AS A PSYCHOLOGIST TAKES US ON A JOURNEY OF HOW THESE NON-NURTURING ELEMENTS, ABUSE AND PAIN IMPACTS THE MIND AND OcCASIONALLY DRIVES IT TO MADNESS.
The dark world of criminals and culprits, is a breeding ground for all kinds of serial killers who often tend to operate at the periphery of society, working in mystery, hiding behind the mask of normalcy. Such people, known for their ability to brutally take other people’s lives systematically over long periods of time, have always fascinated and horrified humanity. What drives these ordinary people into committing such atrocious crimes?
For answers on some aspects concerning these monsters, we asked Alisha Fernandes, a registered provisional psychologist Calgary who has a keen interest in learning about how minds of these killers operate. In this Q/A interview with Fernandes, she delves into some traumatic experiences and explains how they impact on the psyche of a serial killer thereby giving us an insight into their mad thoughts and actions in life.
1. What role does early childhood environment play in the development of a potential serial killer?
So just starting out this conversation, I want to clarify a couple of concepts from a psychological perspective. The term serial killer defines a person who kills at least 3 or more individuals, and there is no apparent motive for the person doing so. In terms of mental illness, we say that this person has an antisocial personality disorder, because they consistently break social rules and norms, lack remorse for their actions, lack empathy, engage in deceit, lying, are reckless, and often are aggressive. It is safe to say that pretty much all serial killers have antisocial personality disorder. When talking about ASPD, early childhood environments clearly play a role. What we know from well-known serial killers in the media, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer etc. have had some forms of constant physical, and maybe even sexual abuse, have had family dysfunction, parents with their own substance abuse addictions and emotionally distant or absent parents.
2. How does unresolved trauma and neglect during childhood contribute to the formation of violent tendencies in individuals later in life?
As I mentioned, trauma is the single recurring theme in the biographies of most serial killers. Therefore, we can see that consequently, they tend to suppress their emotional responses. With most people, childhood trauma can lead people to become either too dependent on others as adults or too detached. When it comes to people like serial killers, the types of beliefs they form about themselves, others and the world can vary, some see themselves as loners, separate individuals, others might view themselves as mistreated and justify victimizing others because they believe they have been victimized. These belief systems, coupled with learned aggressive behaviors and violence in younger years can lead to them being violent individuals in adulthood. What is important to remember is that many individuals have unresolved trauma and most of them do not end up being serial killers. Yet with that said, a small percentage of them do become violent individuals. Serial killers appear to have deep seeded unresolved trauma, lack any type of attachments, and suffer severe pathology, which leads them to do what they do.
AlisHA fERNANDES, A REGISTERED PROVISIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST AT HER OFFICE IN CALGARY, ALBERTA.
3. Can you shed light on the interplay between genetic predisposition and environmental factors in shaping the behavior of serial killers?
So neurobiological research has found interesting results in the genetic and biological role of violence. Some research studies cite that up to 60% of psychopathy is inherited by genes. Other research has focused on various brain areas in people with antisocial personality disorders versus typical people like you and me, you know “normal brains”. And the comparison in violent individuals is that brain scans show low blood flow in the orbital frontal cortex, which is involved in maintaining control and restraining impulses of emotional outbursts, the anterior cingulated cortex which is found to deal with responses to conflict, and the amygdala which is known to control reactions to fear. So essentially, in people with ASPD, since they have low blood flow and brain activity in these regions, they struggle to control their behaviors of impulsive thoughts, they cannot hold back on conflict and do not feel the emotion fear which most of us feel, which lets them engage in the violent behaviors they engage in. Other research has found that these types of individuals also have low levels of cortisol, which basically means they do not experience high levels of stress or anxiety. Combine this biology with the severe traumatic childhoods we discussed, and it is not surprising that a person grows into an adult with very sinister and deviant behaviors.
4. What are some common patterns or red flags in the upbringing of notorious serial killers that might indicate a lack of nurturing or stability in their early years?
