Biology contributes to killers. As people in today 's society, we are constantly being bombarded with the crazy actions that mankind is capable of. We watch the news and hear about murders, or even read a book about a mysterious killer. As we go through these pieces of reality, one can 't help but be struck by the thought--what causes a person to act so violently? There have been many studies done to try and find an answer. For a crime such as serial killing, there are two thoughts. The first idea is that serial killing is caused by an abnormality in the frontal lobe of the brain. The second idea is that serial killers are bred by circumstance which means they have certain genes also known as the negative gene that makes them prone to becoming a killer.…
What leads a person to commit such horrible acts? What could possibly be so terrible that it…
Many of the most watched television shows have a basis of crime, and murderers are almost always involved in these shows. What is rarely explored in these shows however is how the psychopathic killers become this way. Neuroscientist and Professor Jim Fallon has been studying the brains of psychopathic killers. He has developed three factors based on analyzing a plethora of brains to determine how psychopathic killers come to be. What this lecture helps open for exploration is why places with a small amount of violence stay that way, and violent places continue to produce killers.…
This is a good family movie that can show the viewer’s how some people prey on one another. This movie reminded me of the times my brother and I didn’t get along. It shows how different families are and how they treat one another. Sadly this movie also shows how family members can be so cold blooded. This movie duplicates real life situations where innocent People get hurt, family loyalty gets divided and couples end up in divorce.…
Apparently, all serial killers are murderers, but not all murderers are serial killers according to an article titled "Serial Killers: Nature vs. Nurture." There are major differences between murderers and serial killers and according to this article,“ Serial killers are only driven by instinct and a desire to kill. Due to these sexual desires and the need to fulfill their arousing fantasies it often urges these individuals to murder those who are complete strangers. Therein lays the fundamental difference.” Now, the article discusses the fact that typically a serial killer’s profile is that of a white male between the ages of 20 and 30 who commonly target their victims within the area of their living space. Note that not all serial killers fit this profile and this is apparent through history, as women have been known to develop into serial killers as well. Psychotics and psychopaths can have personalities in common, such as dull emotions, but they tend to diverge regarding whether he/she can mentally stay within reality. Psychopaths are cunning and manipulative, but they do not experience hallucinations nor delusions. They do not hear the voices of strangers in their minds nor do they hold inaccurate theories about the world. However, no matter his/her sex, age, or race a serial killer is a serial killer. Thus, the question remains: Was it nature or what it nurture? Could it be both? It is evident that nurture takes the principal role in the creation of a serial killer. According to Gina, who wrote the article "Nurture Over Nature: Mental Illness and Traumatic Life Events," while nature does play a chief role in their creation and is accountable for a decent part of the process, it does not take it…
Upbringing, I believe, has a heavy weight on shaping people's personalities. Addiction is a new way for me to look at the problem of serial killings and has explained some things for me, such as, why do they continue to kill even when the police are hot on their tracks? Sometimes it would be smart for a serial killer to lay low when they become high profile, but their addiction doesn't allow them to do this. We still might not have a complete understanding of how a serial killers mind works, but I believe we are slowly progressing. Recent confessions of serial killers has also given us a priceless tool for looking into the mind of these people. When BTK was taken into custody, he finally began to confess and didn't stop. He ended up spending thirty three hours in interrogation, walking investigators through his crimes and telling them what was going through his mind. John Wayne Gacy allowed psychologists to ask him questions up until he was put to death. These encounters gave what we call "normal people" a chance to look into the head of a psychopath. Maybe someday we can pinpoint the exact factors for creating a serial killer, and prevent them from a full…
These factors are biological, i.e. high testosterone hormone level or using substances, pathologies such as Autism or Attention Deflect Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), film industry, social learning that become a criminal or be a serial killer can be learnt by observation and applying a reinforcement, developmental process and social environment like education level or availability of the crime. In my point of view, there is no only one important factor which plays in a role in regards to be a serial killer in light of the fact that these all factors depend on the each other. For example, both one person has a childhood problem and is impacted by one serial killers film e.g. he/she was isolated from their friends and as a consequence of that he/she feel alone and neglected. Following this, he watched one serial killers film who killed his/her friend because of the fact that they were ridiculed with the serial killer and he was both affected by the factors. In addition to this, serial killers come from our society so that all humans have a potential to become a serial killer. What is more, on the occasion of looking at these factors, serial killers not only are not insane people but also are not responsible for their actions. In my opinion, I believe that society, traumatic experience and biological factors result in being a serial killers. Therefore, they do not have their autonomy.…
