Charles Manson Diana L. French Psychology 552 Instructor Jessica Ryan February 22, 2015

Charles Manson, better known as “Charlie”, “Manson Family Leader” was one of the most famous serial killers of our time. Interestingly he was tried and found guilty of murders that he himself did not commit yet he ordered his “family” to do so. The crimes that Charles was tried for took place in the late 1960’s and to this day Manson is still in prison. The following text will explore Manson’s life, the trial, where he is today and what psychological events were present to lead to this point in Manson’s life.

Internal factors from Birth to Early 20’s

November 12, 1934 Charles Manson was born in Cincinnati Ohio to Kathleen Maddox. Kathleen during this time was considered a promiscuous teen that drank alcohol and would end up in trouble of one kind or another regularly. Kathleen was briefly married to a man named William Manson who gave Charles his last name. Charles has never known his biological father. To better understand some of Manson’s thinking and behaviors it is helpful to look at some history regarding his mother and her life. This will help to explain how Charles was raised and socialized. Kathleen was raised by strict and some would say “fanatical in their religious beliefs” (Bardsley, Marilyn 2014) parents. Kathleen’s father was a railroad worker that worked long hours so her mother was the one that was the disciplinarian of the household. Kathleen had two siblings and affection was rarely shown by anyone in the household. Kathleen felt as though she was constantly criticized for how she wore her hair, what clothes she wore and wanting to participate in school and social activities as others her age did. She was not permitted to speak to boys and certainly not date. By the age of 15 she ran away from home for the first time. Kathleen, as Marilyn Bardsley states “In her search for acceptance she may have fallen in love easily and too often” (Bardsley, Marilyn 2014). After Kathleen gave birth to Charles at age 16 she would run off from time to time. Sometimes she would be gone for days, even weeks at a time. This would leave young Charles with his grandmother to care for him. Charles’ mother Kathleen was quite permissive not much of a parent at all. Kathleen and her brother were arrested, charged and sentenced to prison in 1939 for armed robbery. Charles was 5 years old at this time. He was sent to live in West Virginia with his aunt and uncle. Charles’ aunt was very religious and strict.

External

In the early 1940’s Kathleen was released from prison, Charles was approximately 10 years old at this time. Charles had to live in one motel room after another as his mother moved around regularly and was a hard drinker. There are reports that Manson was sold as a child by his mother for a pitcher of beer. Bardsley states “several days later his uncle had to search the town for the waitress to take him home” (Bardsley, Marilyn 2014). Charles Manson was sent 2 times, once at age 9 and once at age twelve to reform school for stealing. By the age of fourteen Charles had been sent to a place called Boys Town. Charles had tried to reconnect with his mother prior to this and she made it clear to him that she did not want him. Charles ran away from Boys Town with another juvenile and the two of them committed an armed robbery. Charles was sent to Indiana School for Boys for three years. In the early 1950’s while in the school for boys Charles had been given an I.Q. test that scored 109, as he was considered illiterate, he only did well in the area of music. “His teachers described him as having trust in no one and did good work only for those from whom he figured he could obtain something” (Bardsley, Marilyn 2014). Charles was due to be released from the school for boys and his aunt in West Virginia was reported willing to take him in. Yet Charles at this point was becoming in this writers opinion “institutionalized”. He “held a razor blade against another boy’s throat and sodomized him” (Bardsley, Marilyn 2014). At a late teen age, Charles was sent to a more secure institution in Chillicothe Ohio, today known as Chillicothe Correctional Institute. Correctional Officers were concerned that Manson was too criminally sophisticated for this institution as it was a dormitory style correctional facility. He was paroled from this institution at the age of 20. Clearly Charles was learning through his environment how to survive, and the survival tools were manipulation and crime.

