Sociological Perspective : Jeffrey Dahmer

Serial killers, we have all heard of them and most of us are petrified of them. They commit horrendous crimes that many people cannot even begin to wrap their head around. Unfortunately, for those of us who are afraid of them it is likely we have encountered at least one if not multiple in our lifetime. That last sentence really puts the “be nice to everyone” quote into perspective, doesn’t it? It is not known how many serial killers are actually walking around among us however most studies conducted reviled we may not want the answer. Chances are the number is higher than we would have thought and definitely higher than we had hoped. Although I highly doubt we will ever get an actual number. It is not likely that a survey will be given to see how many serial killers are actually walking free. Even if this hypothetical survey was given I do not think an actual serial killer is going to put a checkmark in the are you a serial killer box. Although if they did mark the box they would save a lot of lives. Answering yes to such a question would land them in a psych ward. We may not know how to identify a serial killer simply by looking them up and down but we do have theories that help predict why they choose to commit unspeakable crimes. One of these theories that will be discussed is the biosocial theory. Throughout the report, the biosocial theory of crime will be thoroughly explained and applied to this topic to better understand serial killers. Anyone who has some time to

As the literature on serial murder increases and becomes more common, it creates an essentialist stereotype, which forms specific notions about a serial killers ‘character’. These certain notions include that the serial killer is a male, the people he goes after are defenseless, his motives for killing are internal and he gets a psychological reward from doing it. Out of all the stereotypes, the most prominent is sexual fantasy. Sexual fantasy in killers was first discovered by Reinhardt in 1957 and since then serial killers have been classified as ‘sexual sadistic killers’. This name has become an emblem for them and has shaped the way they are defined and researched. Killers that blame their actions on this will repeat their fantasies until they are played out perfectly.

However, he never got rid of his drinking habit and was discharged that spring, moving back home to Ohio.

Serial murder is one of the most baffling crimes that occur in the U.S. and all over the world. Knight (2006) defines serial murder as the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period. The cooling off period may be weeks, months or even years long. Researchers have proposed various psychological, biological and sociological theories that offer a partial understanding of the nature of serial murder. Some propose that the basis for criminal behavior is a predisposition to violence as well as a mix between environment, personality traits and biological factors. Serial killers are predominantly male. Only 3 percent of serial murders are committed by women (U.S. News and World Report,

In this society there are many people who suffer from mental illness and others who are deviants. Although many confuse mental illness with deviance they are both very different things that can be related with each other due to the fact that having a mental illness is not normal and being deviant is also not normal. There are many criminals who would be considered deviants. Several theories of deviance seem to describe these types of people. There is the control, differential-association, labeling, psychological and strain theories that may determine why criminals chose to act in deviant ways. Serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy fall into some of the theories of deviance. The theories John Wayne Gacy falls into are the control theory

Out of all the Infamous killers in the U.S the two well-known killers that I will be researching are Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. These two murderers share many similarities such as their backgrounds, Crimes, and Motives. Both Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy are serial killers who’ve killed over a dozen people each. They’ve committed crimes including rape, murder, and kidnapping. In this research paper I will be comparing and contrasting the two serial killers.

Jeffrey Dahmer was born on May 21, 1960 in West Allis,Wisconsin. He and his parents, Lionel Dahmer and Joyce Annette, were an average american family who strived for the best. Jeffrey’s father was a graduate student who wanted to pursue a career as an analytical chemist. His mother worked as a teletype machine instructor. However, Jeffrey Dahmer’s mother was not a stable women. She had a history of psychological problems which meant that her son was susceptible to mental illness due to genetic factors. Growing up, Jeffrey had trouble with interacting with his peers. He also had a peculiar fascination with dead animals and “according to his father, his son was ‘oddly thrilled’ by the sound the bones made and instantly developed a fixation for playing with and collecting animal bones (“Jeffrey Dahmer” Wikipedia).” As he got older, he developed an addiction to alcohol. He started drinking heavily during high school which negatively affected his grades. Another issue that Dahmer faced in his early life was

After the move, when Dahmer went back to school, he was scared and very reserved from everyone else. His teacher even told Dahmer’s parents that Dahmer was not doing as well in school and that he was showing a disinterest in his school work. As Dahmer continued to grow up, his parents’ absence took a toll on him. He continued to become more and more isolated. Dahmer became frustrated easily, but held everything inside. He did not participate in any activities and rather spent his time walking around the woods or exploring the insides of animals. His mother eventually got sent to a neuropsychiatry facility for a month. Dahmer put a lot of her illness on himself, blaming himself for all the issues going on in their family.

