Psychopathology and Biogenics of Serial Murderers

Psychopathology and Biogenics of Serial Murderers

Dr. Michael Beshears

The inheritance school of thought is discounted by most researchers today because it is impossible to determine if criminal behavior is a product of inherited or acquired traits. The notion of born criminals provided the impetus for the eugenics movement of the early 1930s. Based on the belief that many criminal traits and mental illnesses were inherited, 27 states allowed the forced sterilization of the feeble-minded, chronic offenders, and the insane. However, the work of Lombroso and those supporting body-build theories have yet to be proven as valuable in understanding criminal behavior (Hickey, 2016).       

Modern research now supports a variety of biochemical factors involved in criminal behavior, such as allergies, environmental conditions, and diet. The movement toward biological definitions for explaining violent behavior carries with it political, religious, and economic ramifications. The term psychopath is a non-diagnostic label used to describe a potpourri of individuals determined by societal standards to possess characteristics at variance with general community standards and practices.

Although most serial killers are psychopaths or at least exhibit psychopathic characteristics, most criminal psychopaths are non-violent persons. Indeed, most criminal psychopaths operate as white-collar criminals. Dr. Hare (1999) refers to them as sub-clinical psychopaths who are drawn to positions of power and control and noted that many white-collar criminals are psychopaths. Psychopaths differentiate themselves from sociopath in that psychopaths tend to display a higher level of skill in their criminal trade. Thus, they tend not to be arrested as often as sociopaths.

A common trait of psychopaths is their constant need to be in control of their social and physical environment. Emotionally healthy people do not need to control others because they are already in control of themselves. Persons with high PCL -R scores are three to four times more likely to recidivate than persons with low scores. Dr. Hare (1999) found that on the 40-point scale where normal person rates about a 5, the typical male incarcerated offender in North America rates about a 23. Bona fide psychopaths, he believes, are rated at 30 points and higher. For the serial killer, the term psychopath seems to apply well.

Jacobson 2002, (as cited by Hickey, 2016), in his review of antisocial abusers (men who lack the capacity to empathize, use violence as a means of control, and have histories of criminal behavior), demonstrated a different physiological response to conflict than other men in similar circumstances. Jacobson referred to such men as “vagal reactors” because their heart rates decline during heated arguments that involve emotionally aggressive confrontations. (In the autonomic nervous system of some persons, the vagus nerve, when exposed to excitation, suppresses arousal). He found that the most seriously belligerent offenders reported the greatest decrease in heart rate. The decrease in heart rate is a result of being in control of another person, common to psychopaths who seek control. Criminal psychopaths, in one experiment, were given anger management and social skills training. They reported an 82% recidivism rate compared to 59% for psychopaths who were not given the treatment.

In conclusion, psychopaths are not amenable to treatment because they do not believe they need it and if subjected to treatment, will simply add that information to their arsenal of psychological tools they can later use to control others. 

References

Hare, R. D. (1999). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. Guilford Press.

Hickey, E. W. (2016). Serial murders and their victims (7th ed.). Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.