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.