Spencer Reid: Whata Lad

“I find that I do some of my best work under intense terror." –Spencer Reid

Spencer Reid was an eccentric genius working for the BAU (Behavior Analysis Unit). His early life, and all of his life for that matter, was extremely abnormal. Graduating high school at the age of 12, Reid had to mature, learn, and grasp social situations much differently than other children. He was often bullied and preferred the company of books rather than people for most of his childhood. His mother, a retired 15^th century literature professor, often read to him and taught him everything she knew about the world. Although she was always loving, his mother suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and soon Spencer Reid’s home life unraveled. His father left him and his mother because he was unable to deal with his mother’s illness, and Reid put her into a mental institution soon after because he was unable to care for her himself.

After obtaining three doctorates and two bachelor degrees before the age of 24, Spencer Reid got a job as a Special Agent in the BAU to continue his love for psychology and sociology. All of the cases he was a part of included people ranging from psychopaths, sociopaths, and sexual sadists. Reid’s greatest contributions to the team were often because of his eidetic memory in which he would recite bits of information vital to solving the case. With an IQ of 187, Reid’s social abilities were often questioned. “When you look at me, you jump to a particular set of conclusions. Its human nature to make assumptions based on appearance. It’s an outdated primal instinct born of our need to quickly assess our surroundings.” (Reid) Because of his deviant intelligence, Reid often missed social cues and became extremely fixated on subjects he was fascinated by. Overall, Reid was a genius with a passion for psychology who lived a selfless life helping those attacked by serial killers. 

Season 1 Episode 9: "Derailed"

           In this episode, Teddy Bryar, a delusional psychotic, hijacks a train in Texas and takes the passengers hostage. He sees a hallucination named “Leo”, who is always next to him and pressures him to shoot the passengers and police officers. This episode reminds me a lot of A Beautiful Mind, since Teddy shares a lot of the same characteristics as John Nash.  They are both schizophrenics, they both have delusional people that tell them to harm others (positive symptoms), and they both believe that they have a microchip in their arm that they try to get out. Police officers in the episode actually refer to John Nash, and say “Yeah, I saw the movie,” referring to A Beautiful Mind.

            Many other psychological terms are used during this episode, such as word salad and tardive dyskinesia. Word salad refers to a mix of random words and phrases, and tardive dyskinesia refers to involuntary, repetitive body movements. Teddy was experiencing both of these symptoms while he was holding the victims hostage. The police officers in the episode concluded that Teddy was suffering from schizophrenia, which is why they think that he pulled such an outrageous stunt. The hallucination that he was seeing because of his schizophrenia (the man named Leo), kept urging him to take the officer’s gun and take the passengers hostage. Teddy told the officers that they had one hour to take a microchip out of his arm, or he would kill everyone on board. This was an issue, however, because the “microchip” that Teddy was referring to was not real – making this a tough case for the officer team. This is very similar to John Nash’s case, since Nash believed that he had a secret chip implanted in his arm by the secret service. While Nash was in a mental institution, he tried digging it out, leaving his arm torn and bloody. In the end, they were able to get all of the passengers out of the train safely, and Teddy was brought to a mental hospital to treat his schizophrenia. This shows that many serial killers suffer from a mental disorder – such as schizophrenia, antisocial behavior disorder, or bipolar depression, which may be the cause of their psychotic behavior.

S2:E9 "The Last Word"

Background: In this episode Gideon, Hotchner, and their team must profile two serial killers in St. Louis, Missouri who are competing to outdo each other.  The "Hollow Man" murders prostitutes in the city and the "Mill Creek Killer"  kills middle-class women and hides them in Miller Creek National Park.

"Mill Creek Killer"

This episode is about two separate cases that are closely connected.  The "Hollow Man" kills his victims by shooting them.  The BAU infers that this means that the killer seeks power, but at the same time keeps his distance from his victims.  He kills to become famous like his "teacher," the "Mill Creek Killer."  The "Mill Creek Killer" couldn't be more different. His victims die of blunt-force trauma suggesting that he wants to be close to his victims.  He then buries his victims in the Miller Creek National Park, which is 1.5 Million Acres of land.  This suggests that he wants to be alone and private with his victims as well.  Both of these serial killers see themselves as artists.

