Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Research Methods: Mind of a Serial Killer
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PBS NOVA Special, "Mind of a Serial Killer". An examination of FBI’s behavioral science unit, known popularly as the profiling end of the FBI. Watch and observe what variables and factors the unit uses with regard to crime scenes in order to develop their typologies. Great tool for understanding index and scale construction. What variable and factors did you identify in relation to serial killer profiling???
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The pathology used to describe the determining factors (variables)that constitute a potential serial kiler is child abuse,unhappy childhood and a lack of social development or basic social skills needed to appropiately interact and communicate with normal people, a loner, white, a student at Texas Wesleyan. Here are some interesting facts I also found about serial killers:The term serial killer was coined in the 1970s due to cases such as Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz. According to an FBI Behavioral Unit study 85% of the world's serial killers are in America. At any given time 20 - 50 unidentified active serial killers are active.
ReplyDeleteThe FBI profiler of the science behavior unit named significant factors when going into the minds of serial killers. The fact that most serial
Deletekillers were sexual abused, had genius minds, loners, mentally ill, born to kill, Satanist, grew up angry, socialized well with many, aggressive were
only a very dependent variables that kept coming up. They enjoyed stalking and liked to be in control especially when they fell prey on their victim and
sustained a “super human“ strength once they captured them. They often Visited their victims days after they were dead and would get aroused by reliving
their torturous acts.
The fact that there are 500 serial killers on the streets, loose and unidentified is also alarming. The perps become part of the community and most people would not know that they had “homicidal fever”. An example, of the guy next
door that no one suspected, was a church elder. This degree of insanity and hatred is going on now more in society, was attributed by the profiler, to an infusion of illegal immigrants was, likewise, an interesting factor.
I think it is most important to remember that an offender only “seems to” have these characteristics of like offenders. There is absolutely no absolutes but this method of typology is apparently being of great use to the FBI in not only identifying some serial killers but a helpful tool in their capture and prosecution. Trying not to regurgitate what has already been said by other bloggers some other charts that I looked over were those that divided killers into two subsections, organized (‘asocial offenders’) and disorganized (‘nonsocial offenders’). It is still fascinating to me to know that there are currently up to 50 serial killers that are active at any given time and that the majority is American. Is this a fact or is the reporting or policing in other countries lacking in this area? I’m always trying to look at things from a different perspective…
ReplyDeleteA serial killer is someone who commits multiple murders over periods of days, weeks, and years. A cold blooded psychopathy with no remorse for his sadistic acts. These predators work alone and have experience some type of deviant behavior in their childhood. Factors could range from being sexually molested, killing animals, belittle by their parents and severe mental issue that are carried out thought their adulthood. A lack of social developement.
ReplyDeleteThe significant factors of a serial killer that was mentioned was sexual assault as a child, child abuse, the readily availability of violence a child sees when he is kid. They then turn these into violence against other people when they get older. They turn into sadistic people who rape and kill a lot of people. The FBI profile bureau said there are over 500 serial killers that have not been caught. The ones that have been caught wanted to be caught by the actions they did . The BTK killer was taunting law enforcement officials by sending them letters.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting that the serial killers that have been caught are just like normal people that no one would suspect. I wonder what they’re thinking process could’ve been to avoid being captured and also to disguise their true identity around others. Do serial killers have personality disorders? Some of the serial killers also want to get the credit for the killings like the BTK killer did when he was taunting the police. I wonder if it could do with some type of trauma that the individual experienced when they were younger.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe that criminals or serial killers can be born but there might be certain individuals that are prone to becoming serial killers. There are various factors that can affect these individuals and turn them into serial killers. Child abuse, being bullied in school, domestic violence and sexual abuse are some factors that can be found in known serial killers.
The speaker forgets that the people coming in to the country are immigrants from all over the world and I don’t hear him mention that the media plays a big role in making crime seems as if it has increased.
When there is a serial killer it’s interesting that everyone seems so surprised but we as humans have engaged in appalling acts, like the human sacrificing performed during Aztec rituals, but we think that those types of acts only occurred in the “old days”. It would be interesting to see the rate of serial killers that appear within different cultural and social backgrounds.
Factors that most serial killers have in common are a horrible childhood that involved some sort of sexual assault or abuse in the home. The abuse that they experienced as a child turns into violence eventually at a young age. Every serial killer does not carry these characteristics, these are only common but not true for everyone. Serial killers look like a normal citizen most of the time, sometimes charming, and this is how they get away with there acts of murder and violence. These serial killers are smart most of the time, some wish to be caught, and presently there are over 500 serial killers walking the streets with us. - Daniella Romero
ReplyDeleteI agree with some of the things that Phillip had to say about serial killers and some I don’t. The main thing that he mentioned in this interview that I didn’t agree with would have to be when he said that there are five hundred serial killers still living in the world that I have not been caught. I believe that there is way more then five hundred. There is a lot of killing going on in the world that is never mentioned in the news. I don’t know if it, because they don’t want people living in fear or they don’t want to make them look as if they are not doing there job and this person can’t be caught. As far as the profiling he was asked if ten people become killers how many of them have been abused and he answered ten. Being abused plays a major role, because it really damages a person in many different ways. I know there have been a lot of programs to try and make is easier for abused victims to talk to someone about what is going on. I wonder what is it going to take to end this cycle of abuse that’s leading to serial killers.
