Psychological causes that are related to the psyche of the serial killer include the aforementioned Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Genetic predisposition and makeup are also given as a formative developmental cause of this crime. However, psychological and genetic aspects are often inadequate to explain the development of the serial killer. While a convicted killer like Ted Bundy was subject to forms of psychological abuse as a child, yet one of the most notorious serial killers, Jeffery Dahmer, was "..., born to two parents who loved and wanted him. His child hood was a happy one. He loved animals, and did not have a bit of trouble. " However, "When he reached the sixth grade, there was a downfall, when he began to fear others. "(Creekmore)
This would suggest that there are other factors at play in the development of the killer, such as social influences and experiences. For example, one of the main features of this type of criminal is that the serial killer is an individual who does not conform to the common social norms and values in society. This in turn can be related to psychological aspects such as lack of restraint and internal control. Researchers such as Egger state that in most cases the serial killer is not mentally ill in any accepted medical sense but rather that they are sick in a different sense.
Though their crimes may be sickening, they are not sick in either a medical or a legal sense. Instead, the serial killer is typically a sociopathic personality who lacks internal control -- guilt or conscience -- to guide his own behavior, but has an excessive need to control and dominate others. He definitely knows right from wrong, definitely realizes he has committed a sinful act, but simply doesn't care about his human prey.
Egger et al. 5)
There has therefore been an increasing amount of research into the way that societal influences, in combination with various psychological predispositions, can be a central causative factor in the development of a serial killer. An example of a sociological theory that helps...
The theory states that there is a link between loss of meaning and a breakdown of social cohesion and unity and the increase in violent crime. This theory could also help to explain the increase in the phenomenon of killing in developed countries like the United States. As thinkers like Colin Wilson states; "If man is deprived of meaning beyond his everyday routine, he becomes disgusted and bitter, and eventually violent. A society that provides no outlet for man's idealist passions is asking to be torn apart by violence" (Egger et al. 19)
In other words, the cause of this crime includes psychological as well as sociological components and the theory of anomie stresses that a loss of moral parameters and guidelines in a society may be a central aspect in the reasons for the increase of serial killing in the world.
Works Cited
Antisocial Personality Disorder. September 20, 2008. http://www.karisable.com/crserial.htm
Creekmore B. A psychological look into serial killers. September 20, 2008. http://www.helium.com/items/203554-a-psychological-look-into-serial-killers
Egger, Steven a., et al. Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon. New York:
Praeger Publishers, 1990.
Freeman S. How Serial Killers Work. September 20, 2008. http://people.howstuffworks.com/serial-killer.htm
Homosexual Serial Killers. September 20, 2008. http://www.adherents.com/misc/hsk.html
Port T. Antisocial Personality Disorder:Symptoms, Diagnosis & Prognosis of APD, ASPD, and Psychopathy. September 20, 2008. http://personalitydisorders.suite101.com/article.cfm/antisocial_personality_disorder
SERIAL KILLER HIT LIST - PART 1. September 20, 2008. http://www.mayhem.net/Crime/serial.html
Shareef S. What Makes Serial Killers Tick? September 20, 2008. http://www.usanews.net/_archive2002/0000007e.htm
