Have you ever considered what causes someone to become a serial murderer or a mass murderer? Are such persons shaped by upbringing, childhood abuse, or bullying and teasing by other children? What if you had been raised in a different set of circumstances? Could you have become a serial or mass murderer? Or do you think the traits of a serial or mass murderer are present at birth in the form of genetic predisposition and other biological factors? These questions have baffled scientists for years, and there probably is no simple answer to any of them.
Despite limited knowledge, theories have been constructed to explain why a person might become a serial or mass murderer. This week, you examine some of the dominant criminal theories that try to explain the development of such persons. You also consider how criminal profilers use these criminal theories during the investigation of serial and mass murders.