Serial Killer Social Construction Theories
A serial killer can be defined as a person who kills more than four victims in a moderately short period of time usually 72 hours (Larson, 2011). Serial killings usually take place in different locations and have no connection with the preceding assassination. For a serial killer, substantial gain is not the drive for killing his victim. Instead, it is his craving of power and strength over the 'prey' that motivates him to take an innocent life (Giannangelo, 1996).

There are a number of theories that have been propounded in order to understand the origins, foundations and causes of the social construction of a serial killer. The first theory that needs to be discussed is the Social Process Theory. The childhood experiences of a serial murderer contribute significantly in his making into an atrocious 'animal'. The personality of a serial murderer is seriously affected by the early…...

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References

Egger, S.A., Doney, R.H., Ford, D.A., Hickey, E.W., Kiger, K., & Vetter, H. (1990). Serial Murder: A Synthesis of Literature and Research. Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon. Westport, CT: Praeger. Retrieved May 19, 2011, from  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9449994 

Giannangelo, S.J. (1996). The Psychopathology of Serial Murder: A Theory of Violence. Westport, CT: Praeger. Retrieved May 19, 2011, from  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14272416 

Knight, Z.G. (2006). Some Thoughts on the Psychological Roots of the Behavior of Serial Killers as Narcissists: an Object Relations Perspective. Social Behavior and Personality,34(10), 1189+. Retrieved May 19, 2011, from  http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5035144408 

Larson, D. Serial Murderers: The Construction.sociology.uiowa.edu. Retrieved May 19, 2011, from http://www.sociology.uiowa.edu/newsoc/awards/papers/larsond.htm

Dennis ader (the BTK Killer)
Dennis ader BTK: The Killer

Serial killers can be defined as people who murder at least three people in at least three separate occasions over a span of time mainly to satisfy themselves psychologically. While many of them suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder, they adapt and present a normal front to people around them - a state Hervey Cleckley refers to as 'mask of sanity'. Some of the murders may have some sexual aspect to them. The murders may have been executed in such a way that there was some common characteristic in them. This could be sex, occupation, race, etc. Nonetheless, the victim's and the serial killer's race is seldom the same (Vronsky, 2004).

It is not yet known who exactly coined the term serial killer. Many believe that obert essler, an FBI agent, or obert D. Keppel may have been the one who coined it. The…...

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References

LaBrode, R.T. (2007). Etiology of the psychopathic serial killer: An analysis of antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, and serial killer personality and crime scene characteristics. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 7(2), 151.

Bardsley, M., Bell, R., & Lohr, D. (n.d.). Legal Matters: Dennis Rader Update. Retrieved November 19, 2014, from Crime Library: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/btk/42.html

Bardsley, M., Bell, R., & Lohr, D. (n.d.). The BTK Story. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from Crime Library: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/btk/18.html

Bardsley, M., Bell, R., & Lohr, D. (n.d.). The Psychopathic Mind. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from Crime Library: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/unsolved/btk/40.html

Serial Killers
Early Signs of a Serial Killer

hile every serial killer is different, there are certain signs that tend to be common to them. Many of these signs are seen well before adulthood, some even as early as childhood. Some of the major signs include a tendency for aggressive behavior, a tendency to engage in sadist behavior, an obsession with examples of behavior linked to serial killing, and a lack of empathy for others. Each of these four major signs will now be looked at in more detail.

One aspect of behavior that is common to serial killers is a tendency for aggressive behavior.

Aggression is defined as "behavior intended to injure another person" (Seamon & Kenrick 592). This aggression can be physical, for example, in the form of hitting another person. It can also be non-physical, for example, calling someone a hostile name. Aggression often begins as early as childhood. At this…...

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Works Cited

Butcher, J.N., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J.M. Abnormal Psychology. Boston: MA: Pearson Education.

Erikson, E.H. Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1994.

Eron, L. The development of aggressive behavior from the perspective of a developing behaviorism. American Psychologist 42.5 (1987): 435-442.

Petersen, A.C. (1988). Adolescent development. Annual Review of Psychology 39: 583-608.

Serial Killers and Victim Selection
A serial killer is a term used to describe a person who undertakes a series of crimes exceeding three in number with the killing exhibiting a common characteristic (Knight & Zelda, 2006). The depicted common characteristic suggests the possibility that the murder crimes were undertaken by one person (Knight & Zelda, 2006). In the study of serial killers, criminologists have drawn links between the offenders and their victims. It is, however, notable that, between team serial killers and the individual murders, there exist some similarities and differences.

Team serial killers are made up of two or more killers undertaking their operations as a team to select their victim, to subdue them and kill them. Both team and individual serials killers are said to derive pleasure and a sense of control over their victims as the victim displays a sense of fear and helplessness in the eyes of…...

