I-search conclusion

After having done all of this research I've come to the conclusion that there is no one specific reason that a person becomes a serial killer. All of the research data points to there being a combination of both inherited traits and environmental factors that contribute to the formation of something so evil. Now that I've done this I-search paper I am more aware that the way I interact and treat my children will have a profound affect on them later in life. From them feeling like I didn't hug them enough to my watching who they are able to come into contact with. I've also learned that Google can be both a good and bad research tool. The key to using Google I have found is being able to then screen your results and weeding out the viable, credible sources from the unreliable ones. All in all I think that this I-search paper has helped me become both a better mom and researcher.

I-search body

The first logical step for me to take in order to understand the thinking of a serial killer is to define just what one is. To figure this out I typed in “serial killer definition” into the Google search engine. This brought up a ton of different results. After looking at many different websites, I've come to learn that there is no one set definition for the phrase. I did however find a good website, Deviantcrimes.com, that has a rather large collection of the different accepted definitions. While none of the experts seem to agree on how to define the term, there are some general guidelines that most follow. Some of the criteria that they agree upon are: two or more murders, crimes committed over a span of time rather then all at once, and no relation to the perpetrator or other victims. Now that I have somewhat defined what a serial killer is I can move on to exploring some of the common terms associated with serial killers.

I wanted to start this search with a phrase that I have seen come up frequently while researching serial killers. That term is the word “psychopath.” Just what does this word mean? Why is it often used in conjunction with serial killers? I found a research paper from the Scientific American that helped me answer these questions. The first thing that I found out about this condition is that people suffering from it are often lacking in feeling emotions such as guilt and empathy. They also have trouble forming relationships with others. The final thing that I learned that helped me understand the relationship between the two terms is that psychopaths are often reckless, rarely learning from their mistakes and that they often blame others for their behavior. Some of serial killers I have learned about certainly possess these attributes.

The next thing I wanted to research after having learned what a psychopath is: Do they feel anything at all? Since I've been finding such great information using Google I turned to it once again for help with this question. I found a great journal article from the Psychiatric Times. The article that I found the most helpful was titled “ The hidden Suffering of the Psychopath.” While reading it I learned that psychopaths feel some emotions, they just don't feel them the same way a normal person would. I learned that they often feel profoundly lonely and sad. At first this didn't make much sense to me because I was still under the misconception that they have no feelings at all. But as I read further on my thinking started to change in the matter. I couldn't possibly imagine living a life where I can't have meaningful relationships with others. But that is the reality psychopaths live with. I also learned that at least two serial killers, Jeffery Dahmer and Dennis Nilson, have used the excuse that they killed solely because they were lonely.

While learning these things have helped me learn just what a serial killer is and why certain words are associated with them, they have not really helped me learn why they kill in the first place.
I think that to learn more about their motives to help me learn just what makes a person a serial killer. I found a great article that helped me with this. The article “Evaluating a Psychological Profile of aSerial Killer” explores some of the reasons a person becomes a serial killer. The author states that “To discover what makes a serial killer function, it is necessary to look back into their past, particularly their adolescent life.” This statement points towards the idea that a serial killer is made and not born. The author also points out that many serial killers experience a “Pre-Crime Stressor.” In other words, there is some sort of experience that triggers a person on the brink to start killing as a release for their frustrations.

But is there any credence to the thought that a serial killer is born? To help me figure this out I turned to Google once again. I found a great article on TruTv.com titled “What Makes a Serial Killer Tick?” In this article Shirley Lynn Scott explores the many different reasons serial killers have given over the years for their acts. In the chapters titled “Natural Born Killers I and II” she discovers that while genetically inherited traits may help in the making of a serial killer, they don't necessarily mean that if a person possesses them they're going to eventually turn into a serial killer. This helps me out a lot in my quest to understand serial killers by clearing up the thought that it's solely hereditary.

I'm starting to see that it is a combination of factors that lead to a someone becoming a serial killer. Annabelle Rutigliano explores these ideas in her article “Predestined Serial Killers.” As she attempts to find out weather or not serial killers are genetically different, she also researches the possibility that they could be caused by a brain injury. In her research she finds that only 46% of all confessed serial killers have suffered any sort of brain injury. She also discovers that in some cases killing starts to become a sort of an addiction for some. All of these findings have helped me to confirm the fact that there seems to be no one certain reason, environmentally or hereditary, as to why a person becomes a serial killer.

