The Psychology Behind The Monster (Research Paper Sample)

The Psychology Behind The Monster Student’s Name Institution of Affiliation Course Date The Psychology Behind The Monster The story of Aileen Wuornos, recognizably known as America's ‘first woman serial killer,' gives the contorting view of a person who had a mental disorder that culminated into a set of offenses and how society and environment can instigate criminal conduct. The early years of her life were associated with tyranny, sexual abuse, and misery to the highest levels. The trajectory of her life faced a considerable turnaround when she decided to live by prostitution and earn her money. The convergence of awful cases, psychological problems, and social discrimination would peak inerable domestic attacks expressed by violent crimes, which became national priorities. This research attempts to reveal the psychological processes behind Aileen Wuornos's offense, using trauma as the fundamental source, and diagnosing the presence or absence of psychopathy, also concluding that the community and environmental factors were not less important, and finally introducing the complexities of psychopathy in serial killings. Trauma and its Role in Shaping Criminal Behavior Wuornos' upbringing in a tumultuous family environment contributed to her becoming unstable and fearful of close relationships, which later led to her twisted negative perception of the world, which included killing men in cold blood. Chesler (2021) states that childhood trauma like “being sexually abused by her grandfather” makes individuals develop harmful coping tools during that formative stage of their lives, for instance, being brutal, violent, and reckless, which are associated with people who commit crimes, “Wuornos herself had a terrible temper and probably suffered from organic brain syndrome or a traumatic brain injury.” (Chesler, 2021). Since her first memories were sad, this made her criminal behavior and psychological profile the way it was now. Her pain turned out to be the crucial element in her remarkable and horrific transformation into one of the most notorious serial killers in America. Wuornos was born to a mother who was just a teen, and the mother left because she did not even care about Wuornos and her brother when she was just four years old. They, too, were entrusted with their grandparents' care. The brutality of Wouornos's alcoholic grandfather is an essential element in the understanding and explanation of actions associated with Wuornos. Secondly, her being neglected at an early age later caused a mistrust of anyone who tried to talk to her and at the thought of anything perceived to be harmful to her. This was a result of the deep-seated pain that she experienced. Moreover, the endless assault and rape from her broken family and disregard undoubtedly did not allow Wuornos to form healthy relationships and interact in ways accepted by society. The patterns of abnormal behavior are good evidence for the same. The disastrous incidents of Wuornos not only happened in her childhood but passed through her deeds and actions throughout her life. While maturing and growing in age, she encountered severe life-threatening elements such as homelessness, being made a sexual object, and exploitation, “I wanted a jury to understand how dangerous and how violent the so-called "work" of prostitution is, to both body and soul, how Wuornos had to endure a toxic level of contempt and the most extreme kind of violence.” (Chesler, 2021). The environment where she was assaulted by men, including her grandfather, that she constantly found herself put her in continuous danger and exploitation, making the situation worse for her psyche and making her even more exposed. Furthermore, the profound fear of others, characteristic of her profession as a prostitute, undoubtedly paved the way for the further deterioration of her trust in others and the sense of being in danger. Sociopathy Analysis Aileen Wuornos's life and activity suggest a clear picture of sociopathy, which is a personality disorder, with some prominent features being antisocial behavior, impulsivity, and the distortion in the individual's ability to feel or express any sense of empathy or remorse. Chesler (2021) is saying that the mental health comorbidity, like probably her mental instability, which was upsetting Wuornos, led her to become a sociopath. This is explained by Sommerlad (2023), who explains “that she was mentally unstable and suggested that she may have borderline personality disorder.” It is typically the lack of attention, ruthless behavior, and broken families that lay the foundation for psychopathy. For instance, physical abuse by her grandfather in childhood played an essential role in her sociopathy. This traumatic background blocked her way to building solid connections, her ability to make herself understand, and others' sufferings, which resulted in her antisocial traits. Impulsivity is a prominent