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References

Bartels, R., & Ceri P. (2009). "The Social Construction of a Serial Killer.." Feminism & Psychology, 19(2), 267-280.

Knight, & Zelda, G. (2006). "Some Thoughts on the Psychological Roots of the Behavior of Serial Killers as Narcissists: An Object Relations Perspective.." Social Behavior and Personality, 34(10), 1189-1206.

Winter, & David. (2007). Construing the Construction Processes of Serial Killers and Other Violent Offenders: (The Analysis of Narratives.). Journal of Constructivist Psychology 20(1), 1-22.

Ted Bundy -- Serial Killer
Ted Bundy: Serial Killer

Theodore obert Bundy aka Ted Bundy, was born Theodore obert Cowell to Louise Cowell on November 24, 1946 in Burlington, Vermont at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers. After spending eight weeks in the home Louise went to her parents house to raise her son in Philadelphia. Ted Bundy, serial killer grew up believing that his mother was his sister and his grandparents were his parents until in 1951 when Louise and Ted moved to Tacoma, Washington where Louise married Johnnie Bundy, a military cook. Ted Bundy was handsome wel liked and a good students. Following school Ted attended the University of Puget Sound and although he achieved academically he felt inferior to his classmates who were mostly a group of wealthy individuals. Ted Bundy's first love was a girl with long brunette hair and this young lady jilted him and he…...

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References

Marshall, Sara (2013) The Earthly Remains: Revisiting Ted Bundy. The Order of the Good Death. Retrieved from:  http://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/the-earthly-remains-revisiting-ted-bundy 

Montaldo, C. (2010) Serial Killer Ted Bundy. About.com. Retrieved from: http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/tedbundy.htm

Saltzman, Rachelle H. "This Buzz is for You': Popular Responses to the Ted Bundy Execution." Journal of Folklore Research. 32.2 (1995): 101-119. Web. 21 December 2012.

Some of the 'tools of trade' a killer could incorporate to torture his victims as he seeks to facilitate his perversion include but they are not limited to "leather slave collars, handcuffs, cigarette lighters, whips, and adhesive or duct tape" (Keppel and Birnes, 2008).
Information about Torture: Its elevance in Understanding a Killer's Signature

Peter Sutcliffe, yet another brutal and sadistic serial killer, can be seen as a classic example of those who went far than it was necessary to kill their victims. In some cases, killers tend to engage in a variety of other actions beyond the actual crime. These actions could include but they are not limited to unnecessary stabbing and some kind of bondage or binding. Peter Sutcliffe for instance was popular for repeatedly stabbing and slashing his victims.

Signature killers in the words of Flowers (2006) "tend to leave behind a 'calling card' or psychological signature unique to…...

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References

Barkan, S. & Bryjak, G. (2011). Fundamentals of Criminal Justice: A Sociological View (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Flowers, R.B. (2006). Sex Crimes: Perpetrators, Predators, Prostitutes, and Victims (2nd ed.). Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas.

Keppel, R.D. & Birnes, W.J. (2008). Serial Violence: An Analysis of Modus Operandi and Signature Characteristics of Killers. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.

Keppel, R.D. & Birnes, W.J. (2003). The Psychology of Serial Killer Investigations: The Grisly Business Unit. California: Academic Press.

Craig Price
The story of Craig Price is tragic, violent and troubling. For these very reasons it is important to investigate this man's life and childhood in order to better understand the effects of juvenile delinquency and how they possibly related to his behavior. The purpose of this paper is to describe and postulate how Craig Price's violent behavior relates to theories of juvenile delinquency and how he developed into a killer and a significant terror and burden to society. I will examine this case by providing background information and then applying three separate general theories of juvenile delinquency including, rational choice theory, social understanding theory and labeling theory. Included in each analysis will be the important factors in each theory that correspond or do not correspond to Price's case.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In September of 1989 three dead bodies were found in arwick RI. In an investigation into the serial killings of four…...

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Works Cited

Bell, R. (2004). Craig Price: confessions of a teenage serial killer. Crime Library, viewed 3 Dec, 2012. Retrieved from  http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/craig_price/index.html 

DuRant, R.H., & Cadenhead, C. (1994, April). Factors associated with the use of violence among urban black adolescents. Journal of Public Health, 84, 4.

