THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND WHY SERIAL KILLERS COMMIT HOMICIDE

Serial killers have been a source of great fascination for researchers, as there is much to be explored in terms of the psychological and environmental factors that influence such motives to kill. Mental illness has long been suggested as a potential cause, though it remains unclear whether mental illness or nurture plays more of a role in creating these individuals. Research into serial killers continues to provide insight into this dark subject matter, with an aim towards understanding why people become so violent and how their behaviour can be prevented from occurring again. This topic focuses on assisting an interested reader on the thought process of how an offender may think in the moment of the crime and re-establish an understanding as to why the individual resorted to murder, and to bring emphasis to the factors that led up to the offender's own choice to commit such a heinous crime.