"Hollow Man"

Motivation: Motivation is the process by which activities are started, directed, and continued so that physical or psychological needs or wants are met. The motivation of these two serial killers couldn't be farther from the same. The "Hollow Man" is motivated by external factors (in search of power), where the "Mill Creek Killer" is internally motivated (emotionally).  Internal motivation, also known as intrinsic motivation, is a type of motivation on which a person performs an action because the act itself is rewarding or satisfying in some internal manner. External motivation, also known as extrinsic motivation, is a type of motivation in which a person performs an action because it leads to an outcome that is separate from or external to the person.


From this episode, it seems to me that the "Mill Creek Killer" was in search of an emotional connection with a woman that he had previously lost.  All of the women that he killed had similar traits, such as brown hair.  He would lure them in publicly and hide them in the National Forest.  He would later go back to the bodies.  He would comb their hair and put lipstick on their lips as if they were still alive. He has one sick mind.

The "Hollow Man" on the other-hand, was killing prostitutes.  He may have chosen prostitutes, figuring that they were lowlifes and not important to society.  While watching this episode it seemed that the BAU team made a huge effort for this case especially, to prove that even though someone is a prostitute, they are still human and all humans are important.  Anyways, the "Hollow Man" killed in search of fame.  He saw the Newspaper headlines about the "Mill Creek Killer" and wanted to be recognized too.  When he was not recognized he would go on killing sprees. That to me is one messed up mind.    

A Beautiful Mind

“Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments, most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse had never been. What kind of hell would that be?” –Dr. Rosen

John Nash was an illustrious mathematician known to be odd and antisocial. Despite his ingenious mind, he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, and the images, people, places, and scenarios he saw, all created a distorted version of reality. During his delusional episodes, John imagined Parcher, his “supervisor”, who set him on a highly confidential mission to prevent a Soviet attack. Parcher made John’s paranoia and hallucinations increase and he often became violent and detached from society. While John Nash was never intentionally violent towards others, some schizophrenics over history have become extremely remorseless and brutal. One example is Ed Gien, who took corpses from graveyards to create trophies and murdered two women. He is known for being a sexual psychopath and is one of the most well-known murderers in the world. Although there is a great difference between the notorious Plainfield Ghoul Ed Gien and John Nash, they both had schizophrenia.

John Nash’s madness was also covered by the stress of his job and his unusual personality. “I would not dare to say that there is a direct relation between mathematics and madness, but there is no doubt that great mathematicians suffer from maniacal characteristics, delirium and symptoms of schizophrenia.” (Nash) Overall, John Nash was an innovative mathematician who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia but overcame it. Despite his condition, he is one of the most renowned thinkers who had a great impact on modern day economics and mathematics. 

What Motivates a Serial Killer to Kill?

What motivates a serial killer to kill? Are there any ways to spot a serial killer before they attack? These are all questions that people have wondered for years. A serial killer is defined as a person who murders 3+ people over a period of > 30 days, with an inactive period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/serial+killer). When people hear that someone they know has committed a murder, they’re often very surprised that the seemingly “normal” person they knew could do such a thing. Many serial killers have the ability to behave in a way that arouses no suspicion. There are, however, a few signs that may help identify people who have the potential to become serial killers – such as extreme antisocial behavior, and use of violence towards living creatures.

Antisocial personality disorder is defined as someone who shows no remorse or guilt. Some signs of antisocial disorder may include: lying, aggressiveness, failure to conform to social norms, and irresponsibility. Another common indicator of a possible serial killer is the killing of animals. They may irritate, torture, or even kill cats, dogs, and other animals. Even after seeing the results of their actions, the person will show no form of regret or remorse. Serial killers enjoy having control over the life of another; and at a younger age, a small animal is the only type of creature that they are able to fully dominate. (http://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/early-signs) 

            Motivations involved in serial killings often include fear of rejection, power, and perfection. Many serial killers fear social rejection, and try to avoid painful personal relationships with another human being. After all, the serial killer cannot be rejected by a person whom they have dominated and killed. This leads into the next type of motivation – power. Serial killers seek to have complete power over their victims, since they get to decide whether or not the victim will live or die. Perfection is also a main motive to serial killers, since some killers seek to “improve” something. They often see a category of people, such as women or prostitutes, as “unclean”, and see the removal of those beings as improving the world. (http://twistedminds.creativescapism.com/psychological-disorders/motives/#sthash.hvxJuxvi.dpuf)

E14: "Riding the Lightning"

Background: In this episode Gideon, Hotcher, and their team interview husband and wife serial killers awaiting execution on death row.

