Abnormal Psychology Research Paper
Stephanie Quinn
April 2, 2012
Abnormal Psychology
Dr. Azar Dickens
Diagnostic Evaluation
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer
Born on May 21, 1960
Date of evaluation: 1992 sometime before the trial
Background Information: Jeffrey Dahmer was a sex offender and serial killer mainly between the years 1978 and 1991. He is well known for his severely atypical behaviors. Among his outward manners that are recognized as abnormal are paraphilia-specifically necrophilia and sexual sadism. Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims, whom were boys and men, suffered from rape, violence, dismemberment and finally their murders. Dahmer’s slow progression of killings soon turned into an obsession, which would later land him in prison with a sentence for fifteen life terms or a total of 957 years in prison. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born to Joyce and Lionel Dahmer in Wisconsin, and eight years later moved with his family to Ohio. In his younger years, between the ages of ten and fifteen, Jeffrey became more and more antisocial; he was very quiet and socially distant from his family members and had signs of anhedonia (loss of interest in hobbies and interactions with people). Discovered later, this behavior may have been caused by peers at school consistently mocking Jeffrey without him putting up any defense for himself. His fetishes and discoveries of unique hobbies began in a biology class in 9th grade where Jeffrey and his classmates dissected a fetal pig. At the end of the class, Jeffrey collected the remains of the pig and returned to the house, deciding to keep its skeleton. Dahmer’s fascination with this initial incident began to grow and carry over to other animals, such as dogs and cats. In an interview with Stone Phillips Dahmer says, “There may have been some violence involved, some underlying subconscious feelings of violence...I just...it was a compulsion, it became a compulsion. As this continued throughout his teenage years, Jeffrey Dahmer began to
April 2, 2012
Abnormal Psychology
Dr. Azar Dickens
Diagnostic Evaluation
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer
Born on May 21, 1960
Date of evaluation: 1992 sometime before the trial
Background Information: Jeffrey Dahmer was a sex offender and serial killer mainly between the years 1978 and 1991. He is well known for his severely atypical behaviors. Among his outward manners that are recognized as abnormal are paraphilia-specifically necrophilia and sexual sadism. Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims, whom were boys and men, suffered from rape, violence, dismemberment and finally their murders. Dahmer’s slow progression of killings soon turned into an obsession, which would later land him in prison with a sentence for fifteen life terms or a total of 957 years in prison. Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born to Joyce and Lionel Dahmer in Wisconsin, and eight years later moved with his family to Ohio. In his younger years, between the ages of ten and fifteen, Jeffrey became more and more antisocial; he was very quiet and socially distant from his family members and had signs of anhedonia (loss of interest in hobbies and interactions with people). Discovered later, this behavior may have been caused by peers at school consistently mocking Jeffrey without him putting up any defense for himself. His fetishes and discoveries of unique hobbies began in a biology class in 9th grade where Jeffrey and his classmates dissected a fetal pig. At the end of the class, Jeffrey collected the remains of the pig and returned to the house, deciding to keep its skeleton. Dahmer’s fascination with this initial incident began to grow and carry over to other animals, such as dogs and cats. In an interview with Stone Phillips Dahmer says, “There may have been some violence involved, some underlying subconscious feelings of violence...I just...it was a compulsion, it became a compulsion. As this continued throughout his teenage years, Jeffrey Dahmer began to