Internal age 20’s to now

By 1958 Manson was released from prison. Manson became a pimp to support himself as well as auto theft, stealing credit cards and manipulating women to steal from them. One judge stated “If there ever was a man who demonstrated himself completely unfit for probation, he is it”(Bardsley, Marilyn 2014). Manson has looked to several different religions to as one would say, find himself. Currently he has never remained devout to any religion for a long period of time. All through his 20’s and early 30’s Manson was like a transient, living where ever he could lay his heard, moving from job to job and partaking in various criminal activities to support himself inside and outside of prison. By the age of 32 Charles was paroled from prison in San Francisco once again and believed that he could not make it on the outside. Manson has at this point spent most of his life locked up and this is the only environment that he is able to live in safely. This writer believes that safety for Manson was the ability to feel accepted, and this environment lacked stress for him. Ironically he was able to blend into the hippie culture when he was released from prison. This era was a whole new scene for Manson. He felt comfortable carrying around his guitar, and drugs were a new tool for him to use as a way to escape his own past and to manipulate others as well. Manson would target young women and men that had their own trouble lives, often these were runaways. Many of his followers were as insecure and weak willed as he was. However to his followers he did not appear insecure and weak willed, this writer believes this in itself is what fed his desires and purpose. To Manson he was no longer the little boy seeking love and acceptance he was a loved and respected leader. Manson would use drugs such as “LSD and amphetamines as tools to alter their personalities to meet his needs” (Bardsley, Marilyn 2014). In the late 1960’s Charles and his followers, mostly women traveled around in an old school bus. Food was taken from discarded food behind local grocery stores, stealing and scavenging. Manson came across a man named George Spahn that owned a lot of land in Death Valley California and convinced him to let the group live here. Manson had one of his girls, “Squeaky” take care of Mr. Spahn sexually for the payment. Manson had a philosophy that resembled Armageddon. In reality his philosophy was rooted in prejudice against African Americans. He believed “the black man was going to rise up and start killing whites and turn the cities into an inferno of racial revenge” (Bardsley, Marilyn 2014). In reality this philosophy of his was a con that he had made up. Manson wanted admiration and love from his followers; he looked for and in some regards received complete devotion as well. In 1968, the Beatles released the song “Helter Skelter”, this song become a somewhat theme song for Manson and his followers. To Manson this song fit everything that he had been preaching to his followers. Charles had his followers believing that they would all survive this event because they were hiding out in the desert. Charles would also take passages from the Christian Bible to convince his followers such as a passage from the book of Revelation that referred to “the bottom-less pit”. He had convinced his followers that this pit was actually a cave beneath the desert. Manson further convinced his follows that they would breed and multiply to over 140,000 and take over and the blacks would become their slaves. He added that there would be five angels, himself and the Beatles and Jesus Christ to rule. In the late summer of 1969 it had become clear that the prophecy Manson had been reporting to his followers was not coming to pass. Manson in this writers view was beginning to lose some credibility with his followers and he had to have a way to regain that. He then set about his plan to show “blackie” how to start this war, because his belief was blackie would do whatever whitey told him to do, hence the Tate and LaBianca murders. Manson himself did not kill these people he convinced his followers that it neede d to be done. “Although Manson never did any of the actual killing, under the rules of accomplice liability, he was deemed as responsible for the killings as the actual perpetrators who caused the deaths of nine people” (IMDB 1990-2015). Manson was given the death penalty. Since then the state of California has done away with the death penalty and his sentence was commuted to life in prison. To date he has continually been denied parole.

Theoretical Perspective

1. Coercion Developmental Theory: Coercion Developmental Theory states “that poor parental monitoring of child activities, disruptive family transitions and inconsistent parental discipline are major psychosocial contributors to early onset delinquency”(Bartol & Bartol 2014 p. 152). This theory can help explain Manson’s later in life coercive behaviors through manipulation. Manson this writer believes, began to show signs of anti-social behaviors early on, in childhood. Bartol & Bartol explain “anti-social behavior is seen as progressing from faulty parent-toddler interactions to similar interactions with teachers, peers and others in the child’s environment” (Bartol & Bartol 2014 p. 153).

2. Developmental Stage of Isolation Mansons stage of development is the isolation stage (Young Adulthood). Erikson’s model of psychosocial development is a very significant, highly regarded and meaningful concept. Life is a series of lessons and challenges which help us to grow. Erikson’s theory helps to tell us why. The theory is helpful for child development and adults too. Erikson’s psychosocial development theory has a series of stages that a person must settle and deal with. The stages have conflicts that must be solved. When a child has parents that are responsive to the needs such as changing when wet, feeding when hungry and there to give support and the child’s needs are taken care of in a timely manner and when their cries are answered will learn that people can be trusted and will resolve this conflict by learning to trust others. Erickson’s theory states that experiences later in life can change resolution of the conflict to the positive outcome if earlier in life the negative one. For example, if a person finds a caring, loving and trust worthy person for a romantic relationship in adulthood, that person can change to resolve that people can be trusted even if in infancy their initial resolution of conflict was to learn mistrust.