A good portion of the reasons why serial killers have the urge to kill is due to different mental illnesses. An example of this would be Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Symptoms of this mental illness include “being abused, manipulation of others, disregarding right and wrong, often lying, a lot of times being violent, not learning from bad behavior”, and the list goes on and on (Mayo Clinic Staff). Most serial killers have these symptoms such as ted Bundy, Charles Manson, etc. so it makes it hard to find a reason why this wouldn’t be a piece of the puzzle in what makes them who they are. Charles Manson once said when asked who he was “Nobody. I'm nobody. I'm a tramp, a bum, a hobo, I’m a box car, and a jugger wang, and straight razor if you get to close to me” (Charles Manson). I think this shows a piece of his ASPD because at the end he…
One of the most famous questions of all time asks, “Why do serial killers, kill?” Everyone is different in their own way, so no one can really answer that question specifically. Dr. Helen Morrison, author of “My Life Among The Serial Killers” interviewed ten famous serial killers to try to answer this question. She found that almost all of them had similar characteristics besides killing. Unlike what most people believe, she surprisingly found that these characteristics did not include insanity, child abuse, or drug abuse. Instead she explains that their most common trait is that they have an emotional age of an infant. Other characteristics include fluent lying, the lacking ability to comprehend that they did anything wrong, and no memory of the murders however when they do remember they show no mercy.…
Serial Killers usually murder not for terror or revenge, but instead for the thrill of taking lives. Approximately two- thirds of serial killers find motivation by the thrill of power or sexual sadism (Buss 106). Serial Killers enjoy the excitement, the sexual satisfaction, as well as the dominance and power that they achieve over the lives of their victims. On the other hand, the reason mass murders kill can range from revenge to hatred. The most publicized type of mass murder involves the indiscriminate shooting of strangers in a public place by a lone gunman. Many massacres are considered suicidal rampages because before the gunman takes their own life; the gunman intends to get even with everyone he or she holds responsible. Thus, showing even though mass murderers and serial killers have different reasons for the actions they take, the reasons are still beyond understanding for…
Mental instability, or any other mental condition, could lead to serial killers to kill. The Zodiac Killer is a perfect example of this. Even though he was never caught, many think that he could have had some sort of mental instability. In the notes that the Zodiac sent to the San Francisco police, it showed his instability. In the book Serial Killers & Mass Murderers: Profiles of the World’s Most Barbaric Criminal written by Nigel Cawthorne, a writer that studied at the University of London. In Cawthorne’s book he talks mentions the Zodiac Killer and some of the notes that the Zodiac sent to the San Francisco police. “ It read: ‘I like killing people because it is so much more fun than killing wild game in the forrest [sic] because man is the most dangerous of all to kill….’”(Cawthorne 97). This shows that the Zodiac had some sort of mental instability that made him want to keep hunting and getting rare rewards that no other hunter would get from hunting wild game. That reward was fame, but not in the way that many would think of “being famous”. The Zodiac became extremely well known due to the fact that he took credit for all the people killed and would send notes and encrypted messages to the San Francisco…
Serial murder is a psychological crime in many aspects. It is a planned, thought out action. The crimes themselves are often committed in order for the killer to gain a sense of power, control, and domination. There must be psychological desires and/or perceived needs that are otherwise lacking in his or her life.…
Dennis Nilson stated "a mind can be evil without being abnormal". If this is the case, then what makes a serial killer tick? The definition of a serial killer is; a series of two or more murders committed as separate events usually, but not always, by one offender standing alone. (Brookes, 1988) Over the years, many murderers have been given this term. From the early days of Jack the Ripper, to the most recently publicized case of "the sniper", all have different motives and reasons to the crimes that they commit. Most of the serial killers suffer from mental illness/addictions or have had traumatic life experiences. This is not always the case though; some can also be racially motivated. The typical serial killer is a lower to middle class white male in his twenties to thirties. As children, they usually have a "triad" of symptoms which include bed wetting, playing with fire, and animal torturing. In one instance, Peter Kurten of Dusseldorf, Germany would have sexual relations with animals including pigs, goats, and sheep. While having sex with sheep, he would repeatedly stab them.…
Many things today confuse, yet enthrall the masses. War, murder, medical science, incredible rescues, all things you would see on The History Channel. There is another topic that is also made into documentaries however, serial killers. Dark twisted people that commit multiple murders are of interest to the population, but what caused them to be this way. What horrible tragic set of events could twist a man to murder one or many people. Could Schizophrenia, psychopathy, or sociopathy? Many people have researched this topic and believe that childhood trauma, heavy drugs during the growing phase of life, as well as many other things have twisted the minds of men such as Jeffery Dahmer, Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and David Berkowitz. Many say that their actions were preventable but many other believe that the warning signs were present and that their behavior could have been modified long before the murders began.…
All this can make someone get some type of resentment against the society and themselves, but there is a breakpoint where this person is no longer just a sociopath or have some type of resentment there is a point where this person loses its own mind sometimes for a belief that makes people think believe that that they have to do it, as in some extremist religious groups.…