Research Paper: The Causes of Serial Killer’s Tendencies

Serial murder is a widespread issue, statistics prove that “there are around 15,000 annual murders, which means that there are approximately 150 serial murders in the US each year” (Moskovoska 1). The first documented research on serial killers dates back to the 1800s, but they have been around much longer than that. A serial killer can be defined as a person who commits a series of murders with a set, behavioral pattern. These people are usually affected by the neglect of their mental well-being as well as different types of childhood traumas. Events like murders by an inept person can usually be prevented with the right care and responsibility. It is the moral duty of a person to help prevent these types of situations from ever coming to light. The following research will go into depth about the causes of serial killer’s tendencies from both an ethical and scientific viewpoint. 

Different Types of Childhood Abuse

Early childhood trauma is a leading cause of the fractured psyche of a serial killer. Gabriella Simon, Professor at the National University of Budapest, claims that serial killers exhibit “psychological characteristics … based on any form of sexual or emotional abuse in childhood. These serial killers try to enact and replay their victimization and behave as the aggressor” (3). Given the evidence, we can conclude that a person’s past is prevalent in the violence they inflict on others. We can also assume that while not only the situation might be similar to a killer’s experience, but the victim may look or act like the past aggressor in these scenarios. These people are unable to healthily express what had happened to them which often results in an inability to cope with their present lives. People who are unable to cope make rash decisions to fulfill their need for revenge. We can refer to the main issue in today’s society which is suicide, people self-harm as a way to help relieve the pressure that they experience. As we grow, “we learn to distinguish right from wrong … . Yet serial killers feel they are exempt” (Parrington 1). In relevance to the previous evidence, a serial killer is reenacting a scenario where they were once the victim and are now the assailant. In this fantasy of theirs, they are getting justice for what happened to them or essentially righting a wrong no matter how gruesome it gets. They have to be able to demonstrate the situation because serial killers can be described as socially inept and therefore unable to express themselves. Abuse is not the only factor that compromises the violent urges in a person, there are theories that certain medical components can also increase the risk factors.

The Neurotic Component of A Serial Killer’s Mind

Studies have shown a link between a serial killer’s behavior with certain parts of the brain. It has been shown through research that “specific components of moral psychology disrupted by lesions in the criminality-associated network may interfere with … value-based decision making and theory of mind are important for grasping the moral impact of our actions” (Johnson 1). She lists the different parts that are most likely involved in the development of a serial killer’s psyche. The frontal lobe deals with expressive language, and she expresses that there might be damage to it which fits with a serial killer’s description. They are unfit to help put what they feel into words that transfer into hostility. The hypothalamus’s function has to do with stress control. This class of people usually lacks stress control due to a multitude of issues like negative emotions and coping mechanisms. These parts and their functions explain why they feel the chaos and how certain things are uncontrollable. Zelda G. Knight, a professor in the department of psychology, analyzes a certain personality, “Within the context of narcissistic dynamics, one aspect of human behavior may be described as nonpathological and the basis for healthy ambitions and ideals, while another may be identified as pathological and destructive so that individuals behave in grandiose and murderous ways” (1). She compares the most common lifestyle that comes with narcissism and then goes on to describe an extreme form of it. Psychological development usually begins with a mother’s relationship with her infant. If that child is favored too much at home and finds that it’s not the same in the real world, they might react in hasty ways. Serial killers, especially with their stunted social skills, will be violent in their reaction when they find out not everyone is like their parents and this will cause them to achieve a level of perfectionism to kill for. Knight demonstrates that not only do specific components of the brain attest to how a person reacts, but also issues he may have due to the environment that he surrounds himself in.

Despite serial murders being a rare case, they are still in existence. Many studies have been conducted and have formed two leading causes in a serial killer’s tendency to punish. Firstly, experiencing childhood trauma manifests in their adult lives in horrifying ways. Secondly, solely medical issues concerning different parts of the brain that deal directly with aggression, expression, and stress control. The first cause blames the acts of a serial killer on their past aggressor from an ethical lens, the other lays blame on no one and looks at it completely from a scientific perspective. Given the evidence presented in the previous paragraphs, one can conclude that abuse is a stronger argument because of its ability to make a strong connection between a person’s past and their current crimes. It has been repeatedly shown that “Trauma is the single recurring theme in the biographies of most killers” (Conroy 1). Furthermore, people have a moral duty to prevent these situations by giving more attention to the child-care system as well as allowing everyone to use a different type of therapy to cope.