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 that it is a common theme. For example, the study notes that out of 239 serial killers analyzed for the study, 28% "had definite, highly probable or possible" autism spectrum disorder. Roughly 20% of the same sample had suffered a head injury. Thus, the conclusion of the researchers is that there is a correlation between a negatively impacted nature and the development of serial killers.
The study calls for more investigation into this correlation and is significant because it draws attention to head trauma and/or biological dysfunction as a role player or facilitator in the serial killer's natural motivation. For this reason, the study makes a supportable claim for the nature side of the debate over whether it is nature or nurture that leads serial killers to act.
Highsmith, J., Mercado, M., Hernandez, J., Madrigal, S. (2015). Nature (MAOA) and Nurture in a Criminal. UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal, 8(1): 1-10.
Highsmith et al. examine the nature vs. nurture question in regard to what makes up the mind of a criminal. They identify articles that support the notion that nature is a significant factor in the make-up of the criminal mind, as numerous researchers have revealed that "low levels of monoamine oxidase a gene (MAOA) lead to higher rates of aggression" (p. 1). The researchers also use the example of Ted Bundy as a serial killer who came from a normal, healthy, loving family but who had low levels of MAOA and thus had a higher risk of deviating towards aggressive behavior. That, however, is not the complete story, as the researchers also indicate that nurture also plays a part in the development of a serial killer like Ted Bundy. It is not merely the effect of a genetic disorder that motivates the killer but rather a series of compounding factors that gradually pushes the killer towards that direction.
The study is significant because it addresses head-on the question of nature vs. nurture and the serial killer/criminal mind. It shows that there is no easy answer to the question and that both angles need to be considered deeply in order to produce a coherent and cohesive picture of why serial killers act. The best way to answer the question, according to this study, is to acknowledge that both nature and nurture play a role in the development of the serial killer and that each aspect has to be examine more fully on an individual basis, as no two serial killers or criminal minds are exactly the same -- each comes from its own background and has its own genetic/psychosocial make-up that contributes to the killer's evolution.
Jarvis, B. (2007). Monsters Inc.: Serial killers and consumer culture. Crime, Media,
Culture, 3(3): 326-344.
This study suggests that serial killers and the culture that drives them is nurtured by a need to commoditize murder and make it into something tangible that people can posses. This was certainly the case for Dahmer, who wanted to possess his victims sand essentially own them, which is why he killed them. But with the murderabilia culture, this cycle of ownership is perpetuated and nurtures the sentiment that drives serial killing. Jarvis tracks the sale of murderabilia and the depiction of serial killings in popular films and television (Saw, American Psycho, CSI, Law & Order, Nightmare on Elm Street) to show how a culture of death permeates modern culture. It is this culture, he reveals, that really nurtures the serial killer in society and allows him to grow into the killer that he becomes. If society were not so dominated by a consumerist passion, the motive of...
Art acts as a mirror, and audiences have always loved to see themselves represented on the stage. The depiction of grisly violence reflects our consumerist culture's thirst for violence as well as its acceptance of and pleasure taken in horror and blood. Jarvis's claim is that consumerism is an appetite that demands the death of something else in order to be momentarily filled and that such an appetite is inherently related to the murderous impulse of the serial killer. Thus, the serial killer is essentially nurtured into being by a culture of death in American society.
Kinnell, H. (2013). Violence and Sex Work in Britain. Oxon: Routledge.
This article depicts a case study of Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, who was convicted of murdering several women from 1975 to 1980 in England. Some of the women he attacked were sex workers (prostitutes) while others were not. Kinnell argues that the Sutcliffe murders were depicted by the media as being something that they were not. Kinnell's claim is that the media distorted the actual nature of the victims in order to create a more sensational story about the serial killer. By depicting Sutcliffe as a serial killer who was targeting prostitutes, the media could sell papers that aligned with the narratives coming out of other popular media venues at the time -- such as cinema, where films like Halloween showed a link between youthful sexuality and serial killing. It was, in other words, a manipulation of the media used to drive sales of media products. The actual story and reality of Sutcliffe was shuffled aside so as to make room for the manufactured myth peddled by newspapers, radio and TV outlets. This, in turn, had an effect on the way society thinks about serial killers.
The study is helpful is showing that the criminal investigators leapt at the conclusion that Sutcliffe "hates prostitution" even though up till that point only two of the women killed had any links to sex work and these links were dubious connections at best (p. 5). One of the victims of Sutcliffe was a regular, experienced sex worker who had already been charged for soliciting and was due in court. But the other victims of Sutcliffe really had no connection to prostitution, and so his image was distorted. This study shows why it is important that facts are interpreted correctly so that our understanding of what drives serial killers is not inaccurate. By understanding the true motivation, the answer to the question of whether it is nature or nurture that drives serial killers can more adequately be answered.
Miller, L. (2012). Criminal Psychology: Nature, Nurture, Culture. IL: Charles C.
Thomas Publisher.
Miller discusses in this text the various factors that contribute to the making of the mind of a serial killer. He discusses the typical characteristics of a serial killer in his section on serial killer profiling (the typical killer is a white male aged 20 to 40, though minority groups are on the rise as serial killers; is typically a "loner" although some have been married; he can entertain a front -- that is, a faAade of kindliness that hides a lurking deviance; he may even live a stable exterior life -- that is, have a job and a function in society; however, he may also be highly unstable and unable to hold down a home or a job in any one place for long).
As for the question of nature vs. nurture, Miller presents various examinations that find basis in psychological deviations, such as paraphilias, transvestism, voyeurism, exhibitionism and so on, and that serial killers hunt their prey just as a shark stalks its prey: the hunting grounds are identified and known and returned to again and again. Thus, Miller identifies both a natural component and a nurturing component (the stages of development from childhood to adulthood are particularly important as it is at these times that the future killer's fetishes or sadistic fantasies are made more concrete and pertinent to his character). The combination of both nature and nurture is what inevitably leads to the individual embarking on a serial killing.
Miller's text is especially helpful in identifying several dynamics to the serial killer's mind and…
