Psychology Facts

▲ Serial Killers ▲

Sorry if this is too much! I'm just fascinated with this topic!

》What defines a serial killer?

Most experts define a serial killer as someone who has murdered at least three people in less than a month, with at least some "cooling-off" time between each murder. Some criminal psychologists go even further, claiming that serial killers must have a deviant psychological motive, such as sexual gratification, that extends beyond the murder itself.

》Sociopaths are not psychopaths.

Though the two are often confused, psychopathy and sociopathy are two very different social-emotional disorders.
Sociopathy, or anti-social personality disorder, makes it difficult for people to relate to others and form bonds. However, they are capable of emotion, empathy, and guilt.

Psychopaths, on the other hand, cannot feel empathy or guilt at all. Though they may learn to fake it convincingly, they do not feel genuine emotion. As a result, many psychopaths become criminals, because they cannot be guided by an emotion-driven moral compass. Most of the world's most notorious serial killers were psychopaths.)

》Serial killers are categorized by motivation.

Visionary killers believe they are being "ordered" to commit murder by God or another entity; these killers may have schizophrenia or experience a psychotic break shortly before committing their crimes.

Mission-oriented serial killers consider it their "duty" to rid the world of certain people—sex workers, for instance.

Hedonistic killers derive pleasure from killing, either sexual or thrill-based. Other serial killers are driven by a need for power and/or control.

》Serial killers have been reported in most countries and on six continents. While Western countries—including the U.S.—tend to have more known serial killers than non-Western countries, experts speculate that this is likely due to increased media attention and better law enforcement efforts, rather than an actual increased prevalence of serial killers.

》Serial killers are often delusional.

Serial killers usually suffer delusions of their own superiority over the rest of human kind. They blame others for their mistakes, and often use this as justification for their crimes.

》There Is A Neural Base For Psychopathy

Brain scans of known psychopaths and serial killers show a significantly thinner amygdala than normal brain scans. The amygdala is responsible for a number of emotion-related functions, most significantly fear—as a result, psychopaths don't feel fear, or empathize with their victim's fear.

However, it's important to note that this doesn't mean we can predict psychopathy—these behaviors and tendencies are often the result of a combination of factors, including both biology and upbringing.

》Not All Psychopaths Are Killers

Though many facts about serial killers and psychopaths apply to both categories, not all serial killers are psychopaths, and not all psychopaths are serial killers. To illustrate the fact that psychopathy does not a serial killer make, many high-functioning members of society show neural and behavioral similarities to criminal psychopaths. Highest amongst this group are CEOs, lawyers, and law enforcement, such as police officers.