feature of being a sociopath. Impulsiveness and not being able to let the long-term consequences of her actions cross her mind is part of her illness, and personal engagement is a common feature of individuals with sociopathic tendencies. According to Hackett et al. (2020), their victims also have similarities, “victims of these serial killers might have common traits such as occupation, appearance, gender, and social status.” Furthermore, her unconcernedness to the consequences of her actions and detachment from her victims are characteristics of antisocial behavior that are the same as the ones associated with the term sociopathy, which was brought up by Chesler (2021). The possible reason why Wuornos was more sociopathic is that she may be suffering from comorbid mental health conditions like borderline personality disorder and PTSD. Quickly engulfed with emotions, these people often find it difficult to set boundaries in their relationships and act on impulse (Chesler, 2021). The situations faced by Wuornos, which were marked by unstable relationships and chaotic lifestyle statements, were the central clinical aspect of this disorder, which most likely was the leading cause of her antisocial behaviors and rejection of the existing norms. The Impact of Societal and Environmental Factors The situation of Aileen Wuornos as an individual who was outcasted by society, combined with the prejudices she had to do with and environmental stress, greatly affected her way of responding to danger or even possible threats. For example, Sommerlad (2023) has elaborated on how the early life or environment of Aileen Wuornos affected her in her later years, “a victim of child abuse herself, in adult life Wuornos was a petty criminal who worked as a sex worker.” Prostitution, being her incumbency over the years, was responsible for Wuorno's experience of institutional discrimination, exploitation, and violence. Besides, the deep societal prejudices against female offenders, particularly those who were claiming self-defense in violent crimes, affected the legal process and case outcomes in Wuornos's trial. Sommerlad (2023) points to the difficulties Wuornos encountered in defending herself when she was fighting a battle against the public and legal authorities who accused her of improper killing acts, disregarding her childhood traumas that led to such actions, “she was driven out of her grandparents’ home and forced to live in the woods, where she turned to sex work to earn money for food.” At this point, she began being hateful towards men. Wuornos's dealings with the riot police and the criminal justice system also got affected by the same sort of bias that prevails as a wall between people and society. The media representation of Wuornos as a "demon" and 'psycho' strengthened the stereotype of her character and kept hidden the lurking layers of implications for the rising crime behavior (Sommerlad, 2023). Society's history focuses on narratives that include negative views of authorities, destroy trust, and disconnect Wuornos from them. However, more comprehensive environmental conditions of gender inequality impact and their systematically biased approach to women were also likely to be the driving factors to her responses and experience to those societal pressures. The female gender, difficult economic situation, and mental health problems, to a certain extent, defined the net of dangers that eventually contribute to the criminal activity of Wuornos (Chesler, 2021). Being comprehended societal and environmental factors affecting Wuornos's traumatic life details a vital component of the system reform and benevolent solutions to the core of crime. Defensive and Offensive Violence Aileen Wuornos's self-defense assertion and the dynamics of her violent acts represent an intricate riddle about the beginning of her criminal record and what had been viewed as a potential degree of disturbance in her lifestyle. The principle of forensic psychology helps to investigate whether or not Wuornos explained the heinous acts of violence and their psychologically valid reasons. According to Wuornos, her murders were not random killings but rather were acts of self-defense and examples of victims who had abused or threatened her during encounters with the women. For instance, Sommerlad (2023) states, “Wuornos claimed she killed her victims in self-defense when the men became violent towards her.” Nevertheless, the narrative of the increasing violence in the criminal life of Wuornos has the aspects of preemptive strikes with the harm imposed on the major threats (Chesler, 2021). Whether this pattern proves the point or not, it raises crucial questions about the validity of her claims and whether traumatic conditions are the factor in distorted perceptions of threat. Wuornos's behavioral anomaly as one of predatory aggression, which resulted from attachment theory postulations and sociopathy, is investigated by Arrigo & Griffin ...