The Mind of a Serial Killer

The Mind of a Serial Killer

The Mind of a Serial Killer

Background Research on Criminality
What is criminology? Literally the word criminology means the study of crime, but also can be defined as an interdisciplinary profession built around the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior, including their forms, causes legal aspects, and control. What are some criminological theories? A few criminological theories are sociological theory, individual theory, and symbolic interactionism. How do criminological theories related to serial killers, can they give explanations to why or what influenced them to commit crimes, and is there a rationale for the actions of a killer?
What is a sociological theory? Sociological theories examine institutional arrangements within society and the interaction between and among social institutions, individuals, and groups as they affect socialization and have an impact on social behavior. The major types of social structure theories are social disorganization theory, strain theory, and culture conflict theory. Social disorganization resulted from immigrants’ inability to successfully transplant guiding norms and values from their home cultures into the new one. The strain theory is a sociological approach that posits a disjuncture between socially and subculturally sanctioned means and goals as the cause of criminal behavior. The culture conflict theory suggests that the root cause of criminality can be found in a clash of values between differently socialized groups over what is acceptable or proper behavior.
What is an individual theory? One individual theory is trait theories developed by Lonnie Athens about how a process of brutalization by parents or peers that occurs in childhood results in violent crimes in adulthood. Another individual theory is a control theory, which is the suggestion that a person who distributes characteristic such as “attachment to others”, “belief in moral validity of rules”, commitment to achievement”, and...

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