Serial killers have long fascinated and horrified society, capturing the public's imagination with their chilling crimes and enigmatic personas.
Beneath the surface of their notorious acts lies a question that continues to intrigue both experts and laypeople alike: do serial killers have emotions?
This blog explores the complex emotional landscapes of serial killers, exploring how their feelings manifest differently from those of neurotypical individuals.
 By examining factors such as childhood trauma, psychological disorders, and the influence of genetics, we aim to uncover the motivations and emotional responses that drive these individuals to commit such heinous acts.
Join us as we navigate the darker side of humanity.
Do Serial Killers Have Emotions?
Yes. Much of what you read won't answer the question directly but the answer has to be yes. Here's why:
Serial killers often get sexual pleasure from the violent acts they commit. Arousal is an emotion.
You can see this in the acts of male serial killers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy.
Think With Jude argues against the logical fallacy that such killers lack empathy. They argue that serial killers do in fact have empathy because empathy is a skill that serial killers learn to understand how other humans feel for the purpose of manipulating them, capturing them, and taking the person's life.
Many people also believe that serial killers minds have zero remorse for serial killing, but American serial killer Samuel Little told interviewer Jillian Lauren he believed he could just ask for forgiveness and be forgiven for sexual assault and murder. Why would he need forgiveness if he didn't feel guilty?
Ultimately, I think the real answer is that serial killers have emotions, are aware of emotions, but the emotions manifest different in serial murderers than in normal people.
Let's look at psychopaths, struggling with emotional regulation and experiencing difficulty empathizing with others.Â
What plays a role in emotional responses?
In any discussion, it's natural to have a discussion of the varying degrees that nature (your biology, mental disorders, and genetics) or nurture (upbringing, education, exposure to abuse) play, but there's also a matter of choice that comes into play.
We'll look at what neurology, gene analysis, and psychology say about a possible explanation about why some people commit serial murder and others don't.
Neurocriminology looks for brain differences between normal people and murderers.
Neurocriminology looks to understand if there are brain differences between people who kill or attempt to kill and those who do not.
Brain scans have been used in court to show that brains were structurally different naturally, or altered because of a traumatic brain injury or tumor. Evidence shows that damage may cause structural and behavioral changes including aggression, depression, impulsiveness, inappropriate sexual behavior, lack of thought control, and violence.
Brain imaging studies shows psychopaths, antisocial disorders, and violent criminals specifically show structural and functional differences in their brains compared to other humans in the prefrontal cortex, the area that controls executive functions like behaviors, decision-making, emotions, planning, and working memory.
Basically the murderers have smaller prefrontal cortexes with less neurons in this area, which makes it harder for them to control their behaviors and other emotions.
These results were confirmed when murderers and serial killers were compared to other violent crimes and they excluded people who were psychopaths and schizophrenics.
Criminal psychopaths have decreased connectivity between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, affecting their ability to process negative stimuli as strongly felt emotions.
Gene Analysis Research Shows Potential Gene Therapy Solutions
Gene analysis research have found that two genes tend to have an impact on violent acts, the MAOA gene (MAOA-L) and CDH13 gene are both linked to violence especially when combined with childhood abuse.
The MAOA gene is specifically tied to the X chromosome. When combined with violence during childhood the MAOA gene leads to more aggressive behaviors, while the absence of the violence during childhood makes people normally less aggressive. Globally, there have been mixed results in courts using this defense that could be used to reduce punishment.
CDH13 impacts signaling between cells and is connected to ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance abuse, and violent behavior.
Together these two genes were connected to 5-10% of Finnish violent criminals.
While I don't believe these should be used as rationale to allow serial killers to successfully kill and get away with it, I do think that genetic testing should be done at birth to understand whether these genes are present and how to help individuals successfully navigate the challenges associated with them.
Once gene therapy is proven to be effective I would love to see studies where these genes are modified and whether they help serial killers develop a social conscience. Once we've tested it on people who have committed serial murder, we could potentially use it on children to reduce the likelihood they ever begin killing.
What Does Psychology Say About Serial Killers Emotions?
Psychology tends to view serial killers and other murderers as people who don't feel guilt, may have been abused or abandoned, and may be either criminal psychopaths or have other mental illnesses. We'll look at what psychologists say about each of these in more detail.
Male Serial Killers Often Have Childhood Trauma
According to the International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 50% of serial killers have physical abuse abuse as a child, while 36% were psychologically abused and 26% were sexually abused.
This abuse could lead to damage discussed in the section on neurocriminology. It can also lead to PTSD, anxiety and depressive orders, and a hatred for the same or opposite sex. Combine all the negative results of childhood trauma and I'd argue that child abuse needs to be punished much more severely that it is.
Trauma can lead to suppressed emotional responses and difficulty empathizing with others, making it harder to develop appropriate responses to trauma. While some serial killers may be able to have normal relationships, these are typically the more organized serial killers. Other serial killers often fear relationships and seek control, which can lead to destructive behavior and a desire for attention and fame.
Serial killers who suffer abuse most commonly act out their crimes with rape/lust, torture, or quick killings that go overkill based on this behavioral analysis.
Fear and Rejection
In addition to the childhood abuse, abandonment issues are common in serial killers. For instance, neither mother or father wanted Edmund Kemper after they broke up so his father left him on a farm by himself.
