Gen. Psychology Serial Killer Project Objective: The purpose of this project is

Gen. Psychology Serial Killer Project
Objective: The purpose of this project is to apply what you have learned this
year about psychology and to explore one of the most bizarre and intriguing
phenomena in human behavior, the serial killer. You will choose and research
a serial killer from around the world and attempt to explain and analyze their
behavior.
Step One: Choose a serial killer from the list below. You may choose an
unsolved case if you wish, but it must be approved by me.
Step Two:
ü Complete a power point presentation with no fewer than 15
slides identifying each of the 3 parts listed below. Your ppt
presentation must include a minimum of 10 illustrations
throughout and a biographical/reference slide in APA format at the
end (this does not count as one of your 15 slides)
ALL 3 parts must be included in this project:
PART I: Biographical Information
Part I will contain general information about the killer you are researching and
his/her life and upbringing, his/her crimes, and trial and sentencing. You are
not required to answer all of the questions listed below – they are intended to
be guidelines to aid your research.
v What was his/her childhood like?
v Did childhood behavior reflect problems?
v What was his/her adult life like? Did he/she finish high school/college?
Did he/she marry? Have children? Was he/she a loner?
v Was he/she ever diagnosed with a mental disorder? Did he/she ever
receive treatment?
PART II: Criminal Activity
Part II will contain general information about the killer’s crimes, and his/her
trial and sentencing. You are not required to answer all of the questions listed
below – they are intended to be guidelines to aid your research.
v What was the nature of the crimes?
v What was the time span for the crimes? How many victims?
v Did the killer take souvenirs and/or leave a signature?
v What was his/her behavior like when caught?
v Was he/she found capable to withstand trial?
v What evidence was used at the trial (forensic evidence, witnesses, etc)?
What happened at the trial?
v What was he/she charged with and sentenced to?
v Is he/she still alive?
PART III: Characterizing the Serial Killer
v Determine which category the killer fits into and give specific examples
to support your choice
§ Organized
§ Disorganized
v Identify and explain the type of serial killer and provide examples to
support your choice
§ Visionary: Visionary serial killers suffer from psychotic breaks
with reality, sometimes believing they are another person or are
compelled to murder by entities such as the Devil or God. The
two most common subgroups are “demon mandated” and “God
mandated”.
§ Mission-Orientated: Mission-oriented killers typically justify
their acts as “ridding the world” of a certain type of person
perceived as undesirable, such as homosexuals, prostitutes, or
people of different ethnicity or religion; however, they are
generally not psychotic. Some see themselves as attempting to
change society, often to cure a societal ill.
§ Hedonistic: A Hedonistic type of serial killer seeks thrills and
derives pleasure from killing, seeing people as expendable
means to this goal. Forensic psychologists have identified three
subtypes of the hedonistic killer: “lust”, “thrill” and “comfort”.
§ Power-Oriented: The main objective for a power-oriented type
of serial killer is to gain and exert power over their victim. Such
killers are sometimes abused as children, leaving them with
feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy as adults. Many
power- or control-motivated killers sexually abuse their victims,
but they differ from hedonistic killers in that rape is not
motivated by lust but as simply another form of dominating the
victim.
v Analysis of them using two of the approaches to psychology
(psychoanalytical, biological, humanistic, cognitive, behavioral, cross-
cultural, or biopsychosocial).
Select one serial killer from the following list (or other with teacher
approval)
Charles Albright
Rodney Alcala
Kristen Gilbert
Benjamin Atkins
Joe Ball
David Berkowitz
William Bonin
Ted Bundy
Richard Angelo
David Carpenter
Richard Chase
Juan Corona
Nannie Doss
Walter Ellis
Albert Fish
Kendall Francois
John Wayne Gacy
Janie Lou Gibbs
Ed Gein
H.H. Holmes
Leslie Irvin
Edmund Kemper
Rhonda Belle Marti
Ted Kaczynski
Marie Noe
Marybeth Tinning
Wayne Williams
Aileen Wuornos
Henry Lee Lucas
Dorothea Puente
Gary Ridgway