Abstract
Scholars often analyze serial murderers from perspectives that exclude the sociological and/or environmental factors that often contribute to their motives for committing their crimes. This paper traces the cultural and societal differences that mold serial murderers in divergent cultures. Increasingly sociologists and researchers such as Eric Hickey have begun studying the factors that go beyond the common biological and psychological explanations that researchers often consider. Laurence Alison, Craig Bennell, Andrea Mokros, and David Ormerod have argued that offender profiling assumes that people who commit crimes in a similar style have similar background characteristics; this misconception has led to many studies that show the perpetrators’ motivations but exclude their characteristics, as they are understood as almost irrelevant (Fujita, 296). In order to stereotype serial murders in certain ways, many researchers base their judgments off of a distortion of the truth to fit their own cultural, historical, or religious beliefs. Hickey’s Serial Murderers and Their Victims (2015) helps clear up misconceptions about why serial killers are driven to commit monstrous acts through the review of numerous profiles of case studies of infamous serial murderers and deeply analyzing the specific characteristics of the aforementioned serial murderers.
Highlights
Scholars often analyze serial murderers from perspectives that exclude the sociological and/or environmental factors that often contribute to their motives for committing their crimes
Hickey agrees that most serial murderers suffer from some form of mental disorder or illness
P H I LO LO G I A disorder), he disagrees with the notion that some serial killers are “blood thirsty” (Hickey, 376)
Summary
Author: Grace Kim Title: Evaluating Differences in Serial Murderers on a Global Scale. P H I LO LO G I A disorder), he disagrees with the notion that some serial killers are “blood thirsty” (Hickey, 376) He asserts that many serial murderers, if not mentally ill, have experienced severe psychological stress themselves, and have become incapable of coping. As a result, they become hostile and long to live in a fantasy—both of which accelerate their capacity for violence—in hopes of living out the feeling of conquering their emotional stress in other ways. Hickey’s work suggests that serial murderers’ methods and motives for their actions differ based on the culture and society in which they were raised (Alison, 2002; Fujita, 2016)
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