Use social conflict theory to better understand how a serial killer is created. Through many conflicts in a person's life, a person must choose between living a normal life or a life of crime. This theory also proves how education plays an important role in how a person will act when they are older. By looking at the characteristics of a serial killer and their different types, one will be able to see what society believes the average serial killer is like. Society creates roles that it wants people to fit into and if someone does not fit well, conflict arises which causes people to act outside of the norm. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The United States has an estimated 3,204 serial killers, or seventy percent of the world's serial killers (Aamodt , 2016​).​ What is it? a serial killer? A serial killer is a person who has killed two or more people over a period of time (​Beirne, 2015​).​ Most of the time, a serial killer has a “thinking stage” between killings (s there is no break between killings, they become mass murderers).​ Some of America's most notorious serial killers include: Jeffery Dahmer (known for his cannibalism, killed seventeen people ), Ted Bundy (killed more than thirty people), Charles Manson (a known cult leader, killed seven people) and John Wayne Gacy (killed thirty-three people).​ Society (like family, friends, religious framework… etc.) has a lot of influence on the way a person grows up and the path they choose. Society creates roles that a person can be a part of and sometimes a person is perfectly molded to fit into society, but there will always be people who buck the mold and act out. How they act is important, however. By examining societal conflicts and how they affect a person's life choices, one could understand how a mentally healthy person can become a serial killer who commits heinous acts against another person. What most people think of when they hear of a serial killer is a middle-aged white man.​ As is somewhat true, only fifty percent of American serial killers are men. whites (Aamodt, 2016​).​ This leaves a lot of room for maneuver. There is room for the other percentage.​ The FBI has stated that, "contrary to popular belief, serial killers span all racial groups.​ There are white, African-American, Hispanic serial killers and Asian.​ ​The racial diversification of serial killers generally mirrors that of the American population as a whole” (Mortan, 2005).​ ​Media and films make serial killers a fascination for people and depict them in a way that makes them fascinated.​ They create fascinating films about real life scenarios.​ They portray the offender as having a perfect life, then one day, a switch flips and they go on a crazy killing spree . However, this is not always the case.​ How a child grows up has a huge impact on how they will act when they are older.​ If a child grows up with two loving parents who are goal-oriented and push him towards education, there is a good chance that the child will go to college. If a child grows up in a broken home, with a father who continually beats him day after day, there is Chances are he'll grow up angry at the world and feel the need to regain some form ofcontrol. Thirty-two percent of serial killers in the United States​ had a motive that was pleasure (desire, power, or thrill) (Aamodt, 2016​).​ When an offender kills out of desire or thrill, he is known as a hedonistic killer (Chase, 2015).​ Hedonistic killers like to take time with their victim in order to get the full gratification of killing.​ ​These types of murderers become addicted to killing like a person would become addicted to drugs​.​ The other type of serial killer is a power or control killer, which is when an offender kills when they feel like they have lost power (Chase​,​ 2015).​ Both types of serial killers may derive sexual gratification from dominating and humiliating victims, "there are many other motivations for serial murder, including anger, thrill, financial gain. , and attention seeking (Mortan​, ​2005).​ ​These types of serial killers are similar because their main goal is to gain control and feel more powerful than before. Power and control are key to understanding why these offenders continue to commit murder.​ In the mind of a serial killer, they thrive on fear of the victim and the feeling of dominance makes them want to kill more (​Beirne​, 2015).​ Once the killer has felt the intensity and weight of the murder​,​ he wants to do it gradually​,​ thus creating a serial killer​.​ ​In murders in series, there is usually no relationship between the offender and the victims.​ A killer will usually choose a victim at random who matches his criteria.​ In most cases, a killer will look for victims with a similar appearance to each other (height, race, hair color, age, etc.) These victims are chosen because they share some sort of similarity with someone who took away the power to the offender in his past (Williams, 2017).​ The offender wants to feel powerful again and will do anything to achieve this goal. The number of male serial killers far exceeds the number of female serial killers. In the United States, ninety-eight percent of serial murders are committed by a male offender and only nine point two percent. of these types of murders are committed by a female offender (Aamodt​,​ 2016​). ​But when we look at the gender of the victims, there is a high proportion of women.​ There could be many reasons why women are mainly victims of serious crimes.​ One reason for this could be that men feel a power struggle between them. and females and, therefore, they resort to murder. ​Women are primarily victims of serial murder, but often there are child or male victims.​ This could be because the perpetrator was injured or abused as a child and that as he grew up, the only way he could make him feel better was to take out his anger on people who reminded him of his past. No one really knows the motive for the murders until the offender is arrested (unfortunately, many serial killers are good at hiding from the law).​ The idea of ​​the opposition between nature and nurture is an important argument for explain why murderers are the way they are.​ In some cases, nature is the reason, usually for people with mental disabilities.​ But for a perfectly healthy person to commit such heinous acts, one must believe that the cause is education. So what is happening in society that causes a person to become a serial killer? The role of society on people has a huge impact on who they are. If we were to believe that education is the causecrimes​,​ a sociological theory could help understand how this happens. The social theory that best explains this criminal behavior is conflict theory.​ Conflict theory states that “tensions and conflicts arise when resources, status, and power are unequally distributed among groups in society and when these conflicts become the engine of social change.” » (Crossman​,​ 2019).​ ​To understand the connection between serial murderers and conflict theory​,​ one must know the foundations of the theory​.​ Social conflict theory is a social theory based on Marxism. which argues that individuals and groups within society interact on the basis of conflict rather than consensus (Crossman​,​ 2019). ​Through various forms of conflict, groups will tend to attain different amounts of material and non-material resources.​ More powerful groups will tend to use their power in order to retain power and exploit groups with less power.​ Conflict theorists view conflict as a driver of change, since conflict produces contradictions that are sometimes resolved, creating new conflicts and contradictions in an ongoing dialectic. Conflict can take many forms and involve struggles over many types of resources​.​ ​(Crossman​,​ 2019)​. A person doesn't wake up one day and decide they want to become a serial killer. A series of events lead to this criminal life choice.​ ​Conflict theory is used to understand the growth of a serial killer due to life experiences. It is these life experiences that cause the individual to choose his or her criminal path.​ Therefore,​ “[the criminal] recognizes certain life events that may predict criminal behavior over time, such as later attachments to loved ones or at work​, which will prevent those with low self-control from offending” (Arrigo​,​ 2004).​ If a person becomes distant or different in their work environment, this can be a signal alarm.​ People who commit murder are usually triggered by something. before his first murder.​ The offender might live a normal life and a death or something else might happen in his life that reminds him of his childhood trauma,​ this is called a trigger.​ In a case study by James Beasley​,​ one of the serial killers he interviewed stated that "his actions were influenced by several factors​,​ including family instability​,​ the death of his father two years before the first murder​,​ social isolation​ and deep resentment toward young women" (Beasley​,​ 2004).​ The events in the offender's life caused many unresolved conflicts and Instead of handling his conflict properly, he dealt with the problem by resorting to murdering women. He lived in an unstable home and had a trigger that sent him into a killing spree. This offender said that he had no remorse after the murders and that they had become more of a hobby for him than anything else. (Beasley​,​ 2004). ​This is an example of how societal conflicts lead a person to a life of crime.​ Most serial offenders experience conflict after conflict, leading to a life of unequal opportunities,​ this shows how point education is why serial killers are created. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Personalized Essay There are many serial killers in the United States, ​3,204 are recorded. The two main types of.