The Psychology of Serial Killers
What you'll learn
- Students will learn about the various psychological factors related to serial killer pathology
- Students will learn about the FBI's serial killer typology as well as motives based typology
- Students will learn psychological, biological, and social factors related to serial killer populations.
Requirements
- No requirements.
Description
‘‘I was a normal person. I had good friends. I led a normal life, except for this one, small but very potent and destructive segment that I kept very secret and close to myself’’.
-Ted Bundy.
This course will take you through the various aspects that lead to serial killings. We will look at the psychological research related to the development of sexual deviance, the influence of trauma, and the social factors which can contribute to serial killer formation.
The course syllabus will cover the following questions:
What defines a serial killer?
Are all serial killers caucasian and male?
Do all serial killers have schizophrenia?
What is behavioral profiling and does it work?
What leads an individual to commit serial murders?
These questions and more will be answered throughout this course!
****Please note that this course will cover many difficult topics including murder, sexual assault, and abuse. Some students may find these topics difficult to learn about. Please be mindful of your reactions. Practice self-care.
We hope you find this course educational! Do forget to leave a review. We appreciate any feedback.
Who this course is for:
- All levels interested in forensic psychology
Course content
- Preview02:10
- Preview02:21
- Preview04:08
- Preview03:55
- 01:32Debunking Common Myths
- 01:35Myth 1: All Serial Killers Are Men
- 02:52Myth #2: All Serial Killers Are Caucasian
- 02:38Myth #3: All Serial Killers Are Isolated and Dysfunctional Loners
- 04:50Myth #4: All Serial Murderers Travel Widely and Kill Interstate
- 00:20BONUS ACTIVITY: JACK THE RIPPER DOCUMENTARY
- 05:19Myth #5:All Serial Killers Are Either Mentally Ill Or Evil Geniuses+ DOCUMENTARY
- 00:01BONUS ACTIVITY: SON OF SAM DOCUMENTARY YOUTUBE
Instructor
![Jessenia Arias](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 64 64"%3E%3C/svg%3E){kind=avatar}
- 4.4 Instructor Rating
- 204 Reviews
- 2,840 Students
- 3 Courses
About Me: My name is Jessenia and I am a mental health professional working in the greater Boston area. I received my bachelor's degree in Behavioral Neuroscience, my master's degree in Professional Psychology, and a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology (completing in May 2020). I am currently completing a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at a psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
Experiences: I have worked in the mental health field for 10 years and have real-world experience providing psychological assessment and treatment in a variety of forensic settings including jails, prisons, forensic hospitals. Evaluation experiences include neuropsychological assessments, criminal responsibility, competency to stand trial, and sex offender evaluations, among others.
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Please reach out with any questions! Happy to help. :)