The concept of dehumanization is constantly used in cases of serial murder, mainly because humans become objects to the serial killer, who are in their way of achieving their gratification. Dehumanization refers to when we fail to represent others as human beings and objectify them and treat them as animals or objects, without regard to any moral concern (Waytz, & Epley, 2012). Instances of dehumanization typically occurs in relationships between the aggressor and the victim, where they dehumanize the victim so that they feel less bad about their actions considering them of less value. In psychological terms, dehumanization refers to when fail to attribute basic human qualities to others. Similar to the ideas of what Nazi doctors and other
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Had he actually stopped killing, then the BTK murders would never have been solved, yet it was his failure to stay out of the limelight that eventually gave him in (Hansen, 2006). Typically serial killers tend to kill many people within a limited amount of time, but for Dennis, he killed from 1974, when he was 29 years old and was already preparing for another murder at the time of his arrest which was when he was 59 years old. Also, his constant communication with the media for fame was highly unusual for a serial killer to do (Hansen, 2006). In total, Dennis sent 19 messages to the police and media outlets all in effort to garner publicity for his crimes and to fulfill his bloated ego and narcissistic personality. His antics included making phone calls, mailing postcards and letters and sending packages containing stolen items from the victims (Gibson, 2006). Furthermore, when he was caught, he confessed to everything and was very comfortable talking to the police, calling them his fellow police officers and friends (Hansen, 2006). Usually sociopathic serial killers barely ever confess and if they do, then it is because it is in their best interest and not because they are remorseful (Fox & Levin, 2012, p.82). Moreover, most serial killers tend to display at least one type of paraphilic behavior or sexual deviation, but in Dennis’ case, he had plenty. He had personality traits of both a psychopath and a narcissistic personality type, where he lacked empathy and had no feelings of shame or guilt and has an exaggerated sense of self (Hansen,
Had he actually stopped killing, then the BTK murders would never have been solved, yet it was his failure to stay out of the limelight that eventually gave him in (Hansen, 2006). Typically serial killers tend to kill many people within a limited amount of time, but for Dennis, he killed from 1974, when he was 29 years old and was already preparing for another murder at the time of his arrest which was when he was 59 years old. Also, his constant communication with the media for fame was highly unusual for a serial killer to do (Hansen, 2006). In total, Dennis sent 19 messages to the police and media outlets all in effort to garner publicity for his crimes and to fulfill his bloated ego and narcissistic personality. His antics included making phone calls, mailing postcards and letters and sending packages containing stolen items from the victims (Gibson, 2006). Furthermore, when he was caught, he confessed to everything and was very comfortable talking to the police, calling them his fellow police officers and friends (Hansen, 2006). Usually sociopathic serial killers barely ever confess and if they do, then it is because it is in their best interest and not because they are remorseful (Fox & Levin, 2012, p.82). Moreover, most serial killers tend to display at least one type of paraphilic behavior or sexual deviation, but in Dennis’ case, he had plenty. He had personality traits of both a psychopath and a narcissistic personality type, where he lacked empathy and had no feelings of shame or guilt and has an exaggerated sense of self (Hansen,