Serial_Killers_and_What_Makes_Them_Tick

Serial Killers and What Makes Them Tick Every minute of the day all over the world a murder is being committed. Most of the time this is a single murder committed by a single person. The murdering stops after this one crime. However there are those that continue murdering one after another. This is the person that most concerns me. The question is what makes this person continue to murder and become a “serial killer”' What is inside this person or what makes this person tick' This is a question that psychologists have been asking for years. Is it biological, cultural, hormonal or genetic' Can this person control themselves' The serial killer has been around for hundreds of years. One of the first well-known serial killer was “Jack the Ripper” in London. Most of the serial killers that we know have been in the last 20-30 years. These included Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Henry Lee Lucas and Ted Bundy. All of these killers were classified as psychopaths due to their responses to the psychiatrist to why they kill. They were diagnosed by their antisocial behavior, lack of conscience and emotional emptiness. Due to the increase in the number of serial killers in the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has studied the various killers and defines a serial killer as 1) has a minimum of three to four victims, 2) is a stranger to the victim, 3) the murder is rarely for money or material items- the motive is psychological, 4) the victim is “symbolic” for the killer, and 5) the victims were vulnerable such as a runaway or a prostitute. The FBI also shows that the killer has the following environmental factors. They include: 1) 60% of the individuals had lost a parent, 2) they were deprived of love or nurturing as a child- the parents were absent, 3) there was inconsistent discipline- the father was stern while the mother was soft and allowing the child to get away with things, 4) the parents would belittle the child at home but act as the “happy family” in public. When you hear about a serial killer, the first thing that comes in your mind is: This person must be insane. What person in their right mind would get enjoyment out of torturing and killing a person (especially numerous victims over a period of time)' Or this person is just evil. In the studies that have been conducted by the psychologists involved with the serial killer(s) court trials, it has been shown, in certain cases, which genetics and physiological factors contribute to the creation of the psychopath or the serial killer. When the serial killer has a genetic disability there is abnormal brain wave activity which the serial killer will never outgrow. There is a maturity of the brain as the serial killer ages. This is the reason why most serial killers are under the age of 50. Also the area of the brain that is affected the most is the frontal lobe, which is the part of the brain that controls memory and one’s emotions. If this part of the brain is impaired and the parents of the child are irresponsible and abusive, this is the beginning of the creation of the serial killer. Many of the serial killers are schizophrenic. They hear voices which control them and tell them what they need to do: kill. One serial killer, Henry Mullin, heard his father’s voice which would command him to go out and kill someone. He believed that by killing people he was actually preventing something that was in no way related to killing. He believed that he was preventing a catastrophe such as earthquake or a tidal wave.