Nature and Nurture Made Me a Killer

J.A. Froude once said that “wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself” (Lowry, 2021 Week 2). Out of all the creatures in the world, humans are the only creatures that utilize violence for their own entertainment. As we have learned in previous courses, violence is a form of deviant behavior. The norm in modern society is that we don’t torture or kill another human, especially not for our own enjoyment. Then why do hedonistic serial killers need to kill for their own pleasure and enjoyment?

In nearly every single psychology, sociology, and criminal justice course I have taken in my college career, the nature versus nurture debate has been brought up. I have always personally believed that everyone is a product of some combination of nature and nurture. Depending on the person, it varies how much nature or nurture impacts their development. Throughout history, sociologists and criminologists have come up with several theories in order to try and explain why people commit violent acts. One of the modern theories of violence we have learned in this class is the integrated theory of violence. This theory states that “people [are] born with biological predispositions which are then shaped by the environment and social interactions” which ultimately leads to violent acts such as serial murder (Lowry, 2021 Week 1). It’s no wonder then why I believe that Jeffrey Dahmer’s violent behavior is best explained by the integrated theory of violence. Dahmer was biologically predisposed to be shaped by his environment and social interactions which lead to him becoming a serial murderer.

People are born with biological predispositions that can make them inherently more sensitive to their surrounding environment as they are socialized. Although there has been no single causal factor discovered that ultimately lead Dahmer to sexually abuse, kill, and cannibalize his victims, there are several biological factors that could have influenced Dahmer in his development. After Dahmer was incarcerated, information came forward that revealed that Joyce Dahmer, his mother, utilized several medications such as phenobarbital and morphine while pregnant in order to deal with psychological and physiological problems (Hickey, 2016). It is entirely possible that these medications could have affected fetal development, as many studies have shown that the consumption of alcohol and various medications can have adverse effects on the development of a fetus. This could have led to an imbalance of hormones or impacted the development of the brain, making Dahmer more susceptible to negative environmental influences and more impulsive when making decisions later on in life. In combination with this, his mother suffered from mental problems and his father, Lionel Dahmer, had an obsession with fire and a fascination with bombs and making explosives (Hickey, 2016). It is entirely possible that Dahmer inherited a genetic predisposition for mental problems from his mother and a predisposition for violence from his father, which influenced his actions later on in life. Throughout the years, various studies have shown there is a correlation with inherited traits. Children of violent or mentally ill parents are more likely themselves to be violent or mentally ill in life. Due to the combination of these factors, Dahmer himself has already been biologically predisposed to be violent.

People are constantly being bombarded with their surrounding environment and social interactions. Because of this, they are continually being shaped and influenced into acting in different ways. In combination with biological predispositions, Dahmer was shaped by his environment and social interactions into committing acts of sexual violence against other men. Supposedly when he was only eight-years-old, Dahmer was sexually abused by a neighbor boy (Hickey, 2016). Sexual abuse in any scenario is morally wrong, but can be even more devastating for children. In class, we have learned how much trauma, especially sexual trauma, can negatively impact one’s mental state. Often, feelings of shame and anger arise out of that trauma, which could have influenced violence that was already biologically predisposed in Dahmer. In combination with that, Dahmer suffered from turmoil as his family went through a divorce which influenced his abuse of alcohol as an adolescent (Hickey, 2016). Alcohol abuse, especially in adolescents, lowers inhibitions and muddles thought processes, making actions more impulsive and affecting the development of the brain, especially the prefrontal cortex. In combination with that, the divorce also brought about feelings of rejection and pain of abandonment in Dahmer (Hickey, 2016). As demonstrated in several of the videos viewed in class, feelings of rejection and abandonment are incredibly influential on an individual that has poor coping skills and biological predisposition to violence which often leads to violent outbursts. Due to the combination of these environmental/social factors on someone already biologically predisposed for violence, Dahmer was shaped into a serial murderer.

The combination of the biological predispositions and the environmental/social influences ultimately drove Dahmer’s motivation for serial murder. In simplistic terms, Dahmer had sex with, tortured, killed, and consumed his victims. Before I even took this course, whenever I heard the name Jeffrey Dahmer, I automatically associated his name and face with cannibalism. Most likely influenced by the fact that one of the nicknames given to him by the press was the Milwaukee Cannibal. However, I was unaware that “while some of his victims lay unconscious, Dahmer would drill holes into their skulls in an attempt to make zombies out of them” in order for them to become his sex slaves and ultimately never would be able to leave him (Hickey, 2016). The rejection and fear of abandonment experienced by Dahmer after the divorce of his parents influenced his need to ensure that his victims could never leave him. When lobotomizing his victims to turn them into his sex slaves failed, Dahmer would often consume them. He “had a fantasy [that] by consuming his victims, they would become part of him” (Hickey, 2016). By becoming a part of him, they therefore would never be able to leave him like his parents did. In all honestly, people always question the why. Why would someone ever do something like this? It is immoral, horrifying, and disgusting. In order to understand the mind of a killer, you have to put on their shoes. Everything you find irrational and immoral is actually rational and moral to Dahmer. If I were to put myself in Dahmer’s shoes, even though I am a vegetarian and find all aspects of consuming meat highly disgusting, the belief that the consumption of other human beings incorporates them into being a part of you seems entirely rational, especially to someone who has been rejected and abandoned throughout his whole life on multiple levels. The pain of abandonment by his parents because of the divorce and the rejection of his peers throughout school damaged his psyche to the point of serial murder in order to ensure that these men who he had sex with would never be able to reject or abandon him.

I have always thought of every sociological, psychological, and criminological problem as a scientific formula to be discovered, most likely influenced by my second major in chemistry. So, in my mind, it’s no wonder why the integrated theory of violence appeals to me for arguing why serial killers commit such acts of violence. The theory perfectly combines the argument of nature and nurture, logicking the hard science of biology with the soft science of psychology and sociology. In examining the case of Jeffrey Dahmer, there are several biological predispositions that were then shaped by his environment and social interactions he had while growing up. The influence of both factors are what made Dahmer into the hedonistic disorganized lust killer that he was.

Bibliography

Hickey, E. W. (2016). Serial Murderers And Their Victims (Vol. Seventh Edition). Boston: Cengage Learning.

Lowry, M. (2021, Week 2). So What Is a Serial Killer Anyway? [PowerPoint slides]. Department

of Social Sciences, Alfred University.

Lowry, M. (2021, Week 1). Theories of Violence [PowerPoint slides]. Department of Social

Sciences, Alfred University.