Background
Personality theories play a vital role in explaining the personality development of individuals who exhibit varied behaviors, such as serial killing. The psychoanalytic and trait theory best describes the personality development and actions of an American serial killer, Richard Ramirez. The psychoanalytic theory, developed by Sigmund Freud, states that a person’s personality comprises three parts. These three parts comprise the ego, id, and superego (Zhang, 2020).
The superego part of an individual’s personality is linked to how an individual would showcase their moral conscience. The id part is governed by pleasure and instincts that a person might possess (Solms, 2018). The ego is part of a person’s realistic personality and attempts to strike a balance between the demands of the id and the actual reality of the impending situation (Solms, 2018).
The trait theory posits that certain traits constitute an individual’s personality (Hogan & Sherman, 2020). According to Hogan and Sherman (2020), these traits are likely to be acquired through learning or inheritance. Trait theory has often been used to explain personality traits, focusing on the activities undertaken by a person.
Psychoanalytic and Trait Theories in Criminal Behavior
Psychoanalytic and trait theories are significant in explaining the personality development of a serial killer. The psychoanalytic theory could focus on the fact that a serial killer has a strong id motivated by pleasure and instinct (Fox, 2022). The ego plays a less significant role in balancing the id’s demands in light of the reality of the situation. Thus, serial killers enact their actions due to their desires and impulses without discerning consequences (Blüml & Doering, 2021).
On the other hand, the trait theory tends to focus on the truth that serial killers have particular traits that drive them toward committing crimes more easily (Sheldon & Prentice, 2019). According to Marono et al. (2020), these traits are either inherent or acquired as a person progresses through various stages from childhood to adulthood.
The most used psychoanalytic theory posits that personality development is influenced by unconscious childhood drives and desires (Marono et al., 2020). Hence, individuals who become serial killers tend to feel unsatisfied and anxious due to their early childhood experiences (Sandhu, 2021). Thus, these experiences and feelings explain why individuals commit criminal actions in adulthood.
Explanations of Crime
The trait theory, on the other hand, posits that distinct patterns of behavior are associated with various group members within a population. These selective behaviors include violence and antisocial personality disorder (Matthews, 2018). Many psychologists rely on personality theories to identify the causal factors of criminal behavior, primarily focusing on the ‘nurture versus nature’ debate (Jayawickreme et al., 2019).
According to the characteristic hypothesis, certain individuals exhibit certain personality traits, dispositions, and behaviors due to their early life experiences (Jayawickreme et al., 2019). Studies on behavioral development by Keatley et al. (2021) indicate that aggression, impulsivity, and fearlessness are among these characteristics. Antisocial, impulsive, and fearless inclinations are key factors in determining who is more likely to engage in criminal activities (Blüml & Doering, 2021).
The trait hypothesis is based on the assumption that individuals who commit criminal activities develop their personalities due to early childhood events, as demonstrated by actual psychological research (Silver & Silva, 2022). Trait theorists also contend that qualities are either inherited at birth or acquired during development, which explains why certain groups of individuals are more likely than others to engage in criminal activities.
The psychoanalytic hypothesis holds that people conduct criminal acts as adults because of unconscious, infantile urges and wants. It argues that “criminal behavior” is the product of early childhood events that leave the individual feeling dissatisfied, inadequate, or nervous (Marono et al., 2020). Sheldon and Prentice (2019) assert that feelings of inferiority lead individuals to become harsher towards authority figures, whom they frequently blame for their predicament. This hatred against authority prompts the person to strike out violently.
Furthermore, Sheldon and Prentice (2019) highlight several additional theories, including cognitive-behavioral, social learning, and sociocultural, which are also incorporated into psychoanalytic thought. Cognitive-behavioral theorists are concerned with combating crime through intervention strategies that emphasize values and choices (Sheldon & Prentice, 2019). This theory’s sociological component focuses on identifying cultural elements that influence criminal behavior.
One of the numerous ideas that attempted to explain the incidence of criminal conduct is the trait theory. The trait theory may be further subdivided into two models. The first concept proposes that criminals develop these characteristics as a result of their early childhood experiences, which subsequently push them to engage in antisocial conduct. According to the second model, persons who commit crimes have these inclinations as an implication of their experiences from early childhood (Marono et al., 2020). However, they are unaware that these features are driving them to behave criminally until they are caught and made aware of the source of their conduct.
Both trait theory and psychoanalytic theories play a role in understanding why someone might choose to become a criminal. The characteristic hypothesis investigates what motivates people to commit crimes. The psychoanalytic hypothesis explains why people become criminals (Marono et al., 2020). While one of these hypotheses is more significant than the other, they both adequately explain why someone might choose a life of crime.
Richard Ramirez’s Case
The psychoanalytic trait applies to Richard Ramirez’s personality development. Richard was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, on February 29, 1960 (Smith, 2018). Many names knew him from his home and the media, such as Richie by his family, a walk-in killer by Los Angeles KNBC, and a valley intruder by others (Sharma, 2018). However, the name that was well known, primarily through media outlets, was the Night Stalker. He was a severe murderer in America who killed at least 14 people and assaulted many before his capture in 1985 (Sharma, 2018). He invaded homes, killing and sexually assaulting many, using different weapons.
