The mind of a serial is something many people want to understand. After all, how can they kill over and over again and do such terrible things to people? The fact is, that they are psychopaths, but not the kind seen on TV shows like Criminal Minds.
The truth is that serial killers are the True psychopaths who have no feelings and could care less who or how they kill, but how did they get that way? In this post, we will explore the development of a true psychopath as well as look at the different types of psychopaths who actually do have feelings.
A blooming psychopath
The early life of a serial killer starts off troubled. Serial killers may lack proper interpersonal skills which means they have a hard time interacting with others, but some will learn to manipulate and adapt if it gets them what they want. Some have been shunned by their peers, abused as children or witnessed violence at an early age; but how did they become psychopaths?
Psychopathy starts with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) which is a personality disorder which affects a person's thoughts, emotions, impulse control and interpersonal relationships and skills (Personality Disorders, 2014). Symptoms of ASPD begin in childhood and include a history of cruelty to animals, fire setting, anger, rebellion and legal trouble (Personality Disorders, 2014). Once a person is diagnosed with this disorder, the symptoms include impulsiveness, irritability, deceitfulness, failure to consider consequences for their behavior, lack of empathy and a major disregard for the law (Personality Disorders, 2014). Although ASPD is like psychopathy, all those with ASPD are not psychopaths.
So what is a psychopath?
In 1993 Robert Hare, a leading expert on Psychopaths describes a psychopath as social predator who is manipulative, ruthless, charming and who selfishly takes without empathy or conscience (Bartol & Bartol, 2008). Hare describes 3 different types of psychopaths; a secondary psychopath who is neurotic and anger driven, the dis-social psychopath who shows aggressive antisocial behavior learned from their environment, and the primary true psychopath who is the calm cool serial killer (Bartol & Bartol, 2008). The true psychopath is not the neurotic or the emotionally disturbed killer seen on many TV shows like CSI and Criminal Minds.
What is a true psychopath?
A true psychopath according to Hare is not normally outwardly explosive, destructive or violent, but is instead more outgoing and charming and often possesses above average communication skills (Bartol & Bartol, 2008). The true psychopath is the person who shows no emotions because to them, they have none. This complete lack of emotions allows these individuals to coolly and calmly calculate their next plan of attack without the added attention emotions create before, during and after their crimes. To help you understand this better, we will discuss how these individuals become emotionless in a later post.
References:
Bartol C., Bartol, A. (2008). Criminal behavior: a psycho social approach Pearson Education
Inc. New Jersey
Personality Disorders (2014). Personality disorders AllPsych Online. Retrieved
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