Serial Killers Psychology

The American public is fascinated by the horrors and cruelty of murderous fictional characters such as Freddy Krueger and Haninibal Lecter. Fictional murder crimes seem far-fetched, however, they can be all too close to reality. With real-life killers such as Helter Skelter, Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, and Jack the Ripper anyone can see that fictional murders are just as real as actuality. Be that as it may, Serial murder is a rather rare event; the estimated murders committed in any given year is estimated to compromise less than one percent in total (U.S. Department, 2008, p 11). Still, serial murder is prevalent in todays’ society although the reasoning behind serial murder is yet to be fully defined. The psychology of a serial killer is compromised of childhood events, common traits, and motivations. When dissecting the psyche of a murderer most take into consideration the subjects’ childhood. According to Sherley Lynn Scott’s book What Makes Serial Killers Tick? the most influential childhood events in a murderer’s lifetime are: parental abuse, witnessing …show more content…
One model to help understand the motives of a serial killer is entitled “the Symposium Model” (U.S. Department, 2008, p 16). This model is a “range from simple, definitive models to complex, multiple-category typologies that are laden with inclusion requirements” (U.S. Department, 2008, p 16). The model states that a serial murderer may possibly have multiple motives for committing the horrendous act of killing. Although, this model also states that despite the motive, a serial killer will commit their crime for the simple fact that they want to, the exception being the few suffering from severe mental illnesses (U.S. Department, 2008, p 17). Nevertheless, the model defines motive based on anger, criminal enterprise, financial gain, ideology, and