Serial murder: Motive and meaning.
Item
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Title
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Serial murder: Motive and meaning.
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Identifier
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AAI9808004
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identifier
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9808004
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Creator
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Skrapec, Candice Ann.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Robert Jay Lifton
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Date
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1997
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Criminology and Penology | Psychology, Behavioral | Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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The research was a phenomenological study of five incarcerated serial murderers. Departing from a traditional clinical approach in terms of diagnostic categorizations of serial killers, this study examined the thesis that serial murder is more fundamentally a pathology of self process and that such pathology is revealed in terms of the murderer's personal construction of meaning regarding himself and his experiences. Five incarcerated serial murderers were interviewed, in depth, in terms of the aspects of their lives, their world view, and their crimes that they experienced as meaningful. Themes which bear upon the motivation to kill repeatedly, and the meaning of the repeated acts of killing to the murderers themselves were examined as they emerged from semi-structured interview. Pathologies of self process centering on personal boundaries and the search for authenticity, formative development, and integrity of the self suggest a theoretical framework by which the pathological elements of self process of serial murderers may be understood. Three dominant themes emerged from the data as they specifically related to the series of killings perpetrated by these subjects: (1) a pronounced and distorted sense of entitlement, whereby subjects tended not to perceive themselves as victimizers, but rather as victims; (2) empowerment deriving from total control and possession of victims; and (3) a perverse quest for vitality that related to their personal relationships with life and death (and their respective equivalents). Specifically, serial murder may represent a means of reconstituting the self to restore the experience of vitality for these individuals. Data are discussed relative to what, in these subjects, appears to be a profound aberration regarding emotional meanings--in the sense of what may be described as "emotional homonyms." Knowledge of the underlying motivations for and the meaning of the repeated acts of killing will inform our ways of thinking about serial murder. Although serial murder is both an extreme and rare phenomenon, learning about the serial killer is to learn about human potentialities. It brings into sharper relief the violent society in which it resides.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
