[jordyn]

Serial Killer Psychology
 
Dennis Rader — aka BTK, or "bind, torture, kill" — stands as one of history's most notorious serial killers and the epitome of a psychopath. Between 1974 and when he was captured in 2005, Rader killed 10 Wichita, Kan., residents, terrorizing the entire city. On the surface, however, he seemed completely normal. He was married, had two kids, served in the U.S. Air Force and held several good jobs. All of that was a facade for the monster lurking inside him. When he confessed to the gruesome murders in court, he did so without remorse, which stunned observers in the courtroom. Rader is currently serving 10 life sentences in a Kansas prison.

 By William R. Harris

Criminal psychology refers to the study of the mental and behavioral characteristics of people who break laws established by local, state, national or international governments. Some criminal, or forensic, psychologists focus their research on serial killers -- men and women who murder a large number of people over an extended period of time — typically months or years.

What constitutes a serial killer is open to interpretation. In the United States, Congress has defined a serial killer as someone who murders a minimum of three or more people. By definition, a cooling-off period separates the murders, making them appear random or unconnected. The victims — often prostitutes, runaways or other vulnerable populations — rarely know their killer and may serve as a symbol that triggers the attack. In other words, a serial killer's motive tends to be psychological, not material.

Understanding what goes on — or gets turned off — in a serial killer's mind is the ultimate goal of scientists who specialize in this area of psychology. You might think the field is relatively new, but it dates back to at least the 19th century, when psychologists tried to develop a profile of the mysterious and elusive Jack the Ripper

~from discovery .com

I went with serial killers to start out because they're perhaps the most notorious monsters, but there are a variety of other humans that do attrocius things, so philosophy is the less scientific ideas as to what in our mind and nature can make us monstrous.

Even nature versus nurture can apply to these fascinating figures of today's society.

[jordyn]

When once a certain class of people has been placed by the temporal and spiritual authorities outside the ranks of those whose life has value, then nothing comes more naturally to men than murder.

Simone Weil (1910-1943) French Philosopher   

Does spirituality really have an affect on the decision to murder a person?

Personally, i don't think so. In my opinion it would come down to the nature of the person, a person who for whatever reason has no respect for the rights of another would be more apt to kill than a person who for whatever reason has a respect for the rights of a person. While a person's nature, which may come from the environment they were nurtured in(serial killers and mommy issues), there are a significant amount of people who have had awful nurturing environments and rather than expressing it through the violation of another person's life, they excel and preventing the environment for others that caused them such turmoil.