Week 3: Profiling and Criminal Theories
Have you ever considered what causes someone to become a serial murderer or a mass murderer? Are such persons shaped by upbringing, childhood abuse, or bullying and teasing by other children? What if you had been raised in a different set of circumstances? Could you have become a serial or mass murderer? Or do you think the traits of a serial or mass murderer are present at birth in the form of genetic predisposition and other biological factors? These questions have baffled scientists for years, and there probably is no simple answer to any of them.
Despite limited knowledge, theories have been constructed to explain why a person might become a serial or mass murderer. This week, you examine some of the dominant criminal theories that try to explain the development of such persons. You also consider how criminal profilers use these criminal theories during the investigation of serial and mass murders.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Evaluate and apply criminal theories to explain behaviors of serial and mass murderers
Analyze similarities and differences among criminal theories as they relate to serial and mass murderers
Identify and apply criminal theories as they relate to serial and mass murderers and profiling
IN THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT WILL BE 250 WORD COUNT OR MORE USING TEXTBOOK REFERENCE AND OUTSIDE REFERENCE IF YOU CHOOSE TO DO SO. MAKE SURE YOU READ EVERTHING LISTED BELOW THAT’S HIGHLIGHTED AND FOLLOW WHAT THE PROFESSOR IS ASKING DOWN BELOW. I HAVE ATTACHED ALL READING MATERTIAL THAT YOU WILL USE TO COMPLETE THIS ASSIGNMENT AND ALL OTHER ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK 3. I HAVE ALSO ATTACHED A SAMPLE PAPER JUST FOR YOU TO LOOK AT IN ORDER TO HELP YOU PUT YOUR WORK TOGETHER. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ANY INFORMATION FROM THE SAMPLE PAPER BECAUSE IT HAS ALREADY BEEN USED IN SAFEASSGN. BUT YOU CAN USE THE REFERENCE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SAMPLE PAPER IF YOU CHOOSE TO. THANK YOU
Discussion: Explaining Serial Murder Through Theory
Criminal profilers use criminal theories of serial and mass murderers, in addition to typologies, to construct a murderer’s profile. To use theories effectively, a criminal profiler must first accurately identify the theory that best applies to a specific crime. Identifying an incorrect theory actually can produce an incorrect profile and impede, rather than aid, the investigation. To identify the relevant theory in a case, a profiler examines the evidence to determine whether the victim was sexually assaulted. The profiler also tries to identify any theme that the murder has in common with other murders—for example, the race of the victims. The profiler collates information about other murders from existing statistics. After sifting through the information, the profiler makes an educated guess about the theory or theories that best explain the serial murderer. The same theories also can be applied to mass murderers. The information provided by these theories, for example, that mass and serial murderers are usually abused as children or that they have neurological impairments, eventually helps the profiler create the profile of the serial murderer.
The Behavioral Theory of Crime
This theory maintains that human behavior is developed through learning experiences. The hallmark of behavioral theory is the notion that people alter or change their behavior according to the reactions this behavior elicits in other people (Bandura, 1978). In an ideal situation, behavior is supported by rewards and extinguished by negative reactions or punishments. Behaviorists view crimes as learned responses to life’s situations. Social learning theory, which is a branch of behavior theory, is the most relevant to criminology. The most prominent social learning theorist is Albert Bandura (1978). Bandura maintains that individuals are not born with an innate ability to act violently. He suggested that, in contrast, violence and aggression are learned through a process of behavior modeling (Bandura, 1977). In other words, children learn violence through the observation of others. Aggressive acts are modeled after three primary sources: (1) family interaction, (2) environmental experiences, and (3) the mass media. Research on family interaction demonstrates that children who are aggressive are more likely to have been brought up by parents or caretakers who are aggressive (Jacoby, 2004).
The second source of behavioral problems, environmental experiences, suggests that individuals who reside in areas that are crime prone are more likely to display aggressive behavior than those who reside in low-crime areas (Shelden, 2006). One could argue that high-crime areas are without norms, rules, and customs (Bohm, 2001). Furthermore, there is an absence of conventional behavior. Manifestations of unconventional behavior include the inability to gain employment; drug or alcohol abuse; and failure to obey the local, state, and federal laws. Most important, individuals who adhere to conventional behavior are invested in society and committed to a goal or belief system. They are involved in schools or extracurricular activities, such as football, baseball, or Girl Scouts, and often they have an attachment to family.
Week 3 Announcement – Please Read
Students,
We are now working in Week 3.
The case study for this week is Arthur Shawcross, which is discussed in this week’s reading “The Making of a Serial Killer.” Would you describe Shawcross as an organized serial killer or a disorganized serial killer? Why? Describe at least one criminological theory that would best describe Shawcross’s behavior.
For this week’s assignment, make sure you discuss at least three criminological theories (one psychological, one constitutional/biological, and one social/ecological). Consider the similarities and differences between and among these theories in terms of how they account for violent behaviors of serial and mass murderers and how they might be used in profiling and criminal investigation. Please not that Psychological theory is not a criminological theory. It is a group of theories. You need to fully discuss and describe an established criminological theory that is discussed in Chapter 4 of the textbook, such a Freud’s theory. Please discuss one of the criminological theories in the textbook.
Reminder: Your initial (first) post should be over 250 words.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review Chapter 4 of your course text, Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool. Focus on the central themes relevant to each theory, including psychological, constitutional/biological, and social/ecological theories. Also, pay attention to the statistics that are used to support each theoretical perspective. Consider how these theories can be applied to different serial and mass murderers.
Review the book excerpt, “The Making of a Serial Killer.” Pay attention to the various factors that are hypothesized to be causes for the creation of serial and mass murderers.
Reflect on the typologies you used in Week 2 to describe the murderer in the case study.
Think about the themes related to the crimes and crime scenes in the case study.
Select one criminal theory—psychological, constitutional/biological, or social/ecological—you think best accounts for the behaviors of the murderer in the case study.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post a brief explanation of the typologies you used to describe the murderer from the case study in Week 2. Then based on these typologies, the themes related to the crimes and crime scenes, and prior statistics, describe one criminal theory you think best accounts for the murderer’s behaviors and explain why.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.