The Effects Of Serial Killers

The children were divided into three group- all with equal numbers of boys and girls. They were then shown the play room with the bobo doll (a 3ft doll which when hit does not fall over) and other toys. One group, was the control group who did not receive any role model. The two groups either had a female or male role model act aggressively towards a bobo doll whilst saying words like ‘boom’ or had the female/male role model act passively towards the bobo doll and ignore it all together. This was the modelling phase. All the children were taken separately into a playroom where they played with the toys. The researcher then told them that the toys were reserved for other children and that they could not play with them- this was so that the
If a child grew up in a hostile environment surrounded by violence then it suggests they could grow up becoming violent. This could be a reason why serial killers are the way they are now. The majority of serial killers grew up being abused. (Schechter, Everitt, 2006)
Opposing Argument: Influences from Media

Bandura et al. (1963) did a replication of his previous study, but looked at the effect of role models in media. There were two role models- male and female. Again, there were 72 participants (36 boys and 36 girls) from the same nursery. They were divided into three groups of 24. One group, the control group, observed real life models acting aggressively towards a bobo doll. The second group observed the same role models, but acting aggressively in a film. The last group watched a cartoon of the characters acting aggressively. The participants in the real life role models group, were brought to a room individually and then left. The room had toys that they could play with. The model was in the room and after playing with a few toys, turned towards the bobo doll in the room and started acting aggressively towards it, by kicking it and punching it repeatedly on the nose. The children who
Though both sides of the argument have evidence to verify both, they do not necessarily disprove the other side of the argument Even within the different biological components that potentially make up a serial killer, it is not probable that you can differ from which of these have contributed to the makings of the serial killer. Perhaps they all have an equal input? The same goes for the environmental factors. Though we can try to use neuroscience and family history to find out whether someone has the potential to become a serial killer, it does not necessarily mean that someone will become a serial killer. Maybe there are other factors which have not yet been regarded that could have an effect on becoming a serial killer. Criminologists have assigned three warning signs which they have dubbed ‘The Macdonald Triad’: Enuresis (bed wetting), animal cruelty and fire-setting (Ramsland, 2012). However, these warnings signs, especially enuresis, can arise in any child and so they are not strong predictions for a serial killers. Though it is said that if bed wetting is continued after 12 years old, then it could be a sign of something deeper. In the future, it might become possible to predict if a child will become a serial killer, but for now, something like this is not