer suffering from psychopathy cannot control his or her impulses, identify with others and feel empathy, and cannot conform his or her behavior to social norms. Thus, proving he or she cannot possibly be completely competent and responsible for their actions, no matter how heinous” (Gay). However, there is a difference between someone diagnosed with psychopathy and someone with anti-social personality disorder. “Unlike serial killers with psychopathy, those with anti-social personality disorder should not be allowed to plead guilty by reason of insanity. They lack empathy but otherwise understand what they are doing.
Have you ever thought about how many murderers you have encountered just living your daily life? The people of the Eastern Shore may understand how this feels. The Eastern Shore experiences hundreds of murders a year, however, just three shocking murders affected the way the local community continues to view the life around them. Murders are a commonly committed crime throughout the world, yet, very few people realize that they have more than likely experienced an encounter with a murderer just carrying on with their daily life. One may wonder, what causes someone to become a murderer, serial killer, or any other kind of criminal.
Psychopaths are human beings that have the need to have some sort of physical contact with others. This article also says that once upon a lifetime, every psychopath has felt things in a much greater scale than non-psychopaths, which has contributed to the lack of emotions or remorse later in life. I like this article because it humanizes psychopaths, instead of making them seem like monsters. It also explains that psychopaths are people that have suffered greatly in life, and because of that, have unconsciously chosen to stop caring and stop feeling to avoid getting
As a result, these individuals are incapacitated if their behavior related to crime is untreatable. The biological theory argues that individuals engage in crime due to genetic, neurological as well as biochemical deficits (Lionell & Rawlins, 2005). This way, Charles Manson’s criminal behavior could be explained by this theory since he is mostly emotionally withdrawn, skeptical, materialistic, over sensitive and inconsistent in attitudes and decisions. Psychological theories points out those individuals engage in crime due to personality disparities, which develops in early childhood. Reflecting to Manson’s case, he could be termed as clinically insane.
Sociopaths can also have chemical imbalances or areas of the brain with lesions. Sociopaths are usually a bit more impulsive than psychopaths. Sociopaths may be able to create some genuine relationships with people that think like them, but normally have more trouble even having false relationships with others. They have more difficulty maintaining a job or healthy relationships. They are less strategic when they commit crimes and often times will get caught either during the act or shortly after.
There is no tell-tale sign of who becomes a criminal and who doesn 't. Many things factor into the development of a criminal. The debate between nature vs. nurture in this aspect cannot be blamed on a single element, instead both environment and genetics play a role in criminality of an idividual. The population of American jails has a high rate of individuals with mental disorders. Although, not everyone who has a mental disorder ends up in jail the vast majority of Americans who are incarcerated are likely to have inherited a mental disorder at some point in their life. At some point in American history, genes were said to be the sole reason a person became criminal however, this is not the case today.
It cannot be overlooked that developmental issues and life experiences play a major role as well. In the modern world, these issues and experiences are analyzed and studied by prevalent criminality and psychopathology fields within the criminal justice system. After all, trying to understand why individuals chose to commit crimes and break the law is necessary to prevent them and rehabilitate criminals. Since the nineteenth century, criminal defendants have used mental incapacity and insanity to excuse their criminal activity. This has resulted in the study of psychopathology and crime causation being of significant importance to criminal justice.
In today’s society, “sociopath” and “psychopath” are used as interchangeable terms for “crazy”. I frequently hear others alternating between the two, and I often find myself doing it as well. While society has continued to combine the words, the scientific community has continued to find a larger difference between the two. The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it lists sociopathy and psychopaths as Antisocial Personality Disorders (ASPD).
The Ghosts of Sleath Have you ever been in a dark alley at night? Have you ever been scared to go in a creepy building? You know that feeling you get when watching a scary movie. Imagine that all in one. You would be in sleath.
Today, there are proven facts that people who have parents that are criminals have a high chance of becoming criminals themselves. Not only can people become criminals because of their family but they can also become criminals because of the environment that they surround themselves in. This is where nature versus nurture comes into play. A person’s nature is their genetic makeup, basically meaning that a person’s nature is the genes they get from their parents. Also, a person’s genotype, one’s genetic makeup based on the sequencing of the nucleotides we term, provides them with physical traits that set the stage for certain behaviors (56).
Introduction I. Look around this school and think about exactly how many students are here daily. How would you feel if I told you that one out of every twenty five people are sociopaths(Pratt 2006).The fact of the matter is that not everyone who is a sociopath is a serial killer but oddly enough it has been proven that all serial killers are sociopaths. II. I have chosen serial killers that I found intriguing and that I thought not many people would know a lot about.
) This means that they aren 't able to feel much empathy causing them to commit such violent crimes (Keysers, 2013). Conclusion: Review: Since we established that psychopath have certain characteristic or traits such as speech pattern, abnormal sexual behavior and lack of emotional control. You will now be able to identify a psychopath End-Statement
