People are not born with a gene for being a serial killer, it has to do with their personality. Everyone has different personalities and traits, this happens because of the environment and the way we are raised. Some people are very kind and caring, others are mean and arrogant, and some other people are serial killers. Serial killers don’t always do what they do because it is their personality, but sometimes they murder because they learned that it was acceptable to express their anger in a violent way. A lot of the time if a child does not receive the proper amount of affection or physical attention, then they can become killers or develop psychopathic tendencies. Children who are developing and showing an abundant amount of anger, show signs of violence: “The infant develops a sense of only itself. This is indicated by the absence of a range of emotions such as sympathy, remorse, and affection (Leyton 1987)”. Children can show the early signs of becoming a serial killer by the age of 4 years old. According to multiple different studies by different organizations the children who become violent, because of lack of attention make up only a small percentage of the reason why children become killers. A lot of killers, were abused when they were younger, and now take out their violence out on people: “Researchers who study serial killers have noted that a large percentage have suffered childhood abuse”(Ressler). Sometimes if children were abused by their fathers, they will later find men that look like their fathers and abuse those men. These kind of killers tend to kill out of anger or sadness. It seems weird that they would be sad, but they are emotionally scared from the abuse that their parent caused them. Other issues that some serial killers had, as children, were so called mommy issues. If a mother does not give love to the child, they become very introverted and harsh: “This leads to isolation, where intense violent fantasies become the primary source of gratification”(Serial Killers). They become this way because they do not want to be judged anymore by their loved ones. They also begin to develop low-self esteem and do not feel accepted by anybody. Mommy issues, although they seem small and unimportant, can cause a human enough pain to lead them to killing other people. If a serial killer has a very specific way of killing people, also known as an MO, this normally has a hidden meaning. If a man normally rapes a woman before killing her, or even after, this shows he may have sexual troubles. Some men feel that, because of their appearance, no woman would want to have relations with them. This causes these men to force woman into a sexual relationship with them. Most killers, who do this, might keep their victims alive for weeks on end, just so that they can have the sexual pleasure of a woman. Almost every serial killer has a motive for what they do, and many of them kill because of childhood problems, that caused them permanent harm.
Works Cited
Leyton. “The Psychology of a Serial Killer.” The Term. The Term, 1987. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
Ressler, Robert. “The Relationship Between Child Abuse and Serial Killers.”Crime Traveller. Fiona Guy, 24 July 2015. Web.
“Serial Killers and Mommy.” Tales from the Dark Side. WordPress, 10 June 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
Psychology of a killer 