The psychoanalytic and trait theories impacted Ramirez’s life due to childhood trauma. Ramirez stated that his father physically beat him, causing several head injuries that led to his epileptic episodes. Ramirez chose to stay in Vietnam with his cousin Miguel to avoid his aggressive father. On the other hand, his elder relative had the same impact as his father. Miguel had raped, tormented, and mutilated several Vietnamese women during his tenure in Vietnam (Sharma, 2018).
What made matters worse was the photographic proof he possessed to substantiate his heinous actions (Smith, 2018). Miguel displayed the atrocities he had committed against various women. He was just 13 years old when he saw Miguel shoot his wife to death during an altercation. It transformed his life forever, converting him from a timid, naive youngster to a hardened man (Smith, 2018). He also became fascinated by Satanist views and began consuming drugs.
Miguel had only spent four years in a mental institution and had not been convicted after being judged mad, so he was still under his supervision. Before seeing the shooting, he began breaking into people’s houses, engaging in thievery, skipping school, and eventually becoming a heroin addict. Ramirez enjoyed inspecting people’s possessions (Smith, 2018). He subsequently traveled to Los Angeles to meet his brother, who was not unlike him in that he taught him more criminality.
Ramirez returned to El Paso and enrolled at Jefferson High School, which he left after only a year. When his family was there, he went hunting with them, but when they were not, he went alone and relished creeping up on them and killing them. He enjoyed watching horror films (Smith, 2018). He was still in high school when he landed a job at a Holiday Inn at the age of fifteen, but he was dismissed after raiding a room and attempting to rape a lady; the charges were eventually dropped (Smith, 2018). He was an experienced burglar who relocated to Los Angeles shortly after his sixteenth birthday.
Ramirez was responsible for several tragic killings. He would break into a couple’s home, murder the male, and sexually attack the woman (Smith, 2018). The term “addiction” refers to the process of being addicted to anything. In 1984, he was charged with the death of a half-Chinese American girl at the base of a hotel in San Francisco, where Ramirez was staying. He raped her before stabbing her. He then hanged her corpse from a pipe. His fingerprints were discovered on a window screen he had removed to gain entry to the property. He also broke into the house of a 70-year-old woman, raped her, and stabbed her to death (Smith, 2018). He eventually purchased a 22 revolver, which he used to carry out many homicides.
Ramirez’s killing was afflicting because he wanted to kill anybody he came across. Unlike previous serial murderers, he had no distinct personality. He preyed on and murdered people of all ages, both men and women (Smith, 2018). Most of his crimes occurred at night, earning him the moniker “night stalker,” a terrifying circumstance. He assaulted Maria at her house by shooting her in the head, but she survived. Dayle Yoshie, her roommate, was also killed by him. After an hour, he drives to Monterey Park, where he strikes Veronica twice just after getting her out of the car.
In Whittier, he removed Zazzara’s eyeballs and placed them in a box, which he subsequently left behind (Smith, 2018). He also murdered Florence Lang by hammering her to death. As a result of how he killed his victims, he was labeled as an infuriated killer. Frank Salerno, one of the docuseries’ investigators, maintained that he used to become comfortable soon after killing someone and would take his time around the scene to eat his snacks (Smith, 2018). He would then walk to the kitchen and serve himself food and beverages.
Cultural and Childhood Development in Personality Formation
The psychoanalytic and trait theories are relevant to the consideration of culture and diversity in society. The upbringing of children plays a crucial role in shaping their adult behaviors (Marono et al., 2020). Children need to be raised in a favorable and conducive environment that fosters their proper psychological development. According to Solms (2018), children raised in a violent environment tend to exhibit violent behaviors later in life. These behaviors may include bullying others and criminal activities such as serial killing.
Therefore, parental care and guidance are paramount in society to ensure that children are guided rightfully to avoid future atrocities due to childhood memories. This effort benefits not only the society in which the child is born, but also a diverse global society (Sandhu, 2021). Further, Sandhu (2021) states that culture and diversity will be easily propagated because children can associate well with others in society without constraint and anxiety. Thus, it will be significant in fostering a safer society with fewer psychological disorders and painful affliction incidences.
Generally, certain traits of an individual reveal a pattern of behaviors that emerges at later stages in life. Children should be exposed to positive traits during their early stages of development to foster attractive behavior patterns as they mature. Children’s different environments affect their thoughts and emotions, which they recall in adulthood (Silver & Silva, 2022). This recall of traits, actions, emotions, and thoughts is the major cause of incidents resulting in serial killings (Sharma, 2018).
Therefore, trait and psychoanalytic theories have helped to understand the contributing factors that influence personality development in individuals. Childhood upbringing and memory-based behavioral and trait patterns affect an individual’s personality traits (Zhang, 2020). Society should strive to create the best environment possible to enhance the safe and sound development of children’s psychological needs, as it will protect and help reduce criminal activities in the future.
References
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