Loden Malone

Mrs. Thomas
UWRT 1102
9/29/15
Reflection
I had a pretty hard time developing my inquiry question. I kept finding myself coming up
with topics that I couldnt turn into questions. I decided that I knew I could do a lot of
research about serial killers, and Ive always been very fascinated by them, and read
about them on my own. I knew I could do a lot of researchers about them and not get
bored, I really wanted to learn more. So after choosing this topic, I had a few questions
that I developed. One was how some serial killers do it for fame, but I was unable to
come up with an exact question. So I decided to think about it in terms of how serial
killers become a serial killer. Im not sure what my standpoint is on it, nature or nurture?
Im a bit nervous that I will find two much information and not know what to use and
what to leave out of my paper. I am very excited to work on this paper and learn more
about serial killers, and how they become one.
Reflection 2
After help from my peers, I have finished the second draft of my proposal. I fixed a few
small grammatical errors and reworded some things that were unclear. On two of my
feedbacks, I was asked to elaborate on the section that I wrote about freud, I decided not
to change it in my proposal, because the information needs to be written in the actual
paper. Also I was told to write more in depth about Ted Bundy, which I also plan on doing
but not until the actual paper. One peer reviewer said, and I quote I do not really feel

convinced about your question, it doesnt seem like you answered it. A proposal is when
you are explaining how you are going to find out the answer to your inquiry question,
and give a few ideas of where to start your research. If I were to answer the question, this
would be my actual paper. I decided to disregard that comment, because my question will
be thoroughly answered within my actual paper.

Proposal
After a lot of thought, I have decided to do my inquiry project on a topic that has
always interested me; serial killers. My question is: Within the topic of Nature Vs.
Nurture, Why do serial killers commit such mass murders and how do they become such
violent human beings? This question touches on the two different reasons behind why
someone can commit such horrific acts. First, there is nature- which explains that serial
killers are born with a unique gene that makes them capable of these horrible acts of
cruelty. Second, we have nurture, which talks about the surroundings that a child grew up
with and how major life events altered the child, making them capable of such homicidal
tendencies. This question is extremely controversial and I will have a massive amount of
information to be able to write about. How are people able to commit such terrible
murders, when I cant even hurt a spider without feeling terrible? Are people born
without a conscience? The idea about morality and conscience led me to my inquiry
question. After picking out a few major serial killers, I will go more in depth into their
early life and the severity of their killings.
Psychologists, criminologists and even scientists have tried to find what lies
behind these mass killings, and answer the question of why they are able to commit such

horrible acts. In the book, The psychopathology of serial murder: a theory of violence;
criminologist Stephen Giannangelo offers research about my inquiry question:
The author constructs a two-part model of the serial murderer's
development. The first part outlines biological factors and concomitant
psychological anomalies that can

predispose individuals toward

homicidal behavior. Then, in developing the second part of his model,

Giannangelo describes how a traumatic environmental stressor may trigger
a cyclical pattern of violent behavior in those persons predisposed to kill.
Issues within the brain, certain psychological disorders, or early traumatic events are all
talked about in this book. In addition, there is a lot of history about this question also.
Sigmund Freud, a psychologist also weighs in on the topic, talking about development of
the unconscious personality in early childhood.
I think that this inquiry question is very important for me and my classmates
because its about a topic that everyone thinks about and fears, but nobody ever really
goes in depth and asks why these human beings are capable of such terrible acts of
cruelty. Everyone has their own opinions on why people are able to do such sick things to
others, and I think its important to have a vast range of reasons, so that people are able to
make their opinions based on research.
From horror films like Hannibal to tv shows like Dexter, or The Killer Speaks,
have lead me to prior knowledge of serial killers. I have also done a lot of reading on
certain serial killers. For example I have learned about my own sorority sisters in Chi
Omega who were brutally massacred by Ted Bundy. I have read a lot about the murders,
but never really the early life of these murderers. I am going to read articles and watch

documentaries about serial killers, to learn more about how these people can cause so
much pain to others and feel nothing.
For the outcome of my inquiry I hope that I am able to find enough research about
each side of why serial killers kill. I want to be able to decide for myself which I think is
more a reason. Is it that they are born with something and are already predetermined to
kill? Or is it that the early lives of these killers were not good and traumatic life events or
surroundings shaped them into the monsters they are today. I need to begin by explaining
what a serial killer is, the different types and than explains the early lives or diagnoses of
each. I wonder if the more violent killers are possessed by rage and what happened to
them early on in life, or if the more violent killers are the ones that seemed to have a very
normal childhood but one day something just switched. Its so hard for me to believe
that when a child is born they are already predestined to kill others later in life.
Throughout my inquiry research, I will do my best to be very unbiased and open minded.