ReplyDeleteI agree, a serial killer is someone that came up from a family that abused them or did not have a great child hood. Needless to say not all serial killers are going to have those same child hoods, some just have a deviant mind and are very smart. They know how to plan their attacks and being a normal person and acting normal is their way of getting everyone around them comfortable with them and when the killing happens, no one expects them to be the one that did it. I do think there are certain characteristics all killers have like being smart about the killing and not getting caught, and are very through with how they go about the killing, not just going with what they first think of, and they are very sneaky people making sure no one knows what they are up to.
ReplyDeleteThe profile of a serial killer, who kill for various reasons, a minimum of three to four victims with a cooling period in between. The killer is usually a stranger to the victim and the murder appears unconnected or random. The murders reflect a need to sadistically dominate the victim but in Aileen Wuornos claims she killed in self-defense. The FBI profilers state the murders are rarely for profit, the motive is more on a psychological level. In the killers mind, the victim may have symbolic value which them is reveal in the method/patterns of killing helps investigators. Most of serial killers choose victims who are vulnerable, like Ted Bundy who would lure victims out of sympathy for him. Some of the variable and factors that serial killer share is most are whites males with a middle class background and age ranges for twenties to thirties. There is always an exception to the profile female serial killers. In most cases the killer has suffered from physically, emotionally, sexually abuse by parents or family members. Through the cycle of violence from generation to generation society is creating more criminal that have a lack of empathy for humanity.
ReplyDeleteYes most serial killers as well as other people who commit violence and heinous crimes are victims themselves. I don’t think this excuses their actions or givens them cause to partake in these criminal acts. There are lots of people who experience violent childhoods and they do not grow up to commit numerous murders or other violent acts. Furthermore there are other murders and violent criminals that don’t experience violent childhoods, so what is their excuse? Yes I agree that most serial killers have some commonalities, so I understand the reasoning behind the FBI’s method, but this shouldn’t narrow their scope of suspects. Another question I wonder details with honesty, many people lie about the abuse or neglect they suffer as children in order to obtain sympathy from the jury and their peers. As a researcher, it would interesting to find out how many of the serial killers, who claim to be victims of abuse, are actually abused, or was it just a rouse to get a lesser sentence?!
ReplyDeleteThe significant factors of a serial killer that was mentioned were genius minds, mentally ill, sexually abused, loner, everyday people, and aggressive are just a few variables that were used to describe a serial killer. It is scary to know that there are over 500 serial killers that have no yet been caught. And just to think that the ones that have been caught wanted to be. I agree with Bailey that there might be serial killers out there that lie about being abused as children in order to obtain sympathy from the jury. The one thing that worries me is that , if the serial killers that have been caught, actually wanted to be caught, then how effective is the profile of serial killers that has been created by the FBI.
ReplyDeleteSerial killers usually work alone and are defined by society as cold blooded murderers who show no remorse. The FBI Profiler lists several significant factors that serial killers have including sexual assault as a child, child abuse, genius minds, grew up angry, loners and stalking. Many serial killers enjoy following their victims and even after killing them they like to return to the bodies and re-live the murder.
ReplyDeleteThe video makes me wonder can anyone be born a serial killer or criminal or is it the nurturing of an individual that causes them to behave in such a way. I believe that the way in which a child is treated is the main determining factor in what they become. Clearly not all serial killers are going to have the same childhood but all cases show some form of disruption or tragedy in their early life.
The most worrying statistic was that there are 50 serial killers active at any time and the majority of these people are found in America.
I think the mind of a serial killer is antagonized by the way they were treated as kids. Physically, and or mentally abused. They don't get love the way a child should, so they grow up thinking that this is how you treat people. So when they get older they go on a rampage and their mind is all messed up so they start killing, and hurting people. Although it is interesting to think and learn about all of this it is kind of sickening. To think someones mind is so messed up that they get a kick out hurting people, because it eases the pain it blocks it out.
ReplyDeleteJoyce Shelby 3/22/14
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how hard it is to keep a sense of humanity when you have been abused by humanity throughout your life. This story leaves you with a lot of questions? From the start she didn’t have a good lawyer because the circumstances of this case. No one ever showed this woman an ounce of love in her life, and she was deeply betrayed by everyone she loved and trusted. The police collaborated with her lawyer try to make a buck by selling the story to the movies, it very suspicion they this happened.
You can see in her upbringing there was some mental retardation but she was not a sociopath, this is a woman who has been failed by everybody she came in contact with been raped by her on brother, abused and left to fend for herself at the age of 13, also being a prostitute, and having a behaving of raving paranoid, it’s appears to be an symptom to me.
This is a film that makes you questions your own humanity, this woman is no state to be executed maybe life in jail but not execution; don’t get me wrong she had symptoms of being bi-polar. Aileen was a very sick woman; she admits that she did it not out of self defense, but in order to rob them. She had came to know Christianity asking forgive.
I don't feel bad for her or anything; I just think the punishment she received for the crime she committed is not right. She didn’t have parents who didn’t have money this is a very tragedy story, she didn’t get a fair chance at life from the beginning, and I feel for the victims and the families too. They had to die just because someone else’s life was all messed up.