The psychological theory of crime investigates individual factors and their influence on a person’s unlawful behavior. The framework is appropriate for describing serial crimes, murders in particular because the culprits often report experiencing positive emotions and fulfillment as a result of their misdeeds. In particular, the cognitive development theory may explain the reasons behind repeatedly committing severe crimes. Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK killer, will serve as an example and illustrate the theory’s ideas.
Psychological Theory
The psychological theory of crime posits that individual factors in a person’s life or personalities, such as past experiences or mental disorders, can explain criminal behavior. According to Mallicoat (2016), the theory claims that people do not illegal actions of free will or through rational choice, but are compelled toward them due to particular deficiencies in their minds. A criminal has a warped perception, and the gaps in it prevent him or her from identifying the factors that other people would consider as highly unattractive as such. As a result, he or she will commit actions that another would not consider doing and fail to recognize the negativity associated with that act.
Theorists such as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg have led the development of the modern psychological theory. They have developed a subset of the concept known as the cognitive development theory. According to Mallicoat (2016), this subset concentrates on the ability of criminal offenders to make a moral judgment, which is impaired or overall undeveloped. The theory separates moral growth into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional.
In the pre-conventional stage, children learn obedience and internalize the idea of punishment. On the conventional level, young people become aware of social and behavioral norms, particularly laws, and abiding by them. Finally, in the post-conventional stage, the person’s moral compass is fully formed, and he or she makes his or her judgments without necessarily relying on other norms.
Usually, a person will internalize societal norms during his or her childhood and adolescence and consider them unconsciously when making moral decisions. However, people who have experienced traumatic events during their upbringings or suffered from mental disorders may have gaps in their perception. Nevertheless, they pass into the post-conventional stage and begin making their moral judgments without significant regard for the lawfulness of their actions. As a result, they may start committing crimes, as they perceive them as desirable or necessary measures, and the law does not act as an effective deterrent due to insufficient internalization of its concepts.
Serial Murder Explanation
The theory is appropriate for describing serial murder rationales because of the repeated and deliberate nature of the crimes. A serial killer goes through elaborate preparations to murder because of the difficulty related to concealing the evidence and preparing an alibi.
The perceived reward should be high enough to justify the effort, or the criminal should feel that the act is necessary. Furthermore, many serial killers use specific methods for each murder or concentrate on a specific category of the population, such as women or terminally ill patients. According to the cognitive development theory, the reason may be a warped perception of that specific category that identifies people who belong to it as exempt from the moral judgment norms the killer may possess.
A serial killer may recognize the law as a deterrent to his or her activities, but not internalize the significance of the ban due to incomplete moral development. In that case, the law and associated agencies become obstacles in the path toward the goal, and the murderer considers them only as potential dangers to be avoided or overcome. Furthermore, some killers may be convinced that they are playing a positive and commendable role, which is particularly true for many so-called “angels of mercy.” The latter are medical workers, usually nurses, who murder hospital patients, especially those with severe or terminal illnesses, often with the motivation of freeing them of their suffering. Many other warped perceptions, such as ethnic or gender-based hatred, can become core motivations for a serial murderer.
Criminals of this type often desire recognition for their actions, leaving calling cards and taunting notes or using a signature style. This tendency leads to the conclusion that some of them consider themselves to be performing morally appropriate acts. It is also possible that they do not recognize the severity of their crimes due to a considerably underdeveloped moral system, perceiving the attempts of the police to capture them and their efforts to avoid being discovered as an elaborate game. It may also imply that the perceived power over lives that a serial killer may feel as he or she takes lives without suffering any repercussions provides him or her with a sense of superiority and contribute to further deformation of his or her values as the fundamental concept of punishment seems not to apply in reality.
The difference between single instances of murder and repeated occurrences of the crime lies in the severity of the faults in perception. Many individual murders are committed because a person loses control of his or her moral compass in the spur of the moment or consciously commits an action that goes against his or her principles after giving the matter significant consideration. As a result, the murderer would often show remorse or at least recognize that the punishment is warranted. However, most serial killers do not concern themselves with the moral aspect of their activities, referring to their actions as something they would continue if released. In particularly severe cases, they sustain their activities even while imprisoned.
Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer
Dennis Rader, also known as the BTK Killer, is responsible for ten murders of women and children over 31 years. He named himself after his “bind-torture-kill” style in his notes to the police and the families of the victims. Outward Rader appeared to be a responsible and respectable person, living in a good neighborhood, happily married with two children, and even presiding over the local Lutheran church (“The BTK Site”, n.d.). However, he was arrested after he began sending proofs of his activities to various people, one of which happened to contain incriminating evidence. The murderer quickly confessed once the police confronted him and described his crimes in detail.
BTK’s motivation remained a mystery until he decided to explain it himself after getting caught and tried. He did not experience abuse as a child but still grew fascinated with inflicting pain, bondage in particular, at a young age (“The BTK Site”, n.d.). He was fascinated with other serial killers such as “Son of Sam,” “The Boston Strangler,” and Harvey Glatman, and fantasized about sexually assaulting and murdering women ever since he was a teenager. Despite the lack of an apparent trigger, Rader’s cognition began warping at a young age, and later he would indulge in his fantasies, if not with his original dream targets.
Nevertheless, BTK wanted to be perceived as a gentleman killer who views the victims as works of art, photographs and draws them, and spreads the results through the mail. BTK was a very active correspondent, frequently communicating with the police and other interested parties via a variety of mediums. Rader possibly intended to reveal the truth of his double existence as he died, considering it his life’s work (“The BTK Site”, n.d.).
In keeping with the art theme, the killer claimed he would never murder anyone he knew because he saw them as people whereas the victims were objects. This perception is consistent with the cognitive development theory of crime, as the crimes were only possible because of Rader’s abnormal view of morals and to whom they applied.
Conclusion
The psychological theory of crime and especially the cognitive development theory attribute crimes to warped perceptions that drive people to commit illegal acts. The approach can explain serial murders, as the crimes often involve consistent and severe misperceptions, and the killers perceive their actions as acceptable and sometimes commendable. Dennis Rader can serve as an example, as he began having bondage-related sexual and murder fantasies from a young age and considered his crimes an achievement, which led him to spread awareness of his killings and taunt the police.
Despite the secrecy and nature of his acts, he wanted to be perceived as an artist by the public, which led to him seeing his victims as objects and constructing a believable and respectable persona to show to people he knew.
References
Mallicoat, S. L. (2016). Crime and criminal justice: Concepts and controversies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
The BTK site. (n.d.). Web.