When he realized that he was a homosexual, the thoughts of naked men, with dead things would arouse him even more. It would not be until the age of eighteen, when Dahmer would lure his first victim, and then take his life. He picked up a hitchhiker, they drank alcohol, had sex, and then when Dahmer did not want the man to leave, he would hit him over the head with a dumbbell. In an interview he once had with a FBI profiler, he stated “the guy wanted to leave, and I did not want him to.” He now had a dead human being lying on his floor, for him to have his way with. He would masturbate on to the body; he cut him up, put him into trash bags, and dumped the bags into a ravine. His parents would soon be settling for a divorce, which did not go over well with Dahmer, especially with his abandonment issues. He started drinking, which would cause him to steal to get money to buy more alcohol, which led him to drop out of college, and down a path of self-destruction. With no other choices, he joined the army where he became a cook, which is where he picked up his butchery skills. The alcohol once again got the best of him, and he was discharged from the army. A few years later his urge to kill had grown stronger and could not resist it any longer. He started luring men to him apartment, where he would drug and disremember them. He would start to experiment with trying to

Jeffrey Dahmer, also commonly known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, is one of America’s most notorious serial killers. In the span of nearly 15 years, between the years 1978 and 1991, it is estimated that Dahmer was responsible for the death of fifteen to seventeen young men (Radford University). As his nickname suggests Dahmer was known for drugging his victims, then raping them, then disembodying them, and if the mood fit him, cooking and eating his victims. Dahmer’s unique case resulted in him being psychologically analyzed and diagnosed by at least seven different psychologists during his trial (Palermo & Bogaerts, 2014). This paper seeks to explore the diagnostics given to Jeffery Dahmer and prove, through the use of available information, their accuracy.

The stereotype that exists for individuals who commit serial murder is one that mainly includes males of a specific race. However, it is now known that white males are not the only individuals who commit serial murder. Men and women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic statuses have been found to be serial murderers. Although this information has been presented to society, the cultural schema of the white male serial killer is still prevalent. The assumptions that involve serial murderers often include two aspects, the serial murderer is male and the serial murder is a type of “lust murder”, often involving sexual crimes by a sadist (Keeney and Heide, 1995). Keeney and Heide (1994) define serial murder to be the

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was born on May 21st, 1960 in West Allis, Wisconson. He was born to Mother, Joyce Dahmer and Father, Lionel Dahmer after a difficult pregnancy; with frequent morning sickness and muscle spasms that had Mrs. Dahmer on prescription drugs. Dahmer, who perceived to have a early normal childhood until a serious event occurred. He was described as an energetic and happy child until the age of 4, when surgery was done to fix a double hernia, which affected Dahmers attitude. He had two parents who dearly and loved their only son at the time. Joyce actually had a scrapbook where she recorded the events of her son 's life; his first accident, his first step, his first tooth and even his first scolding. Jeffreys father was a lab-technician

A subject that is popular among television, movies, and books, is serial murder. Our society has romanticized murder, while scientists are trying to understand it. Infamous serial murderers studied in this paper are Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, and John Wayne Gacy. Each of these murderers displayed characteristics of a psychopath from a young age. Some scientists are approaching this with neuroimaging technology; others are taking a serial killer’s past and drawing connections. Within each killer listed above, there was some form of trauma found in their early life. Dahmer experienced abandonment and had an extreme antisocial disorder. He ended up admitting to murdering 17 men. He raped them, dismembered them, and stored parts of their body in

What makes a serial killer? Some people say it depends on the race. (See figure 4). Others say it has to do with a person’s upbringing. A known American serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer, who was born May 21, 1960 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Was Dahmer born with the genetic make-up of a serial killer already encoded into his DNA? Did the effect of his childhood turn him into this monster? I will define the term serial killer, according to the FBI. Also, I will go into detail as to what motivates a serial killer. Society thinks that someone that has a horrible upbringing, children who are molested or abused in some way, automatically turn into these monsters, but what happens with someone like Jeffrey Dahmer who had a seemingly normal childhood? What made Dahmer a dangerous guy and most importantly, what happened with the outcome of Dahmer’s trial? I will also cover his untimely demise on November 28, 1994 at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin, when he was just thirty four years old.

So in a way Dahmer is not stable because this takes place in the 70’s and drinking is all they did back then in high school. Dahmer is one of those kids with a bad childhood because of his sexual urges and messed up ideas in his head. But just like a new kid you don’t really fit in well and end up doing weird things that are funny to get a place in your school. Dahmer is one weird kid but he’s one with some mental issues he keeps to himself because it drives him nuts every time he thinks about it. Just like the text states Dahmer solves his issues with alcohol, his solution is alcohol so he won’t have those sexual urges. But at the beginning of the book he picks up a dead cat and leads these guys to his shed to show them all the animals in jars he has but they don’t like it , thought it was fake until he smashed a jar on the floor revealing roadkill. So Dahmer tries to find out who he is because you may think he’s messed up but thats how he tries to find himself and figure out what to do that will help him get