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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... adulthood. These patterns of behavior are only reinforced by the indulgent par- ent's lack of authoritative control. • Neglectful. The neglectful parent is void of responsiveness or demandingness. They simply choose to not be involved ...
... adulthood, as the individual's emo- tional bond shifts from parent to intimate partner, the parent-child attachment that formed years earlier now has a major influence on the quality of the person's relationship with an intimate partner ...
... adulthood . The parent - child relationship serves as a template for all future social relationships . So how does each of the attachment patterns described earlier in the chapter manifest themselves in adulthood ? Two researchers who ...
... adulthood without changing in form or substance. In a sense, it represents a com- plete lack of any internalized attachment, and therefore can best be described in adulthood as an asocial demeanor toward others, mean- ing they simply ...
... adulthood, especially the ability to build and maintain intimate rela- tionships. An adult who does not experience intimacy, whether vol- untarily or due to an inability to establish such a relationship, is an in- dividual who for the ...
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 |