Inside the Minds of Killers Around the world, several new cases of serial homicides are reported every year. (Vronsky 15). Ninety-seven percent of serial murders are committed by psychopaths: someone who lacks a conscience, feels no remorse, cares exclusively for his own pleasures and cannot empathize with the suffering of his victims (Levin and Fox 4). The psychopathic state is not a mental illness but is a behavioral or personality disorder (Vronsky 245). When these behavioral components are combined with the desire to kill, an addiction is triggered and rarely broken. The psychology of a psychopathic serial killer produces specific character traits that cannot be altered therefore rehabilitation and imprisonment will be unsuccessful in treatment. …show more content…
One important difference between an average person’s brain and a psychopath’s is the different paralimbic systems. The paralimbic system is a "behaviour circuit of the brain which is correlated to processing emotions’’ and self control. People with stunted paralimbic systems do not empathize with others and have strong self control. Psychopaths also show abnormal balances of dopamine and adrenaline (Vronsky 247). Dopamine is released in rewarding situations and adrenaline is released in stressful situations. This unbalance is innate and can factor into violent behavior. Low dopamine activity is common within psychopaths and drives them to do thrill-seeking activities to get more dopamine. These activities also play on their desire for adrenaline. There are “drugs that influence the monoamine neurotransmitter systems [that] can reduce desire for adrenaline” and dopamine but nothing can change it (Fallon 206). In other words, most psychopathic psychological traits are innate but their environment can influence …show more content…
They do not have the same morals and thought process as normal people. Psychopaths have a diminished capacity for fear and anxiety (Vronsky 245). Serial killers “are controlled and are aware of what they are doing” and know what the possible outcomes of the crimes will be (Vronsky 11). They know what they are doing is socially disapproved of and has strong consequences but they do it anyways to fulfill their twisted desires. Without feeling anxiety and fear, serial killers do not feel threatened by police and repeat their crimes. Psychopathic serial killers also have a lack of empathy for the pain of victims and a lack of remorse (Levin and Fox 4). Since they cannot empathize to the suffering of others, they do not have guilt during and after their crimes and will repeat them. Their objective is to satisfy themselves, not anyone else. While they are missing many characteristics,
The mind of a serial killer is not right and is considered a psychopath. This can be caused by brain damage. “After Henry Lee Lucas was convicted, he underwent numerous neurological tests that revealed fairly extensive brain damage. Small contusions indicated a frontal lobe injury, and there was damage to his temporal lobe and pools of spinal fluid at the base of his brain” (Vronsky, 2005). Lucas’s brain damage is just one cause. Another common reason is that the serial killer would of had an abusive childhood. “Traditionally, the answer has been a horrific upbringing. Most serial killers were abused as children, many hideously so.” (Sandi, n.d) This can have a range of different abusive activities. One example would be an abusive mother. The killer’s mother would have abused him therefore making him hate women. That would be an example of how a man killing female serial killer would relate. He would physically abuse the women just like his mother abused him. Another form of abuse is an alcoholic parent. The serial killer would wait outside of a bar and look to see of his potential victims were under the influence. If they were then they would most likely kill the person. A serial killer can also have a euphoric moment. He could see his
In an article called “The Traits of A Serial Killer,” by Simon (2004), psychopaths are not “created” over night, but rather their behavior can be connected all the way to their childhood. What trauma a child experiences plays a major role in the rest of his or her life. A serial killer, most of the time,
I am doing a research paper of Psychopaths. A Psychopath is a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior and are sometimes considered synonymous with sociopaths and is defined as a personality disorder. It has been estimated that around 30% are psychopaths in the US and it is lower in the UK at around 23% but it is still a larger amount than the overall population. Psychopaths cannot feel guilt, remorse, or empathy therefore, can commit any and many crimes and not feel any emotion towards their action. That is one reason why Psychopaths can and are considered very dangerous and violent.
Although the prevalence of the serial killer is ultimately unknown, many researchers agree about “one-half of 1%” of homicides are determined to be the product of serial killers (Homant & Kennedy, 2014). In order to prevent future victims, improve the ability of law enforcement to detect and apprehend, potentially incorporate treatment for current serial killers, and increase the ability to detect potential future serial killers it is important to identify characteristics that may cause one to become a serial killer. The question researchers have strived to answer is are serial killers born or are there explicit factors that contribute to someone ultimately becoming a serial killer? Researchers have potentially exposed several factors that potentially contribute to one becoming a serial killer. These conditions are notably greater in prevalence in known serial killers compared to the general population. These factors consist of family dynamics/parental characteristics, experienced child abuse (physical, sexual, and neglect), and psychological disorders.