Further Research

As I get farther and farther into my research on serial killers I'm starting to understand them slightly. After having read various sources and biographies of different killers there seems to be no one clear cut reason for their behavior. I read an in-depth biography on Jeffrey Dahmer and learned that he had what most would consider a normal childhood and very loving parents. It seems that his problems began at a very early age when he moved with his family and became very withdrawn from the world around him. On the other hand, John Wayne Gacy's father was an alcoholic that physically abused his mother and verbally berated his children. What I have noticed in my research is that a lot of serial killers have had some sort of brain injury. Is there a possibility that this could be related to them later developing into a serial killer? If that is so, then why doesn't everyone who suffers some sort of head trauma turn into a monstrous murderer? I'm starting to see that both environmental and physiological factors are at work here. Furthermore there seems to be no one combination of events and genes that will automatically generate a serial killer. I hope to find more information in my research efforts to help me draw a better conclusion in this matter.

Finding sources

It makes sense for me to start my research off with figuring out just what a serial killer is. To figure this out I turned to Google. I found a website called DeviantCrimes. This website has many different definitions of the term. This didn't really help me to narrow down the definition of a serial killer at all. I decided to move on from there and start researching some of the common terms you hear in association to serial killers. When you hear about serial killers you usually hear the term psychopath. So I thought that I should research this first and figure out just what a psychopath is. I searched in Google and found an article that I thought would be able to help me with this. The first article that I read was What “Psychopath” Means. This article helped give me a good definition of the word and helped to dispel some common myths about psychopaths. This made me wonder if there were any feelings at all that a psychopath felt at all? I once again turned to Google and I found the article titled The Hidden Suffering of the Psychopath. I was intrigued to learn that psychopaths do feel some emotions, they just don't feel them the way that a normal person would. I also learned that it is possible to treat someone with a psychopathic condition. Now that I have learned these things I can go on to explore next week just how a serial killer comes to be. 

Intro for my I-search essay

I've always been fascinated by science. Even as a young child I wanted to learn more about the world around me. This love of science has morphed over the years into an obsession with criminal science. I often spend my free time watching shows like “Forensic Files” and “CSI.” While watching “Forensic Files” one day I saw an episode that initially got me interested in serial killers. Murder in itself is interesting to me, but a serial killer is something more then just your run of the mill murderer. Where as most murders are motivated by jealousy or greed, a murder committed by a serial killer is motivated by something more. But what?

I've always speculated that a serial killer is made and not born. That something, somewhere in their life went horribly wrong and transformed them into a monster. I don't think that a person is born predisposed to killing. I've always assumed that most criminals have had a bad childhood. I know that the way a person is treated as a child impacts them for the rest of their lives. Is it the same for a serial killer? Having read a few biographies of well known serial killers it leaves me wondering about my theory.

What turns a seemingly normal person into a crazed killer? Is it a result of a traumatic childhood experience? Or is it caused by a mutation in a person's genes? These are the things that I wonder about when I hear the words serial killer. Is there just one factor that causes their decent into depravity or are there multiple components involved? These are a few of the questions that I'm hoping to find the answers to as I delve more into the world of serial killers.

Switching topics: Choosing an I-search topic

Coming up with a topic for my I-search paper is not very easy. I can't seem to find something that I really want to learn about. And when I do find something that interests me it's not something that I can really research. Some of the ideas that I've come up with so far are more for a scientific experiment. Like which diaper has better absorption? Or which is the best formula for my daughter? Another topic that I might like to write about is weather or not Wal-mart is a fair employer. A potential downside to this topic is that I could loose my job if I say anything negative about them. I do find myself drawn towards criminal justice and the science related to it. I'm drawn even more to serial killers. How where they driven to do the things that they did? I think that I might go with this topic. I'm fascinated by their thought processes and their lack of empathy. But which one to choose? There's the BTK killer Dennis Rader or John Wayne Gacy. Or do I go with the more well known serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy? I will have to figure out what I want to know and go from there I think. I might also base my choice on who I can find more credible research resources on.

Is it all in my head?

Understanding fibromyalgia is hard for many people. It's easy to say that it's just all in a person's head because there is no obvious source of pain. It's also easy to dismiss because many of the patients also suffer from depression and it's easy to write it off as just another “problem” that they're having. I personally know that fibromyalgia is very real because I suffer from it almost daily. My husband on the other hand has a hard time understanding what I'm going through. It's easy for him to disbelieve the things I tell him because he doesn't understand that it's a real condition and not just “all in my head.” There is still so little that is actually understood about fibromyalgia. As more research is done the face of fibromyalgia is changing. Scientists once classified fibromyalgia as an inflammatory musculoskeletal disease, but now believe it is more of a central nervous system disorder. In fact many doctor's once believed that fibromyalgia was all made up anyways. As doctors and scientists begin to understand the causes of fibromyalgia it will start to lead to better treatment options in the future. For now all we can do is to help spread awareness in the hopes that more people will begin to understand this often misunderstood disorder.