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AJ Butterfield
ENGL-2010-F16
Jessie Szalay
December 7, 2016

Persuasion Effect Project (Revised)

In todays society, you cant seem to have an opinion about something without
being that opinion. You support LGBTQ rights? Oh you must be gay. You want
marijuana legalization across the states? You must be the biggest stoner around. Dont
get me wrong, Im not saying either one of those things are a bad thing. Theyre not. Im
just pointing out that you shouldnt assume something about someone just because of
their opinion on a topic. Im an active animal rights supporter, so I must be an alpaca
right? See how ridiculous that assumption can sound? Not all people are their opinions.
Even if they are, get to know that person before you place any sort of judgement upon
them.
I promise this paper has a real point. Im addressing judgement and opinions
because mine have been questioned a lot recently. Some more than others, but Im here
to talk about one. Serial killers.

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I find serial killers to be some of the most fascinating people on the planet. Oh
this girl loves serial killers! She must be a serious weirdo or a serial killer herself right?
Weirdo? Maybe. Serial killer? Definitely not. These people are sick and twisted but thats
another reason for interest. They do awful, absolutely terrible things, and theyre not
situated in the norm you see in your every day life. Theyre different. Thats why Ive
always been curious about them. I want to know why theyve done the things that
theyve done, or what their life was like growing up. If that had anything to do with these
things.
Im not here to tell you that deep down they are good people, or that they just
made a mistake and deserve a second chance. Because they dont. A serial killer, by
definition, is a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal
psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and
including a significant break (a cooling off period) between them. Theres a lot of
planning to that whether they know it or not. They know exactly what theyre doing when
it happens. Their actions cannot be excused, however, we can still be sympathetic as
human beings.
Im not the only person in the world who has this opinion. There are plenty of
fellow weirdos like me who want to understand serial killers. For example, Dr. Helen
Morrison. She has studied and interviewed a total of 135 serial killers. She found that

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they all had similarities in personality and brain activity. Another example is
neuroscientist, Jim Fallon. Jim has studied the brains of psychopaths for over 20 years.
In his studies, he has found that people with low orbital cortex activity are either freewheeling types or sociopaths. He even discovered that his ancestry has a whole linage
of murderers. So he scanned his own brain and his sons brain, then he compared them
to brains of psychopaths. The results showed that he had the same low orbital cortex
activity as a serial killer. This discovery has led him to change his thinking on nature vs.
nurture. At first he believed that genes and brain function could determine everything
about serial killers and psychopaths, but now he thinks childhood experiences could
make all the difference. Thats where stuff like behavior analysis comes into play.
Now behavior analysis isnt just used for catching criminals. It has plenty of other
worldly uses including but not limiting to behavior treatment of children with autism. But
Im not going into depth about its other uses, Im going to explain its use in the criminal
world. The behavioral analyst job description states that, BAU personnel collaborate
closely with federal, local and international law enforcement agencies to produce
accurate recreations of violent crimes, provide a psychological framework for such
crimes and predict the likely actions of violent perpetrators. The keen insights of BAU
scientists have helped countless investigations identify and apprehend criminals and
terrorists before they could produce any more violence.

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The job description on the FBI Agent EDU website also states that, The
Behavioral Analysis Unit has commonly been popularized as profilers for their ability to
analyze evidence and develop a psychological profile of the culprit. The effectiveness of
these FBI profilers is based on careful analysis of thousands of cases of violent crime,
which are then used in similar cases to provide an understanding of the perpetrators
motives and modes of operation.
These are people that obviously have an interest in killers and crime in general.
They found a way to turn their odd interest into something that is actually helping the
world to become a better place. Thats where I stand, and why Im considered insane by
most. What people dont understand is that I dont want to be friends with these people, I
dont even necessarily want to get anywhere near these people, I want to understand
them. By understanding them and their actions, there are ways we could be able to
prevent killings in other places. That may seem like its too good to be true, or that it is
an unlikely possibility all together, but its already helping our government catch
criminals.
Im not planning on making a career out of this interest, but that doesnt mean its
not an important part of my life. Ive been interested in this kind of stuff ever since I was
a little kid. I grew up watching Forensic Files, that was my first exposure to the crime
world. Now I watch stuff like Criminal Minds, Dexter, Bates Motel, and Law and Order

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(and of course Im still rocking Forensic Files). I love watching/reading/learning about
anything Jeffrey Dahmer. His story is completely insane. The same goes for Ted Bundy,
John Wayne Gacy, etc. It may be an odd interest, but its an interest all the same.
So the next time that you hear that girl down the hall talking about Ted Bundy
totally having a multiple personality disorder, or that kid in your english class saying how
every single Jeffrey Dahmer killing could've been avoided if only his family had been
paying attention, just think of the interesting stuff they actually know. To be completely
honest, most of these people wont ever pursue this interest. But it is an interest just like
any other. People shouldnt be judged for finding something fascinating. (Unless of
course you are talking about looking into someone elses open head.. Then you should
probably get some help). On a lighter note, serial killers are interesting to learn about.
Definitely different, but interesting. If youre ever bored, check out a story or two. Who
knows, you might fall into this weird interest as well.

WORKS CITED
"The Brain of a Serial Killer." Best Counseling Degrees. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

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"The Incidence of Child Abuse in Serial Killers." N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Rogers, Abby. "A Terrifying Glimpse Into The Mind Of A Serial Killer." Business Insider.
Business Insider, Inc, 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
"FBI Agent EDU." How to Become an FBI Agent. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
Serial Killer Statistics - Radford University. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.