LibGuides: So you want to know more about Serial Killers?: Killer Psychology

Biological Influence

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Psychology May Help Explain Why Male and Female Serial Killers Differ
Some things are evolutionary, including how men and women choose victims for murder. Take a look at Marissa Harrison's, Penn State Harrisburg's associate professor of psychology, results from her study.
Sexually Motivated Serial Killers and the Psychology of Aggression and "Evil" within a Contemporary Psychoanalytical Perspective
This paper theorizes how sexually motivated aggression coalesces with "evil, dislodged from its philosophical and religious underpinnings" (Knight, Z. G., 2007, Abstract). Many of the famous serial killers, like Ted Bundy and BTK, involve sexual aggression in their modus operandi. This resource is for those who enjoy learning the theory behind the action.

Application of Investigative Psychology to Psychodynamic and Human Development Theories: Examining Traits and Typologies of Serial Killers
If forensic science and psychology interest you, this is the dissertation to read! Jordyn Smith uses "historical analysis" to place Ted Bundy, Ted Kaczynski, David Berkowitz, and Jeffrey Dahmer into different psychological typologies (Smith, 2018, p. vi).

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The Utilization of Forensic Science and Criminal Profiling for Capturing Serial Killers
Fact is stranger than fiction when it comes to apprehending serial killers in real life. Read about how a killer's behavior is the reason they get caught.

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