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 experiences of childhood. These experiences have a permanent, long-lasting impression on the individuality and behavior of a person. Children who tolerate and observe family violence are expected to reveal the same characteristics and behavior when they grow up. It is not necessary to be the victim of violence to become such a personality in the future. The viewing of family violence during childhood can also be a reason to develop a mentally-ill personality. Continuous denunciation in childhood by parents can be said as another reason why the future activities of a child reveal immoral and illicit mental condition (Larson, 2011). This theory can be justified by glancing over the life of Albert DeSalvo, a serial murderer of 13 women. He had an adverse childhood in which he watched his mother cruelly beaten by his father. He eye witnessed murders in his vicinity. Not only this, he was bought as a slave. The story of another serial killer named Henry Lee Lucas further justifies the Social Process Theory. This man had an ill-fated childhood in which he was raised as a girl. He experienced ruthless physical abuse as a routine....
Criminology researchers usually draw on multiple sociological theories for understanding crime and offenders. Certain elements of serial-killing research continue to be a subject of speculation and exploration, on account of the numerous preconceptions and myths surrounding the crime. The significance of establishing a theoretic basis to explain sociological factors proves crucial to distinguishing between fact and fiction (Hickey, 2013). Social Structure Theory This class of theories concentrates on the socioeconomic status of
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
Personality Theories in Psychology To the layperson, the term personality is a generic descriptor for an individual's traits. However, personality has a more specific meaning to psychologists. According to Dan McAdams, "Personality psychology is the scientific study of the whole person" (McAdams, 2006, p.12, para.1). While different psychologists and their theories have become well-known enough to be referenced in casual conversation, there is still some confusion among laypeople about personality
Gay Serial Killers Serial killers continue to hold a fascination on the American public. The crimes of this subset of murderers are frequently sexualized in nature, which perhaps adds to the titillation in media coverage. It is worth observing that many of the most widely-publicized serial murder cases of the past fifty years or so have involved gay or lesbian serial killers: Jeffrey Dahmer remains a household name even in 2014,
Violence Becker, S, Tinkler, J (2015) 'Me Getting Plastered and Her Provoking My Eyes': Young People's Attribution of Blame for Sexual Aggression in Public Drinking Spaces, Feminist Criminology, 10(3): 235-258. This article is about how "unregulated" barroom aggression that is sexual in nature can lead to questions of hostile conflicts that are confused and not very well studied by researchers. So this study examines this environment to better understand what causes this
By examining violence and women in both Sin City and the Tekken series, one is able to see how seemingly similar representations of gender and violence actually create wildly different meanings depending on the particular medium. While Sin City and Tekken participate in the visual language of gender, when it comes to the relationship between gender and violence, Sin City focuses on the victimization of women's bodies at the hands
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