So, you’ll be interested to know about the Macdonald triad. So, the Macdonald triad refers to the idea that there are three signs in childhood that can indicate whether someone will grow up to be a serial killer or other kind of violent criminal (1) being cruel or abusive to animals, especially pets (2) setting fire to objects, committing minor acts of arson or a problematic fascination with fire (3) regularly wetting the bed. Again, not to say that these are clear indications of a psychopath or serial killer. However, research indicates that the presence of one of these types of behaviors in children is one of the patterns or red flags.
5. How does the absence of positive social influences during critical developmental stages impact an individual's capacity for violent behavior as an adult?
Not just a lack of positive social influence but the presence of negative social influences, early exposure to aggression, trauma, perhaps even the sexual traumas they underwent. When looking at serial killers through the lens of attachment, we can see that these individuals have not developed any attachment to their parents or whoever their primary caregiver was. Given that their childhood environment was disorganized, violent, aggressive, it is difficult to form relationships and learn to trust in other people. This lack of trust and inability to find emotional safety in others are key in developing their core beliefs that the world is cruel, unsafe, and possibly that they need to victimize others in other to justify their own victimhood.
6. Are there specific interventions or preventative measures that could be implemented to identify and support at-risk individuals before they escalate to committing violent crimes?
So, some behavioral theorists suggest that killing is essentially a learned behavior. Using behavioral techniques, one can unlearn killing behaviors. But I think it is so much more complicated than that. So serial killers generally do not have remorse for their actions, so it is pretty much a little too late for them unfortunately. However, there are ways to prevent young individuals from developing antisocial tendencies. One approach to helping adolescents who start to show signs of violent tendencies and rule breaking behaviors, is the use of multisystemic therapy. This type of therapy not just focuses on the individuals, but the parents or caregivers of this teens, working with the teachers and schooling system and the community at large to identify risk factors, such as income, parental behaviors, peers at school etc. so that every aspect of the teen’s life is supported in some way. Other promising approaches involve neurofeedback which target brain stimulation for symptoms reduction, especially in the brain regions I just talked about, but currently this research had had mixed results.
7. In your experience, what are some misconceptions society often holds about the upbringing of serial killers, and how do these misunderstandings hinder our understanding of the root causes of their behavior?
There are quite a few myths people hold about serial killers. One is that serial killers are all dysfunctional loners. This reality is that many serial killers are not reclusive, social misfits who live by themselves, not monsters, and may not appear strange. Many serial killers hide in plain sight within their communities, have wonderful and loving families and appear to be family oriented. This myth is quite misleading because the reality is that from the outset, you can never really tell who is and who is not a serial killer. It is only when one pays close attention to some of the signs, that maybe perhaps someone could identify the red flags.
Another myth is that serial killers are all white males. We are familiar with the white male serial killers because the media has made these individuals popular. However, contrary to the popular belief, serial killers show up in all racial and gender groups. There are white, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian serial killers. The racial diversification of serial killers generally mirrors that of the overall U.S. population.
Another myth is that all serial killers are evil geniuses. As much as I love the Hannibal movie and TV series, I blame these and pop media for their portrayals of serial killers as evil geniuses. The truth is serial killers are not extremely clever or intelligent. They mostly evade getting caught because their killings are so random, their victims are typically strangers and the only reason they get caught is because of dumb luck by law enforcement. Also from a neurobiological perspective, people with ASPD have lower blood flow in their prefrontal cortex, meaning that the part of their brain that is involved in complex decision making, planning skills, and inhibiting impulses does not function very well. These skills all make up part of what we call IQ, something that these guys lack in….so yea these guys are not overly intelligent. Now they may appear charming and give off the impression that they are. So, for example, Tend Bundy greatly exaggerated his GPA and intelligence, when the reality is that he was so charming that people assumed him to be more intelligent than he was.
The study of psychology serves as a reminder that everyone has a dark side that can occasionally manifest in some wicked brains. Investigating these evil minds raises some questions and issues that are difficult to resolve and continue to occupy our thoughts. The mystery surrounding their thought process acts as a reminder of how easily some humans can commit crimes, so chilling.
