SerialmurderFilmsUSA
Decade
No.offilms
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
12
1970s
20
1980s
23
1990s
64
SerialmurderFilmsUSA
70
1920s
60
1930s
50
1940s
40
1950s
30
1960s
1970s
20
1980s
10
1990s
No.USFilms
Male (88.3%)
White
Average intelligence
Killed
14
Percentage
White
80.1%
Black
13.0%
Hispanic
4.5%
Asian
2.4%
bed wetting
fire starting
animal torture
General
Population
SerialKillers
Physical
6%
36%
Sexual
3%
26%
Psychological
2%
50%
Neglect
18%
18%
Other
6%
Notapplicable
NoAbuseReported
70%
32%
Acquaintances(20%)
1.Friendsandneighbours
2.Girlfriendsand
boyfriends
3.Waitressesand
prostitutes
4.Coworkers
5.Landlords,employers,
guards
6.Gangmembers
7.Patients
Family(10%)
1.Ownchildren
2.Husbands
3.Wives
4.Inlaws
5.Nephews,nieces
6.Ownmother
7.Sibling
8.Grandparents
Motives
1. Sex (55%)
2. Control (29%)
3. Money (19%)
4. Enjoyment (16%)
5. Racism and hatred (11%)
6. Mental problems (6%)
7. Cult-inspired (5%)
8. Attention (2%)
6. Drowning (5%)
Motives
1. Money (74%)
2. Control (13%)
3. Enjoyment (11%)
4. Sex (10%)
5. Drugs, cult involvement,
cover up, or feelings of
inadequacy (24%)
"blackwidows"whokilla
successionofhusbands,lovers,or
otherfamilymembers.
Theycanalsobenursesorother
medicalprofessionalswhobecome
selfappointed"angelsofdeath"
murderingbabies,elderly,orthe
desperatelyillinamisguided
efforttorelievetheirsuffering.
Aggression Statistics
15,533
in 1999
1,425,486 in 2000
1,439,480 in 2001
1,426,325
in 2002
Life force
Drive-thwarted
Instinct
Catharsis
Thantos: death force
Is Aggression Instinctual?
Catharsis theory.
Unfortunately, aggressive catharsis frequently leads to more
aggression.
Theories of Aggression
Instinct Theory: Through evolution, humans
have inherited a fighting instinct similar to
that found in many species of animals.
Leading Proponent: Konrad Lorenz (ethology)
He says we have a biological need for
aggression. It gets stronger as time passes
since the last aggressive act (like hunger
increases hours after a meal).
This causes our energy level (drive level) to
increase. This energy must somehow be
released (catharsis).
Theories of Aggression
Instinct Theory says that humans learn their
own individual ways of expressing aggressive
motivation. Nonhuman species behave in
ways that are genetically programmed and
characteristic of all members of the species.
Hydraulic Theory
predicts:
Roots of Violence
Instinct Freud-
others
Lorenz- inherited fighting instinct developed through
the course of evolution (strongest survive)
Maccoby
Across
QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Research on Humans
Study Design
Male
Female
Female Condition
6
3
Display Scale Ratings
2
1
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Courtship Behaviors
(immediate)
Activation of LimbicHypothalamic
Structures
Cues from
Females
r = .52
Testosterone Increase
(post 20 minutes)
Yanomamo men who have killed someone undergo a purification ritual that
gives them the status of unokai
Chagnon computed that unokai on average had more offspring than nonunokai 4.91 vs. 1.59 on avg., collapsed across adult age groups
Men who had killed also had more wives: 1.63 vs. 0.63 on average
He speculates that men who have killed are both considered more valuable
to the group (avenge and deter attacks from other groups) and thus are
more attractive as mates, and they are able to forcibly acquire
resources/women from other men in the group
Factors
High
because:
Frustration may lead to sadness, depression
People may aggress for other reasons (boxers,
soldiers)
Supermale? Or supercriminal?
Early work with karyotyping showed that normal men have an X and a Y
sex chromosome, unlike women who have two X chromosomes. In
1961, Sandberg et al. found a man with an extra Y Chromosome (XYY).
Since the Y chromosome codes for maleness these individuals were
dubbed super-males. [Ritter, 1993]
Personal Determinants
Is Aggression Learned?
Does
aggression pay?
Are people reinforced
for aggression?
If
Social
Learning Theory
Vicarious
reinforcement
Banduras famous study
with the Bobo doll.
Regional Differences in
Aggression and Social Models
Homicide
Nisbett
Frustration-Aggression Theory
Theories of Aggression
Negative Affect Theory: Proposed by Leonard
Berkowitz, it states that negative feelings and
experiences are the main cause of anger and
angry aggression. Sources of anger include:
pain, frustration, loud noise, foul odors,
crowding, sadness, and depression.
The likelihood that an angry person will
act aggressively depends on his or her
interpretation of the motives of the
people involved.
Situational Determinants
Temperature
(curvilinear relationship)
Alcohol
U-shaped Curve
Alcohol
Strong
correlation between
alcohol use and violent crimes
No
Yes
25%
25%
No
25%
25%
Didtheyactually
drinkalcohol
cp
Findings
Believe
drinking
alcohol
Believedrinking
alcoholandare
drinkingalcohol
Are
drinkingalcohol
Aggressive
Aggressive
Most
aggressive
cp
Alternative hypothesis:
individuals
Present light cues indicating the possibility
of electric shock
Green
light = safe
Red light = threat, might get a shock
For
Frustration is a blocked
goal
The Correlation
Between Cotton
Prices and Lynchings
was r = -.67.
Causes of Aggression,
Continued
Alcohol
75%
Causes of Aggression,
Continued
Pain
and Discomfort
If
Color
Research
Reducing Aggression
What
doesnt work:
Viewingviolence
Verbalexpressionofanger
Displacingaggressiontoinanimateobjects
Reducing Aggression
What
does work:
Delay
Distraction
Relax
Incompatibleresponse
cp
Theories of Emotion
1. Common Sense Theory
Theories of Emotion
2. James-Lange
we feel sorry because we cry, angry because we strike,
afraid because we tremble, and not that we cry, strike or
tremble because we are sorry, angry or fearful.
-- William James
Smiling
Theories of Emotion
3. Cannon-Bard Theory
Schachters
Experiment
Schachter & Singer (1962)
euphoria condition
angry condition
Stanley Schachter
1922-1997
Schachters Results
Theories of Emotion
4. Schachters Attribution Theory
Cognitive appraisal = TYPE of Emotion
Misattribution of Emotion
The Amygdala
Frontal Lobes
Phineas
Gage
Gage
is no longer Gage
Frontal Lobotomies
orbitofrontal cortex
Why?
righthemispherespecializedforrecognizingemotions
activatedbypositiveemotions
leftfrontaldamagedepressed
sometimesoverlycatastrophicandweepyaboutinjury
diminishedlefthemisphereactivationindepressedpeople
righthemisphere
activatedbynegativeemotions
rightfrontaldamagefewernegativeemotions
oftennotappropriatelyupsetorconcernedaboutinjury