Outline of research proposal
Misty Chambers
University of Phoenix
PSYCH/610
Corey Vigdor
June 08, 2014

Outline of research proposal
Introduction
What makes people so infuriated they want to kill? Is it part of genetics, chemical imbalance, biological, or their upbringing? “During 2012, there were an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes reported to law enforcement” (Latest crime stats released, 2013, table 1). With most serial killers, their instinct to kill or murder several people starts early in life. Most serial killers started out torturing and maiming animals. We all have experience with anger or rage, but those with a conscious knows the consequences of killing. We would be remorseful. However, those who have monsters or demons within tend to listen to their demons and act upon it. “It was an urge…a strong urge, and the longer I let it go the stronger it got, to where I was taking risks to go out and kill people—Edmund Kemper” (Scott, 2014, para. 1). We may never know or fully understand the mind of a serial killer, but this author is going to try. A brief statement of purpose
The purpose for this proposal is to find out what really makes people so upset with other people, sometimes to people they do not even know, to want to kill them others, thus, that person becoming a known serial killer. The rationale for conducting the study

This author has always been interested in serial killers since she was small. Her mother only has true crime books and this author became infatuated as well. This author has always wondered why they do what they do and what brings them to doing it. This author believes that if we get into the minds of a serial killer, we are one-step closer to finally figuring out the two ultimate questions: Why and what caused them to go bezerk. By having a study conducted, we would get more of an idea what goes through their minds.

Hypotheses and research questions

Are the psychopathic criminals much different from birth? What makes serial killers tick? Why do they do what they do? Why kill multiple times? Does genetics, a chemical imbalance, biology, or upbringing play a big part? Do serial killers have any control over their thoughts and desires?

Methods (participants, procedures, materials, instruments), and appropriate statistical test(s) for data analysis

This author will use participants in the manner of serial killers. This author will use names of serial killers and the specifics of them. For instance, Son of Sam (David Berkowitz) thought his neighbor’s dog was the devil and told him to kill in which he complied. This author will name procedures on what made the serial killers do what they did. For instance, Charles Manson and family killed seven plus individuals to start a race war between the “blacks and whites” calling it Helter Skelter. This author will lay out the materials each serial killer used in the “thrill kills”. This author will use tables on how far a serial killer drove to “drop” a body off to the final resting place. In addition, this author will use tables on how far the victim was from the killer and how far they had to drive to get to them.

Three relevant articles for the proposal

Encounter and death: The spatial behavior of US serial killers- file:///C:/Users/Misty/Downloads/3deec5262595e30c66.pdf

Serial Murderers: The Construction http://www.sociology.uiowa.edu/newsoc/awards/papers/larsond.htm Statistical analysis of the birth charts of serial killers http://www.nvwoa.nl/pdfart/ruis/ruisen.pdf What makes serial killers tick? http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/tick/victims_1.html The relationship between news exposure to a serial killer case and altruistic fear http://www.academia.edu/2202391/The_Relationship_Between_News_Exposure_to_a_Serial_Killer_Case_and_Altruistic_Fear_An_Exploratory_Study Reliability, Validity, and Utility of Criminal Profiling Typologies http://www.drmauricegodwin.com/Dr.%20Godwin%20Profiling%20Article.pdf References
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/september/latest-crime-stats-released/latest-crime-stats-released
Scott, S. (2014). What makes serial killers tick? Retrieved from http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/tick/victims_1.html