The 3 Main Types Of Homicidal Motivation In Murderers
Possibly, the act of taking the life of another human being is one of the most widely reported and repudiated in our society, and one of the most difficult to understand. In this article we are going to try to answer what internal psychological processes guide the commission of a murder, What motivations “move” serial killers and why such homicidal behaviors continue? ; although it must be taken into account that in each case these motivations will vary to a greater or lesser degree.
Homicidal motivation is a multidimensional construct this means that there are several classic concepts to take into account linked to the motivation of serial killers, such as: modeling (learning or improving a behavior by imitation), trial and error techniques (perfecting their modus operandi ), vicarious learning (seeing a behavior to learn from it), self-reinforcement and conditioning of the behavior and the murderer’s own justifications that perpetuate the commission of these murders.
Thus, murderers can learn and model their behaviors. In fact, one of the “problems” that exist in prisons is that many convicted prisoners learn to commit murders more precisely thanks to the explanations of other criminals.
The 3 types of motivation in homicides
Although the basic motivational processes are similar to those of other non-homicidal people, murderers usually have specific objectives, different attributions and, above all, erroneous or biased cognitions. Let’s say that the cognitive processes associated with some acts are reevaluated through the same distorted cognitive processes
Murderers in general, and especially serial killers (a concept introduced by Robert K. Ressler in the 1970s), usually do what satisfies their needs, and use violence as a means to achieve their ends. This statement falls within the basic motivational processes of any person, but instead of using violence as a method of action, non-homicidal people use other strategies.
The focus to understand the criminal motivation in homicides is on the type of violence used. The way and means used will provide us with crucial clues about their motivation This is why the analysis of the crime scene is so extremely important, since it reflects the state of mind of the aggressor and his feelings, which can give us clues to know why he committed that crime.
Below we will describe the three basic types of homicidal motivation Obviously, they are not mutually exclusive, but in some aggressors one or the other may be more intense.
1. Revenge and justification
The main motivation of these murderers is to take revenge in a more or less specific way on those who they believe have contributed to their misfortunes.
These murderers they justify their actions as lawful and just; for them , murder is a natural consequence of the mistreatment or unjustified rejection they have suffered. They feel that they must punish a profile of people for something they have done or for what they represent (for example, an aggressor who, as a young man, has been rejected on several occasions by women, years later will take revenge for these events by murdering several women who have nothing to do with the matter, but who look like the ones who initially rejected him).
If there is something that is totally reinforcing for a murderer, it is the feeling of power, even if it is fleeting. They have absolute control and power over the victim, over their life or death The feeling of being “omnipotent” is common, that is, being like a kind of God. It is an experience that can become totally addictive for the aggressor, becoming a very powerful source of personal satisfaction. It can fill the void they feel in other spheres of their life, such as boredom, going unnoticed, being “one more”…
This feeling of control-power reinforces and maintains aggressive behaviors so it is very likely that if the murderer is moved by this type of motivation he will return to action.
3. Ecstasy-Relief
In view of a general state of unrelieved discomfort or excitement , they try to find a behavior or activity that frees them from that tension. They present a state of anxiety, nervousness and restlessness that often manifests itself in alcoholism or antisocial behavior, and other times ends in a homicidal act.
The cathartic moment of expression of feelings and anger It is the murder itself, and an intense feeling of euphoria and ecstasy is common. After the homicidal act, a sensation of intense and pleasant calm and relief occurs. However, this feeling of relief does not last forever, and the most common thing is the appearance after a while of new feelings of unrest, anxiety, tension, accumulated anger… They have learned that to “relieve” these sensations an infallible way is the commission of a murder.
We must make some nuances about the criminal motivation in homicides: the motivation of a murderer is implicit, individual and not justified. We will find as many motivations as there are murderers: it is difficult to identify all the motivations of the murderers within the three types mentioned above, although this classification can be of initial help in order to understand their motivations.
In this sense, the motivations for committing a murder have always been very heterogeneous: there are ideological and religious motivations (proof of this is the terrorism of ISIS), passionate, selfish, economic motivations, revenge, etc. Obviously, the best way to find out the motivations of serial killers is to talk to them directly, conduct a thorough interview by a trained professional and draw conclusions. Some very famous interviews within this area are those conducted with Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy.
The most important thing, more than being able to classify the murderer in one type of motivation or another within the classification, is to be able to predict what is important to him and why he does it, to be able to understand what his personal criminal motivation is, what his history is. In this way we can predict his behavior with greater certainty, analyze his behavior in greater detail and be able to stop him.
