Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Introduction
Consideration of the psychological profile and attempts to explain the behavior of serial offenders is usually quite complicated, as it contains many variables that do not allow determining something universal for all offenders. Nevertheless, behavioral theories describe some correlation between biological, social, and psychological factors that might contribute to a person becoming a criminal. This paper will interpret the criminal offenses of Chikalito by interpreting them through the biobehavioral theory. First, the work will describe the theory, then provide the offenses committed by the criminal, after which we will try to discuss the relations between Chikalitos psychological and behavioral features with his actions.
Biobehavioral Theory
Biobehavioral theories imply some correlation between an individuals physiological, environmental, biochemical, and neurological factors and their potential to become a criminal. According to this theory, factors influence an individuals perceptual characteristics at the biological level, and these factors can be hereditary and acquired (Archibald & Akers, 2018). Biochemical factors described in this theory include hormones and neurotransmitters, whose concentrations can affect human behavior. On the other hand, environmental factors are related to the effects of the environment on the human body and, consequently, human behavior. This theory helps to suggest a higher chance of some people committing crimes over others or to state the cause of crime ex post facto.
The Crimes of Chikatilo
Andrei Chikatilo was a Russian man who began his criminal activity at the age of 45. According to the media report by The Washington Post was guilty of fifty-two murders (Eleanor, 1992). Chikatilo always followed a clear plan to find his victims, whom he raped and dismembered (Willmott et al., 2017). Some of his victims were eaten by the perpetrator, and parts of the corpses were kept as trophies. He killed at least 45 people, most of whom were women (Willmott et al., 2017). The rest of his victims were underage boys whose genitalia the perpetrator cut off to rob them of their masculine features as much as possible.
Consistency of the Offenders Actions with Behavioral Theory
Chikatilo was a necrosadist who derived satisfaction from killing his victims. After the onset of problems with sexual dementia, as well as the development of various kinds of sexual perversions, he began his criminal activity (Willmott et al., 2018). Chikatilos behavior is directly related to his sexual deviations and his inability to have a sex life. The behavioral patterns of the criminal noted that his actions were driven by the processes described by the biobehavioral theory.
A study by Zghal et al. (2017) shows a definite correlation between sexual perversion and a persons mental illness development. Although Chikatilo is believed to be completely sane and not suffering from mental illness, chances are that the doctors who evaluated him were under pressure from the prosecutors office to send Chikatilo to a firing squad rather than to a mental institution. Also, a high number of sexual partners correlates with involvement in a persons antisocial behavior (Beaver et al., 2017). According to this study, there may be a correlation between personality traits affecting the number of sexual partners and antisocial behavior, which relates to the evolutionary theory of human behavior. On the other hand, some genetic predispositions may be responsible for the number of sexual partners and a persons antisocial behavior. Nevertheless, Chikatilo had many sexual partners before his potency problems, which could explain his behavior after losing his ability to have an active sex life.
Accounts of Chikatilos life imply that there is proof of unsatisfactory prior partnerships. He admitted that erection dysfunction frequently affected his early sexual relationships, which caused him great embarrassment and frustration (Willmott et al., 2018). He himself blames his acts on an unsuccessful attempt to rape his first victim when explaining to them after being found guilty. In a confession to a doctor, he reiterates that he achieved a spontaneous orgasm just before fatally stabbing his first victim (Willmott et al., 2018). Therefore, it makes sense that during this incident, the use of force and violent behavior adopted became positively reinforced in the form of the satisfaction gained from overcoming prior arousal incapabilities as well as positive feelings associated with the ejaculation itself, which may explain the repetition of Chikatilos behavior.
Shortcomings of the Applied Theory About the Behavior of the Offender
There may be several assumptions in applying the behavioral theory to the case of Chikatilo. The use of behaviorist explanations suggests that the enjoyable consequences that came before violent killings may have conditioned and reinforced the act of killing, and as such, they plausibly explain why he continued to commit crimes after the first murder. The beginning of the first murder also seems to be related to the deep-seated feelings of humiliation that the offender claims to have experienced, which seem to manifest as excessive violence after repeated failures of regular sexual relations.
Conclusion
Thus, Andrei Chikatilos behavior can be interpreted by several mental and psychological factors. His traumas and sexual experiences incorporated into the psychological problems caused particular behavior patterns and affected his actions. It is unlikely that the psychological explanations put forth can fully explain why Chikatilo committed the reported sexually deviant crimes, despite the fact that they provide a plausible and persuasive explanation for the behavior of one of the most prolific yet understudied serial killers of modern times. The whole extent of Chikatilos depravity is unlikely to ever be fully known in the absence of his own thorough defense. Thus more research and theoretical endeavorsof which the current investigation is one of the firstare surely needed to comprehend this unusual sort of homicidal behavior.
References
Archibald, P. C., & Akers, T. A. (2018). Development of the Behavioural-Biomedical Law Enforcement Stress Discordance Model (B2LESD): An epidemiological criminology framework (LEPH2018). Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being, 3(3), 68-83.
Beaver, K. M., Wright, J. P., & Walsh, A. (2017). A gene-based evolutionary explanation for the association between criminal involvement and the number of sex partners. Biosocial theories of crime (pp. 351-359). Routledge.
Eleanor, R. (1992). Russian convicted of murdering 52. The Washington Post. Web.
Willmott, D., Boduszek, D., & Robinson, R. (2017). A psychodynamic-behaviorist investigation of Russian sexual serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 29(3), 498-507.
Zghal, M., Romdhane, F. F., Jmii, G., El Ghali, F., Belkhiria, A., Jouini, L., Ghazeli, A., & Ridha, R. (2017). Sadistic sexual assault, perversion and schizophrenia: A case report. European Psychiatry, 41(S1), S594-S594.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.