"Juvenile Delinquency." United Nations World Youth Report 2003. Retrieved from  http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/ch07.pdf 

Lahey, B. et al. (2003). Cases of Conduct Disorder and Juvenile Delinquency. Guilford Press, New York. Retrieved from der_Wikstrom.pdfhttp://www.wjh.harvard.edu/soc/faculty/sampson/articles/2003_CausesConductOr

Orbitofrontal Cortex and the Serial Killer
According to Portales, "what lies behind the eyes" of the serial killer "is the key to his psychopathy." The orbitofrontal cortex is the neural region directly behind the eyes and is the last to develop. Portales quotes authoritative research that, due to childhood traumatic experiences, in some individuals the ortbitofrontal cortex -- the tool judgment and decision making -- may never completely develop: "individuals who have had damage to [this] area can observe social situations, but fail to respond to these situations in an appropriate manner." Damage can be caused through various factors including head trauma, physical abuse, emotional neglect, and antisocial parenting, many, if not all of these, introduced early in the child's development. What happens as a result is stagnated prefrontal development where emotion overrules reasoning and individuals give in to their craving.

In the case of the sexual predator, for instance, the…...

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Reference

Portales, A. Behind the Monsters' Eyes The Role of the Orbitofrontal Cortex in Sexually Psychopathic Serial Crime. Retrieved on 8/14/2011from:

 http://www.wc.edu/programs/science/forensic/files/uplink/2006_05_04VFJspecial.pdf

Green River Serial Killer
The investigation into the case of the Green River killer stretched from 1982 to 2001, before Gary Ridgway was finally arrested for murdering 48 women. Ridgway's case is distinguished by the length and expense of the homicide investigation. This paper examines the investigation into the case of the Green River killer.

Early years

The so-called Green River killings got their name in 1982, when the first victims were found. From July through to December of that year, 16 young women disappear from the areas around Seattle and Tacoma, ashington. Six bodies are later found in the Green River in Kent, ashington, dead of strangulation. During this time, Gary Ridgway lived in just three miles from the Green River ("Gary Leon Ridgway timeline").

The Green River killings continue through 1983, including eight women who were later found near a cemetery in Auburn. Most of the missing women are in their late…...

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Works Cited

Burns, Kari Sable. "Green River Killer - DNA Technology." 2003. Available online at  http://www.karisable.com/greenriverdnatime.htm 

Gary Leon Ridgway timeline." King County Journal. November 7, 2003. available online at  http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/148308 

Kershaw, Sarah. "New discoveries move Green River case to Fore again." New York Times. September 22, 2003.

Smolowe, Jill. "Catching the Green River killer." People. November 24, 2003. Proquest Database.

behavior of a serial killer? Many people attribute genetics to some of the actions of a serial killer, but is environment more of a determining factor? People who usually kill have had very traumatic childhoods. And although in some cases genes may have led to a faster decline in a person's psyche than a regular person, it begs to ask if people are made into monsters vs. simply being born one. A case that comes to mind is the woman who worked as a prostitute and killed her clients as a means of retribution for the damage inflicted upon her in her life by men. Her trauma and destitution fueled her desire to even the playing field and force herself to become something she and a couple others feel will end the pain of their existence.
Second Response:

It is quite clear that what parents do during the existence of their…...

To begin with, the violence Sutcliffe meted out to his unfortunate victims was largely sexualized. Apart from being exclusively women, most of Sutcliffe's victims were prostitutes. Further, it can also be noted that in most cases, Sutcliffe first and foremost sought to render his victims incapable of defending themselves. This in most cases he accomplished by striking them with a hammer. Most of Sutcliffe's attacks also seem to have been planned well in advance. This is more so the case given the similarity of all his victims as well as use of similar weapons in his attack. ussell's murders on the other hand had several characteristics which did not match any of the other HITS database murders (Keppel and Birnes 2008). These characteristic had to do with victims' body posing, preferred method of body disposal and foreign objects insertion (sexual) into a victim's body (Keppel and Birnes 2008).
What the…...

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References

Crime and Investigation Network. (2011). Peter Sutcliffe: The Yorkshire Ripper. Retrieved October 12, 2012, from the Crime and Investigation Network website:   -- the-yorkshire-ripper/arrest.htmlhttp://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/peter-sutcliffe 

Keppel, R.D. & Birnes, W.J. (2008). Serial Violence: An Analysis of Modus Operandi and Signature Characteristics of Killers. New York: Taylor & Francis Group.

National Policing Improvement Agency. (2010). History of the Business Perspective for Major Investigations. The Journal of Homicide and Major Incident Investigation. 6(1), 37-39.

Allely, C., Minnis, H., Thompson, L., Wilson, P., Gillberg, C. (2014).
Neurodevelopmental and psychosocial risk factors in serial killers and mass murderers. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 19(3): 288-301.

The researchers in this study conduct a meta-analysis of relevant literature including academic studies and legal sources in order to assess the "complex interaction of biological, psychological, and sociological factors" that contribute to the making of a serial killer (p. 288). What the study finds is that a "significant proportion of mass or serial killers have had neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder or head injury" (p. 288). This finding indicates that nature plays a distinct role in the motivation of serial killers.