Empathy and Guilt
Serial killers, especially those classified as psychopaths, are commonly described as not showing empathy and guilt, and failing to understand others' emotions including their victims.
This is generally accepted as true but interviews like the one below with Louis Schlesinger, PhD seem to discredit any remorse shown as remorse for getting caught.
Serial killers often start killing after an emotional trigger like the loss of a job or loved one, or birth of a child. I would make the argument that these are emotional responses to feeling a loss of complete control of one's circumstances.
Many Serial Killers Are Considered Psychopaths
Psychopathy, a personality disorder, is often associated with serial killers, characterized by a lack of empathy, remorse, and manipulative behavior. The problem with this is it's not an actual clinical diagnosis. It's just name calling, which you parents hopefully taught your was wrong.
Many serial killers experience a sense of superiority over others which makes it easier to justify their actions. These delusions of grandeur can cause them major problems because it may cause them to take major risks.
Serial killers minds should be thoroughly analyzed to understand how they work and how we can bring them into the realm of neurotypical behavior as opposed to being outliers in society.
Using terms like criminal psychopaths are cheap cop outs to understanding and fixing a very real problem. Given that the same genes are associated with mental illness, psychologists need to start working more with geneticists. Learn more about the psychology of serial killers.
Emotional Regulation
Generally speaking anyone who is neuro-spicy has difficulty controlling their feelings and impulses. This can lead to violent outbursts, including serial killings. Unfortunately, mental health isn't prioritized nearly like it should be.
Behavioral modification therapy at a young age could help everyone become a more successful individual and hopefully reduce the number of victims to murder and other violent crimes.
Not All Serial Killers Are Psychopaths
As we explained before psychopaths are not an official diagnosis. Furthermore just because some serial killers do not display empathy, doesn't mean that all people who are serial killing don't.
Some people may feel guilty for their crimes or have committed multiple murders out of fear, to evade capture like Bonnie and Clyde, or out of revenge like some of the women serial killers.
The Emotional Lives of Serial Killers
Many serial killers can experience a wide range of emotions but they display them in a manner different from neurotypical individuals. Serial killers minds often compartmentalize their emotional responses making it difficult for outside observers to distinguish from emotions and actions. This is likely a response to being sexually, psychologically, or physically abused as a child.
Serial killers often require a psychological preparation before committing murder, indicating that emotions play a role in their decision-making process. Serial killers have emotions before, during, and after the act of taking a victim's life but during the murder they often come across as detached and unemotional.
Typologies and Characteristics of Serial Killers
While originally serial killers were described as organized (clean methodical crime scene) or disorganized (messy, sloppy crime scene with evidence of overkill, there are four main types of serial killers based on the type of crime they commit:
Thrill seekers: Thrill seekers are doing it for the fun. They might toy with the police, leave clues for the criminal justice system, and even watch the investigation. The Zodiac Killer would fall in this category.
Mission-oriented killers: These killers target victims because the have a goal of eliminating a group of people. For instance, Joseph Paul Franklin targeted black men with white girlfriends because he was racist.
Visionary killers: These serial killers commit murder because a God or delusions told them to kill. The Son of Sam is an example of this type of killer.
Power/control seekers: These murders are committed because the killer wants to feel complete control over their victims. John Wayne Gacy is an example of killing for this reason.
Many serial killers may use charm to lure potential victims into a feeling of comfortability before committing the murder.
Research on Serial Killers: A Historical Perspective
The Federal Bureau of investigation has been researching American serial killers minds and behaviors for decades to identify specific characteristics and separate events that can help them better understand why a person is killing, how they choose their victims, and how to narrow down the suspect list.
For instance, they have established that if there is evidence of sexual abuse on any of the victims that the serial killer has likely been arrested before for sexual assault.
Identifying and Preventing Serial Killer Behavior
Identifying potential serial killers requires a deep understanding of their characteristics, behaviors, and motivations. Law enforcement and criminal justice professionals can use BSA and other methods to identify patterns in serial killer behavior and prevent future crimes.
Preventing serial killer behavior involves addressing the root causes of their actions, such as childhood trauma and abuse. Hopefully soon we'll be able to prevent some of the genetic root causes through gene therapy, but that's a bit away.
Educating the public about the warning signs of serial killer behavior can also help prevent crimes. They've also established that most serial killers do not have dissociative identity disorder, which is the presence of two or more personalities.
FAQ
Why are most serial killers men?
The majority of serial killers are male, indicating a potential gender influence in the prevalence of psychopathy and associated violent behaviors.
Given men have one MAOA gene and women have two, women are less likely to have low levels of MAOA. In addition, the different chemicals created by the sexes like testosterone and estrogen may play a role.
Why are people so fascinated with serial killers?
Many people, especially women, find serial killers fascinating because they want to understand how someone could commit such crimes. Serial killers provoke revulsion but also fascination in the general public.
In additions the media portrayal of serial killers often glamorizes them and makes them more relatable than they actually are.
Conclusion: The Complexity of Serial Killer Emotions and Behavior
Serial killers are complex individuals with a range of emotions and motivations. Understanding their emotional lives and behaviors is crucial for identifying and preventing serial killer behavior.
Research on serial killers continues to evolve, with new methods and techniques being developed to study their behavior. By exploring the darker side of humanity, we can gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of human behavior and work towards preventing violent crimes.
