Serial Murderers Are Created Not Born
Serial murderers are notorious and dangerous, yet society is intrigued by them. In this evidence-based synthesis paper, I reviewed 13 articles from 2009 to 2019 to better understand serial murderers. By reading these articles it became evident that people are not born evil. With glimpse into their childhood, we see that many serial murderers experienced unstable and abusive homes. Their living situations can be viewed as traumatizing and contribute to aggressive and violent behaviors. However, their unstable homes alone are not enough to make serial murderers. Many serial murderers have a psychological disorder that also may contribute to their violent behaviors. However, it remains important to understand that most people with psychological disorders do not behave aggressively. While focusing on the trauma experienced by serial murderers, we can see how they find pleasure in killing their victims. Additionally, many serial murderers experienced bullying as young children, and this social rejection negatively impacted them as they were growing up. These experiences result in some people becoming antisocial as adults, whereas others became sociable, successful people. There are not as many serial murderers as there were 30 years ago, in part due to how child safety standards have changed, and it has become more socially acceptable for people to ask for psychological help. After researching serial murderers, I have found that they are made from many factors that are not just a person being born an evil.
PSY 499 – Senior Capstone
Erin Mueller
1:00pm – 1:30pm