3. Social Learning Factors- Observational Learning

Social learning theory combines cognitive learning theory (which posits that learning is influenced by psychological factors (psychology today 1991-2015).

Charles Mansons’ actions and behaviors can be explained through this theory based on the fact that “Children develop many behaviors by watching their parents in their environment” (Bartol & Bartol 2014). Charles had a traumatic childhood and lack of adequate role modeling. His mother was in prison when he was young, she was most likely an alcoholic and she was sexually promiscuous. Most notably she was not present enough in his life to provide any kind of positive role modeling. In observational Learning the child will model not only real but also imagined people within his/her environment. This fact can be noted by his need to believe that he was a prophet of sorts later in life.

Diagnosis (DSM) There are three diagnosis that this writer believes would describe the behaviors of Charles Manson and they are Narcissistic, Antisocial Personality Disorders, Psychopathic. With regard to Narcissistic the following symptoms apply to the subject of this text: * Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance * Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it * Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people * Requiring constant admiration * Having a sense of entitlement * Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations * Taking advantage of others to get what you want * (Mayo Clinic, 1998- 2015). According to the American Psychiatric Association, Narcissistic Personality Disorder (DSM 301.81) is “a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration and no empathy” (American Psychiatric Assoc. 2010).

Antisocial Personality Disorder 1. “People with antisocial personality disorder typically have no regard for right and wrong and often disregard the rights, wishes and feelings of others. 2. Those with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others either harshly or with callous indifference. 3. They may often violate the law, landing in frequent trouble, yet they show no guilt or remorse. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use”.
(Mayo Clinic 1998-2014).

Antisocial Personality Disorder (DSM 301.7). “Antisocial Personality Disorder is a pattern of disregard for and violation of, the rights of others” (American Psychiatric Assoc. 2010). Other names that this disorder could be known by are sociopathy, psychopathy or dyssocial personality disorder. To diagnose this disorder there should be some history of Conduct disorder sometime before the age of 15. According to the DSM IV, a “personality disorder will usually become recognizable during adolescence or early adulthood” (APA 2010).

Psychopathic Personality Psychopathy : “an emotionally and behaviorally disordered state characterized by clear perception of reality except for social and moral obligations and often by the pursuit of immediate personal gratification”(Jacobs, Don 2005). Manson has an inability to empathize with others; he had an impoverished internal emotional life as evidenced by his childhood and family relationships. Immediate gratification for him has been ever present however has changed the older her got. Preventative/Treatment There is no known medication to treat Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder or a Psychopath. If Manson had been treated through counseling in his childhood and perhaps been removed from his current environment, how he turned out could possibly been prevented. This writer feels that treatment today is not possible at all. While talk therapy on a regular basis is used to treat such disorders it is doubtful that Charles Manson would be honest enough to engage in stated treatment. To this day Manson still believes that he has done nothing wrong. Although there are no known medications for these disorders, some medications can be prescribed for some of the symptoms such as depression and anxiety.

Conclusion Manson has numerous developmental issues early in life. Although over and over again he as a child made attempts to reconnect and develop a relationship with his mother this was continually met with disregard. It is this writers’ thought that deep inside Charles Manson was always looking for love and acceptance as a child until it broke him and he became truly sick, and today some believe him to be truly evil.

References

American Psychiatric Association (2010) DSM-IV-TR. Fourth edition. Arlington Virginia. American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.

Bardsley, Marilyn (2014). Crime Library. Charles Manson and the Manson Family. Retrieved on February 17, 2014 from http://crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notoriou/manson/bibli_10.html

Bartol, Anne M., Curt R. (2014) Criminal Behaviors. A Psychological Approach. Tenth Edition.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Pearson Education Inc.
Jacobs, Don (2006). Neurocriminalistics. The Why of the Who. Retrieved on February 18, 2014 from www.tarrantcounty.com/.../lib/...Neurocriminalistics_DonJacobs.ppt

Mayo Clinic (1998-2015) Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Retrieved on February 8, 2015 from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/basics/symptoms/CON-20025568 Psychology Today (1991-2015) Social Learning Theory. Retrieved on February 21, 2015 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/social-learning-theory