However, it is important to note that correlation does not equate to causation and the study merely depicts a correlation between autism spectrum disorder and serial killing: it does not assert that the former is the cause of the latter, just…...

A lot of the serial killers recognize that killing these people are wrong, this is true because when they are finished with their crime, they find some kind of way to dispose of the body.
Conclusion

In the end, it is a scary fact is that the United Sates is the most leading serial killing country in the entire world. It appears that no other country can even match the U.S. It is obvious that new serial killers or cases seem to be popping up every year which can cause quite a bit of a panic from people. It is also a slightly scary thing that there are more serial killers running around that there are police that would actually admit it. . As Pat Brown makes the point earlier in the essay, serial killers actually believe that they cannot get caught. There is an arrogant side to all of them.…...

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Works Cited

Brown, P. (2005). Killing for Sport. Beverly Hills: New Millennium

Ramsland, K. a. (2007, May 6). "Serial Killer Culture.." Retrieved Janurary 22, 2013

Ressler, R.K. (2007). I Have Lived in the Monster. New York: 1st ed. New York: St. Martin's P,.

Serial killers have struck fear in the hearts of people, yet the public remains fascinated and intrigued by the crimes perpetrated by these individuals. There are several theories and factors that have been attributed to serial killers in an attempt to explain their behaviors. Furthermore, by identifying the behaviors that are exhibited by serial killers, law enforcement professionals are able to gather information about these serial killers that will assist in the apprehension of the criminal.
In the majority of serial homicides, a motivating factor, in addition to domination and manipulation of a victim, is the sexual gratification and desire that is experienced by the serial killer. Serial killers murder individuals because they believe, and feel, that the act will fulfill them and they will continue to murder people as long as they can (Douglas 191). The definition of serial killer may be distinguished from that of a spree killer and/or…...

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Works Cited

Arrigo, Bruce. Criminal Behavior: A Systems Approach. Upper Saddle Creek, New Jersey:

Pearson Education, 2006. Print.

Douglas, John. & Mark Olshaker. The Anatomy of Motive. New York: A Lisa Drew

Book/Scribner, 1999. Print.

Currently the DSM-IV refers to both these as antisocial personality disorder with the following criteria:
A. Pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occurring since age 15 as indicated by at least three of the following: 1. Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior. 2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure. 3. Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead. 4. Irritability and aggressiveness. 5. Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others. 6. Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain work behavior or honor financial obligations. 7. Lack of remorse, as indicated by indifference to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

B. Individual is at least 18 years of age

C. The occurrence of the behavior is not exclusively during the course of a schizophrenic or manic…...

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Works Cited

Egger, Steven a. Serial Murder an Elusive Phenomenon. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers,

Giannangelo, Stephen J. The Psychopathology of Serial Murder a Theory of Violence.

Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1996

Holmes R. And De Burger J. Serial Murder, CA: Newbury Park, Sage. 1988

While psychology refers to the study of the mind, clinical psychology specifically refers to that branch of the discipline that focuses on using psychology to create positive change, whether in individual lives or in the community as a whole.  There is a wide variety of topics you could approach in your thesis, depending on what topic interests you the most.  

Topic Ideas

1. The diagnosis of mental disorders in children: how young is too young to diagnose and does a diagnosis turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy for young children?
2. Diagnosing the non-patient: with many in the mental health fields....

Serial killers are a topic that has fascinated people, beginning before the term was even coined.  They have been romanticized in pop culture, but their crimes seem to be rooted in a personality disorder that keeps them from empathizing with others.  They kill in a variety of ways and, when left unchecked, the number of people that they can kill can get into the 100s. 

Some subtopics to consider when writing about serial killers for your essay topic are:

1. The role of Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) in serial murders.
2. Psychopath or sociopath?  Where on the spectrum of personality....

Criminal investigation is a broad field of study that covers any and all of the elements that go into solving a crime and building a legal case against the suspects.  Considered one of the applied sciences, there are actually several career paths for the criminal investigator.  Likewise, people from different disciplines may find themselves doing criminal investigative work.  For example, as science has evolved, the role of geneticists and genetic genealogists in criminal investigation and forensic science has really explored. 

When writing your paper, you have two distinct approaches you can take.  You can write a....

Given the popularity of online dating and dating apps, writing an argumentative essay against online dating is a good choice.  It is always more interesting to write a position paper that may be unusual, because it is unlikely to recycle the same arguments that your professor will see in other papers.  There is actually a myriad of reasons that online dating may not be as successful (or as safe) as traditional in-person dating, and any of these reasons could serve as the basis for an argumentative essay.  They include but are not limited to potential....