The Criminal Mind And Mindhunter By John Douglas

Serial murders are considered to be one of the most heinous and formidable crimes that can be committed, even though serial murders account for less than one percent of all crimes committed in a given year. Serial murders further appalls society in that these killers do not possess any of the basic human emotions such as, empathy, conscious, or remorse. Throughout the decades, the fascination of serial killers have consumed mainstream society, with numerous television shows being produced including, Dexter, Hannibal, and the Following. However, an exaggerated depiction of these killers within the mass media still continues to blur fact and fiction together. As a result, real-life serial killers such as the infamous Gary Ridgway, also known as “The Green River Killer” and fictional ones like Norman Bates have become tremendously interchangeable in the mind of many individuals.

How must it be to live in a criminal mind? How must it be to completely loose the sense of normality? I heartily believe that Forensic Psychology holds the key which opens an entire world of psychopathologies, mental deformities, twisted thoughts and repressed needs of bestiality. Besides letting you sink into the most dangerous minds, it gives you the armament to combat everything hiding in there- knowledge.

The American public's fascination with serial murders has not only continuously kept these violent men and women in the public eye, but has also inspired the creation of films that demonstrate and dramatize the heinous crimes committed by these people. One such film program that adapts crimes committed by serial murderers, and the murderers themselves, is The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Through a combination of criminology, psychology, and sociology, The Silence of the Lambs is able to not only inform audiences of the dangerous types of people that currently inhabit society, but also of the individuals who study serial murderers with the intent of apprehending them before they commit any more crimes and to help identify these murderers victims.

Serial murder crime though rare, is not a a new phenomenon. This crime has been committed for centuries and will continue to be a crime that is committed throughout the world. It is unfortunate and scary that this is probably one of the most serious of crimes that cannot be prevented. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, serial murderers commit their crimes because they want to. Rehabilitation is not obtainable for serial killers due to their inability for remorse and empathy, or to see people as people and not objects(Knight 2006). This research paper will focus primarily on serial murder within the U.S. First and foremost, a legal definition provided by the U.S. Department of Justice will be presented to set forth the discussion of this research paper. As follows will be a detailed discussion explaining serial killer typologies with the use of examples of known serial killers in the U.S. Types of serial killers are: power oriented, mission oriented, visionary, and hedonistic, each typology will be clearly defined and explained. Some serial killers can have a mixture of each typology’s characteristic. Serial killers that will be discussed and used as examples to represent the content of this research paper will be, John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Robert Berdella, Jeffery Dahmer, and lastly the most prolific serial killer in American history, Gary Ridgeway. Problems with studying serial killing, are that because of rarity and access. Most of what we think

Several serial killers have a definitive and common personality profile. Almost every major social, biological, psychological behavioural influence that has been seriously suggested as playing a role in causing crime has been thoroughly thought as potentially

In order to understand how serial killers are affected by social changes, one must understand their psyche. A serial killer is "sexually motivated but the underlying reason is power" (Newton 197). The killer wants power over his victims. Serial killing, itself, is a "distinctly modern phenomenon, a product of relatively recent social and cultural conditions to which criminologists can provide fresh insight by accentuating the broad institutional frameworks, motivations, and opportunity structures within which serial killing occurs" (Haggerty and Ellerbrok 6).  According to John E. Douglas, co-author of Mindhunters, the reason that murders committed by serial killers, at first blush, seem to be senseless crimes is because serial killers are often "motivated by a strong emotional feeling" (Dokterman), such as hate, vengeance, or regret. FBI agents have identified domination,

This literature review focuses on serial killers from a psychological viewpoint while trying to answer the question, “Are serial killers born to kill or are they bred to kill?” Firstly, this review will define a serial killer and the different kinds of killers, then it will take a look at different case studies of children who fantasized about mass killing and identify similarities between the cases attempt to find a way to possibly prevent their fantasies from becoming reality. The debate of nature vs. nurture is also discussed as psychologists and researchers come to the conclusion that environmental factors play a bigger role in the developmental character of a person than genetics, but there is still no definite answer as to why some individuals grow up with the urge to murder other people and/or animals.

Throughout time there has always been mentally disturbed people, but the problem is that they are on the streets and not in a psych ward. As you read this paper you will learn about some of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century and the horrific atrocities they committed. We will go inside the mind of a serial killer and discover what drives them to kill people and also why some serial killers love to devour their victims, keep their limbs and even continue to preform sexual acts with them even after there are already dead.

How do the minds of serial killers function? What drives them to commit such violent and horrific crimes? For some serial killers their motive is based on either emotional or physical trauma they experienced throughout their lives. Although for one of America’s most infamous killers of the twentieth century, Jeffrey Dahmer both the physical and emotional traumas he experienced are what drove him to commit some of the most gruesome crimes America has ever seen.

It is very rare to study something that is as fascinating yet as bewildering as the distinctive paradox, that is the human brain. Every individuals conflicting behaviour and elaborate character that make them the person they are must have a justification. I originally established a fascination in forensic psychology as I read about a sequence of homicides committed by Gary Ridgway, otherwise known as the “Green River Killer”. Upon discovery of this case, questions began to pervade in my head about what may be the cause for an individual to execute such things, and just how someone’s mind could be so peculiarly dissimilar to my own.

Richard Ramirez once said, “Normal, ordinary people do not think like a serial killer. They have no conception of what is going on in a killer’s mind, how he operates.” Psychologists today have begun to investigate what areas of the brain bring about the characteristics of a serial killer to finally have the ability to understand a killer’s thoughts. Our world’s continuous advancement of technology is able to give us a better understanding of why these people do such heinous acts and also continue to become smarter with our 21st century technology. Many show childhood symptoms of these thoughts, while others do not.

The Mind of a Serial Killer Olympia Hernandez LE300J I & I L Capstone: Serial Killers as Heroes in Popular Culture Instructor: Donna Spehar September 22, 2014 The Mind of a Serial Killer What do serial killers have in common? What early signs are shown and what characteristics are portrayed? Can a serial killer be prevented from killing? These are a few of many questions that society may ask “Why are they compelled to do what they do”.

The idea of serial killers and the role they play in our lives has fascinated people since the cases of Jack the Ripper and H.H. Holmes, although serial murderers existed before them. The infamous and mysterious complexities of these cases have puzzled and terrified people for over a century. Perhaps due to the deviant and taboo nature of serial killings, people in our society and others have tried to attribute many reasons for why they occur. In this search for answers, one major scope has been widely left out of the research: the sociological imagination. It is through this method of understanding that I will attempt to explain the development of serial killers and apply theories that explain the frequency of serial killings in our society.

Though serial killer may have a fairly specific definition, there is no single precise profile for the serial killer. Each has a unique identity, set of motives and methods, and a unique psychopathology that would attempt to explain the mens rea, that is, the purpose or intent of the murder. “Psychological profiling is an investigative tool used strictly to answer the how of the crime, not the why” (Severence et al, 1992; Lanier and Henry, 1998). By examining the psychological make-up of the serial killer, it is often possible to explain the behavior, which might make it a useful tool in solving crimes.

The events of the past can hold a great influence on the actions and behaviors of the future. From being raised in a supportive and loving home, to one that is full of neglect and abuse, each event can potentially impact the future of an individual. In the case of serial killers, there has been some debate on whether the evil ones are made or born; does it happen because of a genetic factor, environmental factor, or is it simply they addicted to the feeling of slaughtering another individual’s life? Although, the most important key in finding the truth deals with the past and shapes the outcome of the future. Upon viewing in a psychological stance, there is no clear understanding of why one aspect that most serial killers share, namely