When most people hear the word serial killer their mind forms a picture of a celebrity monster. Celebrities because the media has captured the attention of society to discuss the interest of it. Monsters because of the horrific crimes that have been committed and having the capacity to repeatedly kill. Some pathological behaviors are common in serial killers. Psychopathy and serial murders are two who walk among us capable of committing acts without feeling any guilt or remorse. According to the authors of the article, “The Professional Experience of a Killer: Devotion or Need?”, Psychopaths are people who give evidence of much charm, intimidation, manipulation, and sometimes violence in order to control others and all this just to satisfy their own needs (738). They do not show remorse or guilt, empathy and have no power to take responsibility for their actions (Nistor-Lung, Neagu, 738). Psychopathic serial killers know right from wrong and are able to comprehend the criminal law. In spite of the observations I made, the mechanisms between the serial killers and psychopaths can still have the same foundations. I will be documenting the similarities and differences between them because the origins of it has been misunderstood from the different frameworks that has been presented.
This paper describes the study conducted about psychopaths and serial murderers to present the resemblance between the two. Several studies have said that due to their psychopathic nature, serial killers do not know if they have sympathy for their victims, their families, or the general population. Instead, they train themselves to imitate ordinary human conduct by observing other individuals. It is all a controlling act aimed at luring people to their trap before they strike (Morse, 2011). Serial killers have been described as actors with a natural desire to act. A lack of interpersonal empathy and disregard for the suffering of their victims are key characteristics of psychopathic serial killers (Vronsky, 2004). They generally do not feel anger toward their victims. Many serial killers seem to go into a trance when they are stalking and killing a victim, and the violence they commit often has a disconnected effect on them emotionally. The results of this study suggest serial killers are mostly psychopathic.
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Serial killers appear to be like everyone else during the primary years of their personality development. They only expose their public faces and their fracture part (broken personality) is hidden from the public view. Serial killers do intend to use their wit and charm to win over others’ trust and manipulate them into getting what they personally want. They’re also often able to use these traits to so no one can recognize their true behavior. Many known serial killers previously went unnoticed because they appeared to lead normal lives with families, homes, and steady jobs. The scariest part of a serial killer’s life is that they lead a completely normal life (Levin and Fox, 2008).
They tend to lack guilt and remorse. Most behaviorists agree that serial killers are psychopaths. This means they don’t see other people as humans, they see them as objects. This allows them to kill people in series and not feel guilty. However, they do know that what they are doing is wrong, which is why they do everything to make sure they remain anonymous. The value of human life and caring about their consequences does not matter to them.
The need for control and predatory behavior is another characteristic that serial killers and psychopaths share. People who feel like they're helpless to control their own lives and situations will sometimes look for smaller, more manageable areas of their lives that they can have complete control over it. A prerson who has a 'predatory aggressive personality' believes other people are inferior, which makes it easy for him to justify hurting or preying on others. Serial killers don't have normal human empathy, but they're very good at pretending like they do.
References
- Nistor-Lung, A. Neagu, M.L. (2013). The Professional Experience of a Killer: Devotion or Need? Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice Volume 5(2) pg738.
- Simon, O.G. (2015). The Traits and the Thrill of Serial Killers. International Security
- Wilson, D. Yardley, E. (2013). The Psychopathy Of a Victorian Serial Killer: Integrating Micro and Macro Levels of Analysis. Journal of Criminology Psychology Volume 3 NO. 1 pg19-30
- Kiehl, K.A. (2014). The Psychopath Whisperer The Science of those without Conscience Crown Publisher
- Melor, J.R. Brook, A. Hosker-Field, A. Methot-Jones, T. Roters, J. (2018) Social, Sexual, and Violent Predation: Are Psychopathic Traits Evolutionarily Adaptive? Violence and Gender, Volume 5 NO 3. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/vio.2018.0012
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