Have you ever wondered why people do the things they do? Everyday we question ourselves about activities we see others performing and wonder what could possibly be their reasoning behind it all. Asking more questions is something we should all be doing. Some researchers have taken this curiosity to the next level and have asked themselves “Are serial killers born or created?” Are the actions of these psychopaths brought on by different events, or are they simply born with the ability to take another person 's life? These are the million dollar questions that everyone should be asking about serial killers. Something is different about those who are capable
Many serial killers and mass murderers have been interviewed and tested to reveal why they killed and raped large groups of people. There are several factors as to why they perform such acts. My findings in this paper show that there is a logically explanation as to why they do what they do. In no way is killing or violence justified, but people have been through things we couldn’t imagine being put through. Many of these killers were put through harsh abuse physically, mentally, and emotionally which haunted them in their futures. This caused them to resolve their issues through inhumane ways. One who was put through sexual abuse became lust serial killers by wanting to rape the victims or sexually punish them. They want their
The minds and the inner workings of a serial killer have been analyzed, investigated, and pondered upon for many years. “Questions such as what makes his or her mind tick? Does he or she target one fitting victim? What are his or her motives?” are some of the most common that spring to mind. We all hold the power of being aggressive, of encompassing unthinkable and destructive thoughts of “torture, sadism and murder”, but we do not all become serial murderers (Knight, 21). This deviant behavior is often feared because it displays a small but troubled percentage of people who immerse in the torture and death of other
Serial killer, psychopath’s and murders, what makes them tick? Is it a mental disorder or are they a victim of their own circumstance? Is it a nurture or nature approach? Are we shaping these people with a corrupt and judgmental society? Can we change the outcome of someone becoming a cold and calculating murderer? The only way to know is to look at the blueprints of a serial killer and analyze the details and possibilities.
Serial killers are not a new development. They have been among us since the beginning of time. Evidence of this can be seen by reviewing some of the world’s most high-profile crimes; some of which remain unsolved. Serial killers are difficult to detect. They are able to move through society, masquerading as normal, healthy individuals. A serial sexual sadistic killer is a specific type of predator. Their crimes suggest that they are void of any feelings or emotion. However, theories suggest that their sadistic behavior is motivated by torturing their victims.
Many experts in the criminology field are intrigued by serial killers and their minds. When studying serial killers, these experts have indicated that there is a positive correlation between the behavioural disorder Antisocial personality disorder which is better know to the average person as being a psychopath, and between serial killers. The definition of a psychopath is “someone who knows right from wrong but does not care . . .” (Bain, Colyer, Hawes, and Newton). The definition of a serial killer is someone who kills on at least three separate occasions (according to the FBI handbook) and take some form of a break between murders (Ryan). The most common characteristics are that they are attractive and charming, lack empathy, and are manipulative
There are many symptoms of psychopathy but only a few pertain to emotions. Some of the emotional symptoms of psychopathy are traits that include egocentrism, manipulative, and lack of empathy and guilt. Psychopaths are egocentric. In their mind they are the center of the universe and the whole world should revolve around them. Because they are egocentric psychopaths believe they know best and make their own rules to follow. (Hare, 38). Psychopaths have a natural talent to manipulate individuals into doing just about anything. As the leading expert on psychopathy, Dr. Robert Hare states that “Lying, deceiving, and manipulation are natural talents for psychopaths.” (Hare, 46). Therefore, psychopaths use their talents in order to get their way because they are self-centered. It is commonly known that psychopaths lack guilt. This lack of guilt inhibits them from showing
Serial killers’ unavailability of remorse or guilt is linked with their “lack of a conscience that gives them the remarkable ability to rationalize their behavior and to shrug off personal responsibility for actions that cause shock and disappointment to family, friends, or associates” (42). Due to the absence of that little voice present in most people's minds, serial killers are like robots in view of the fact that they are unemotional and indifferent about the lives of others. They can, and do, ruthlessly slay people just as easily and with no feeling as I can crunch an irritating bug beneath my shoe. Nevertheless, we must one day prevail in discovering a way to tame these so far untransformable, merciless psychopaths so society can better function without the disruption of occasional unchecked
Findings in this article are designed to ask questions and gain a better understanding of what a serial killers mind is like, why serial killers are so popular in American pop culture and, the basic fascination and interest in serial killer cases and, review basic facts and ideas of how we can stop or try to limit cases of serial killer violence and crime, through studies and research. Covering a range of historical, medical and, scientific views in a wide variety of cases and findings, the goal is to expand on the ideas and theories of what causes people to become serial killers.
“The serial killer ‘is an entirely different criminal,’ ”The term serial killer is misleading on the ground that each murder is intended to be the last.” We see them as a figure of “the dark side of human potential,” but they believe they’re “on a heroic quest for the biggest score possible” They believe they are “the archetypal figure of impurity, the representative of a world which needs cleansing.” However, society knows that serial killers are not heroes, and they’re not cleansing the world. “The figure of the serial killer is violent impurity personified, and it is a construction that necessitates figures of violent purity to confront it.” While it can be argued whether having mental disorders should prevent a serial killer from being capitally punished, it is proven that many serial killers suffer from “paranoid schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, or psychopathology.” It’s even said that “this crime is actually a form of disease. Its carriers are serial killers who suffer from a variety of crippling and eventually fatal symptoms, and its immediate victims are the people struck down seemingly at random by the disease carriers.” Serial killers usually have a stressor in their life that makes them start killing, and when they do “homicidal mania becomes ‘a necessity… linked to the very existence of a psychiatry which had made itself autonomous but needed thereafter to secure a basis for its intervention by gaining recognition as a component of public
Today, society will be presented about serial killers and why do they do what they do. These types of people are nothing new in today’s world; they have been around for centuries. These immoral creatures are all extremely violent and brutal monsters; they have an unusual urge to kill. Why do these people develop urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing once they have done it? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing, and if so what is it? What is a serial killer? How do they choose their victims? Is this a competition that society just hasn’t figured out yet? These questions and many more are reasons why society needs to know more about serial killers. However, the most interesting questions are controversial; the big one is