SERIAL KILLERS: The Psychosocial Development of Humanity's Worst OffendersWhether it be Jack the Ripper in nineteenth-century England or Ted Bundy in 1970s America, the public has always been fascinated by the criminal offender type known as the serial killer. Professionals continue to speculate and develop new theories about their identity decades after their crimes ended. But what is it that causes such evilness in individuals that causes them to take an innocent life, not once but multiples times, and for no apparent reason beyond their own perverse psychological gratification? This fascinating book explores this question by looking at the psychosocial determinants of criminal behavior, including serial murder. The role of such internal processes as attachment, moral development, and identity formation in the development of a person’s predisposition to various forms of deviance, including physical and sexual aggression, is reviewed. This information is then applied to actual serial killers, including David Berkowitz (The Son of Sam), Charles Manson, Eric Rudolph (God’s Crusader), Ted Bundy (The Face of Evil), Edmund Kemper (The Co-ed Killer), and the Zodiac Killer, in an effort to construct a psychosocial profile of each and to attempt to pinpoint the various developmental factors that contributed to their eventual criminality. Finally, early intervention strategies are explored that can potentially redirect a child’s developmental trajectory away from crime and deviance, and toward a more adaptive and socially acceptable behavioral repertoire. This book will be an insightful resource to all law enforcement professionals, policymakers, police academics, psychologists, psychiatrists, and many others in the helping professions as well. |
From inside the book
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... activity . May include psychological or physical torture . Subject is ACT - focused SYMBOLIC OFFENDER The individual is motivated to kill by an extreme hatred or rage directed at another individual , typically a parent . Victims serve ...
... activity, and are more likely to suffer from mental illness. Following the classification of the unknown offender, the profiler attempts to reconstruct the behavioral sequence of the crime. This in- cludes their likely behavior before ...
... activity has received more media atten- tion over the years than serial homicide. This focus, from newspapers and books, to Hollywood movies and heavy metal music, has been fueled in part by the strange fascination the general public ...
... activity of the neural pathway lead- ing from the motor cortex of the brain to the nerve endings that stim- ulate ... activities. Even in adults, long after these processes are complete, prob- lems can occur. Demyelination, or the ...
... Activity Level. This is the amount of physical activity the child engages in. At the low end of the spectrum are children who like quiet, nonphysical activities. These are children who sit quietly in their seats or strollers, quite ...
Contents
3 | |
23 | |
51 | |
Chapter 4 WHO AM I? The Role of Identity Formation During Adolescence Part I | 86 |
Chapter 5 CLOSING THE GAP The Role of Identity Formation During Adolescence Part II | 121 |
Chapter 6 CRIMINAL BEGINNINGS A Killer Is Born | 135 |
THE SON OF SAM An EgoDirected Killer Subtype Deficient Sexual Self | 155 |
Deficient Social Self | 174 |
GODS CRUSADER An EgoDirected Killer Subtype HyperIdeological Self | 188 |
THE FACE OF EVIL An Opportunistic Killer | 199 |
THE COED KILLER A Symbolic Killer | 215 |
Chapter 12 THE ZODIAC KILLER A Lingering Mystery | 226 |
Chapter 13 INTERVENTION STRATEGIES Changing a Killers Course Before They Kill | 236 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 261 |
INDEX | 267 |
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Serial Killers: The Psychosocial Development of Humanity's Worst Offenders William M. Harmening No preview available - 2014 |