Serial Killer Nature Vs Nurture

SERIAL KILLERS, young and old
October 14, 2013
GNED 144 SEC. 511
Instructor: Magdalena Spulber
K Jones

Introduction
Serial killers have been around for a very long time, and they will continue to exist and walk among us on a day to day basis. To categorize an individual as a serial killer they must have one or more of the following attributes within their character. This includes killing numerous amounts of people in a short period of time, having a release of sexual urges from performing these killings or believing they are doing the work of God. In researching about serial killers the topic of nature vs. nurture is the question of debate. It is still to be determined whether or not they are born with the urge already
Although this may be, psychologists have come across numerous cases where they were not able to identify source of actions due to the complexity of their behavior. By identifying the root causes, it was determined that serial killers tend to begin their killings due to drastic change or impact in their environment. As stated by Eric W. Hickey “ Cases of serial killing share commonalities and characteristics; anger, low self esteem, fantasy, facilitation, and objectification of the victims are all common denominators in understanding the etiological rules of serial murder” (Hichey, 2010). The lives of Jeffery Dahmer’s, Albert Fish’s and Mary Bell’s lives were carefully assessed; each suspicious activity that occurred within their life that could have led them to commit such heinous crimes. During psycho-analysis of this topic it can be seen that there are similarities when comparing different killers. Even though there are different reasons as to why they commit such gruesome acts; it can be correlated to some factors such as being a social pariah, ill-treatment as a child, or neglectful
Many of years have been spent on this topic debating on a general source of the reason they are so comfortable killing. By examining the three cases, it becomes clear that in some murder cases, nature may over take nurture or vice versa. Using the nature point of view, these individuals were born with these traits; it’s hereditary and is in their genes. Their actions and way of thinking are attributed to their biological and family make up. If their genes do contribute to the development of personal characteristics like intelligence and personality, then genes determine who we are. Biological determinism is the thesis that genes determine who we are. The nurture point of view refers to their childhood, or how they were brought up. They could have been born with genes to give them a normal or natural way of thinking or reacting to events, but were traumatized in childhood, resulting in an abnormal thinking process and a failure to develop as expected. The nurture factors that triggered an individual to commit these heinous crimes are influenced by social and environmental factors.“ Cases of serial killing share commonalities and characteristics; anger, low self-esteem, fantasy, facilitation, and objectification of the victims are all common denominators in understanding the etiological rules of serial murder” (Hichey,