Jacob and Sarah Gene Daaz went to jail, after an anonymous phone call, for the murder of 12 teenage girls and their son Rylee.  A thirteenth victim was found just days before their scheduled execution date. In the hours before the execution time, the BAU team conducts a series of interviews in a desperate attempt to find out about any other possible victims.

Jacob Daaz is a sexual psychopath, which means he needs to have total procession of his victims. Jacob, an only child, was physically and sexually abused as a child by his mother. According to "Psychology Today," psychopaths do not have any successful relationships due to the absence of emotional connection and true empathetic feelings towards others. This is due to reduced activity in the pre-frontal cortex and over activation of the amygdala. They do not trust or depend on other individuals as well.  For psychopaths, sex is not an emotional or intimate experience, but yet a form of control over the other individual.

Professor Adrian Raine, who first completed a scanning study on murders, has found evidence that childhood abuse can create killers by causing physical damage to the brain, the pre-frontal cortex especially.  Genes are a huge factor in violent behavior as well. There was a breakthrough in 1993  dealing with a family from the Netherands where all the men had a history of violence.  It was found that they all lacked the same gene.  This gene that they lacked is one that produces an enzyme called MAOA, which regulates levels of neurotransmitters involved in impulse control.  It seems that this genetic tendency towards violence, together with an abusive childhood, is the combination in with murders are made. I believe that it was Freud who said that early childhood plays a key role in development and these studies are proof of that.

For Jacob Daaz, having power and control over the young girls he killed was part of his fantasy. He was changed from his childhood experiences and possibly a genetic link to violence. In his messed up, psychopath mind, killing Sarah Jean to him was total control, and the completion of his fantasy.

Sarah Jean on the other hand, was not abused as a child.  Her father was a strict, military man but he did abuse her mother though.  There is nothing to suggest, in this episode, that Sarah Gene was a true killer and the BAU team soon discover that Sarah Jean is innocent.  The team was able to analyze certain behaviors of Sarah Jean's and link them to her innocence.  For instance, she had painted three pieces throughout her years in prison.  One had a picture of twelve roses, representing the 12 girls that were murdered ruthlessly by her husband.  The second picture was of a young boy, "Rylee," running free.  The last painting was of a river representing the biblical story of baby mosses floating down the river in a basket.  All of these paintings are clues to Sarah Gene's innocence. The first picture of the roses suggests that she did not know that her husband was killing these young teenage girls because she was only aware of the twelve bodies that were found.  The second and third picture suggest that Rylee was still alive, running free somewhere.  She never murdered her son Rylee, but instead protected him in a way that appeared as if he been killed.  According to Sarah Jean, "our children suffer from our sins" and she did not want this for Rylee.

Sarah Jean wanted to end her life in hopes that Rylee would never have to know about her existence. She was protecting him from Jacob and the life in which she lived in. She wanted the best life for her son, like any motherly figure would.

We could link this to Sternberg's Triangular Theory of love.  This love that Sarah Jean has for her son is full of both passion and commitment.  In Sternberg's theory this would be considered Fatuous Love. She loved her son very much and wanted him to have the best life possible and she knew for this to happen she could not be apart of his life.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31714853

Criminal Minds

For this blog, we will be relating much of our findings to the T.V. show "Criminal Minds." Here is some background on the T.V. show "Criminal Minds," for your general knowledge.

Each episode is a case of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, which is an elite group of profilers who analyze the nation's most dangerous criminal minds in an effort to anticipate their next moves before they strike again.

If you are interested in watching this series, it is available on Netflix.  Newer episodes are available to watch at www.CBS.com.

Hope you enjoy!