Profiling Murder.
Murder is defined within the Oxford dictionary as the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. When examining the psychology of murder it is important to keep in mind that murder is a legal term and taking another person’s life is not necessarily always seen as a bad thing. For example, during acts of war soldiers are encouraged to kill the enemy. This act of taking another person’s life would not only be acceptable but may be rewarded by giving medals.
Another example may be euthanasia. In some countries it is legal and in others, it is breaking the law. Therefore, instead of examining the act of taking another person’s life, it is more revealing to examine the behaviours which are carried out by the perpetrator. It is also important to explore the various relationships between the victim and the offender. The majority of murders are committed by known associates. This can be an escalation of domestic violence, the result of an argument, or out of jealousy. The attributes of the victim can often be as useful as the attributes of the offender.
I try to keep all of my talks gender neutral as both men and women are capable of committing a crime. However, this is not always possible. It is well established that the overwhelming majority of murderers are male and the majority of victims are female. However, by using the term he or she in describing actions it is acknowledged that these behaviours could be of that of a man or a woman.
Murder arises out of a variety of contexts and types of encounters. We must explore these in order to understand the psychology of murder. Before we can begin to understand the psychology of murder it is important to have an understanding of the factors we need to consider. From a psychological point of view, a woman who kills her partner because she caught him cheating is very different from a nurse who administers lethal doses of medicine to a patient he or she is caring for.
Murder can take different forms. For example, a single murder occurs when there is one victim. There may, on occasion, be more than one victim. On occasion, we come across serial killers. A serial killer is defined as one perpetrator having two or more victims at different times and locations. Importantly, there must be a cooling off period between the murders of 24 hours. A spree killing is defined as there being multiple people have been killed at various locations. The crimes would be done within the same day and no cooling off period. Mass murder is defined as 4 or more victims killed at the same time or location. Terrorists often aim to carry out mass murder.
As we begin to build up a picture of the types of things that need to be considered when examining the psychology of murder, it leads us to highlight that there is no simple explanation or one to one relationship that covers all murder.
The majority of people who commit single murder are more often than not male. As previously mentioned, it is common for the victim and the perpetrator to know each other in some way. One particular study found that 72% of murderers knew their victim. The average age for an offender has been found to be 27 years old.
An immediate question which is asked is why do people murder? If we look to an established theory of aggression within psychology we can begin to shed light on this question. Fesbach suggested that aggression can be defined as Instrumental or Expressive. Instrumental aggression is defined as carrying out aggression in order to get something – so as a way of gaining or taking something. Expressive aggression is defined as being carried out as an emotive event. So rather than gaining anything as a result of the aggression, the aggression itself is the gain.
These categories have also been used to categorize murder. Instrumental murder is described as the killing of another person not being the primary objective. This could come under 2 broad psychological contexts. First, the murder would be carried out because the offender has sexually attacked the victim and kills her to silence her or to avoid later detection. Secondly, the murder could be carried out as part of getting some kind of resources such as money or goods. These are typically opportunistic acts taking advantage of known vulnerable targets in their locality.
Expressive aggression is driven by emotion where the victim has meaning to the offender. Expressive murders are often impulsive acts of violence which arise from interpersonal conflict.
Murders often feel justified in their behaviour. One study found that violent criminals’ justifications for their actions could be grouped as follows:
Defence – act justified by the threat of imminent physical attack. Often carried out in prison so no immediate weapon available so will use hands.
Retribution – act justified by previous harm done to the offender, had prior contact with the victim.
Unintended – These occur because the victim undermines the offender in a public place (such as a bar) where there is an audience.
Disrespect – victim disrespects offender, used a gun or other weapon, usually occurs indoors suggesting the attack is premeditated.
Murder can also arise out of some type of mental health condition. Some individuals can experience fits of rage associated with psychosis and require medication to control their violent tendencies. Others may be psychopaths who are unable to have any empathy with the victim. Psychopaths clearly display extreme behaviours which lend themselves well to criminality. The most common understanding of a psychopath is someone who is skilled at lying and manipulating others and has little empathy and feels little remorse. Psychopaths can come across as quite charming. They are at ease manipulating other people around them.
It is important to understand that this a brief snapshot into the psychology of murder. As human beings, we are very complex and our behaviour and mood can be influenced by different situations and context. It would be impossible for me to give an in-depth insight into the psychology of murder without spending hours going over the basic foundations of analysis. However, I do hope you learned something about the psychology of murder.
