Serial Killers/Criminal psychology

[Graelwyn]

Anyone else had this as a special interest? I have on and off studied these areas since around the age of 17/18, so a few decades. I still watch any documentaries I see coming up, and have read many books and read any newspaper articles on the latest incidences. It sounds so gruesome and maybe sadistic, but I suppose it is that I cannot fathom the capacity of the human mind to allow itself to become so destructive to others.

I suppose my interest in Victorian lunatic asylums is similarly gruesome and maybe a little strange, heh.

 

[King_Oni]

Serial killers, and to some extent victorian asylums/psychology are things I am interested in, but it's nothing really actively read up on. It's one of those topics I wont turn off if I run into a documentary or something of that nature (compared to the amount of stuff I have no interest in and will switch off)

 

[Cali Cat]

I'm interested in serial killers and criminal psychology for reasons similar to those you expressed. Psychopaths are truly detestable, but I want to know what it is that causes a mind to snap to that degree. Psychology in general is pretty fascinating to me.

 

[Judge]

Totalitarianism...the history, the personalities, the psychology behind it all.

Not usually something you discuss at the dinner table I suppose.

 

[King_Oni]

Not usually something you discuss at the dinner table I suppose.

Invite better guests, lol

 

[Vanilla]

I also enjoy discussions on psychology. It interests me to understand how the minds of other can work. When I am unable to relate with them, it intrigues me.

 

[Harrison]

Psychopaths fascinate me, but then, so do saints. I have a fascination with the underlying processes that cause people to act out their mindscapes.

 

[Vanilla]

Psychopaths fascinate me, but then, so do saints. I have a fascination with the underlying processes that cause people to act out their mindscapes.

Out of interests sake, I once visited a forum, which was a support site for psychopaths. I didn't join; just lurked. It was fascinating to see how their thought processes worked. To me, they seem almost the very opposite of autistics, yet also fairly similar. Was a real eye opener.

 

[Harrison]

I also lurked around some of those forums back before I was diagnosed as an aspie. Now I know that my fascination with human psychology was/is a long term special interest, but way back when, I was accused of having psychopathic traits.

 

[Vanilla]

I also lurked around some of those forums back before I was diagnosed as an aspie. Now I know that my fascination with human psychology was/is a long term special interest, but way back when, I was accused of having psychopathic traits.

Yes, it's a common blunder for some, unfortunalty. So little is accurately understood of the two, that to some people, they appear as almost one and the same. There are so many other conditions which are often confused with AS, including association disorder, and even narcissism. I had investigated so many different areas, before I was comfortable that my initial self-diagnoses was accurate.

 

[Harrison]

Yes, it's a common blunder for some, unfortunalty. So little is accurately understood of the two, that to some people, they appear as almost one and the same. There are so many other conditions which are often confused with AS, including association disorder, and even narcissism. I had investigated so many different areas, before I was comfortable that my initial self-diagnoses was accurate.

Indeed, narcissism was another one levelled at me. However, aspies can be insular even if they are extrovert, I know I am. Caring for yourself without help from others does tend to make you focus on your own needs first. Given that we also can 'talk for England' about our special interests whenever the opportunity arises can make us look somewhat narcissistic.

 

[Vanilla]

Indeed, narcissism was another one levelled at me. However, aspies can be insular even if they are extrovert, I know I am. Caring for yourself without help from others does tend to make you focus on your own needs first. Given that we also can 'talk for England' about our special interests whenever the opportunity arises can make us look somewhat narcissistic.

Haha, yes, I remember your post on the 'extrovert Aspie' thread, and your stories about greeting people at your favourite cafe. I do agree, completely. Not only that, but our ability to hyper-focus on our interests can unfortunately cause us to (often unintentionally) ignore others around us, while we obsess over out special interests. The main issue is that most people don't understand what narcassim is all about. They aren't usually made aware of its more malicious nature.

 

[Harrison]

So true.

I remember one instance where someone said sarcastically, 'You really love the sound of your own voice, don't you'.
To which I replied, 'Not really, I just hate the sound of your silence'.

 

[Vanilla]

So true.

I remember one instance where someone said sarcastically, 'You really love the sound of your own voice, don't you'.
To which I replied, 'Not really, I just hate the sound of your silence'.

Haha, yes, that is more accurate. I'm sure they gave you a rather puzzled look after that reply.

 

[Harrison]

Haha, yes, that is more accurate. I'm sure they gave you a rather puzzled look after that reply.

They up and left without a word. The rest of the people suddenly became very eager to join in the discussion

 

[Vanilla]

They up and left without a word. The rest of the people suddenly became very eager to join in the discussion

Oh? That's an unusual reaction. Perhaps you were surrounded by some fairly like-minded individuals there

 

[Harrison]

Oh? That's an unusual reaction. Perhaps you were surrounded by some fairly like-minded individuals there

Or maybe it was because they were students of mine and went into panic mode. Never had any further problems with that group during discussion time

 

[Vanilla]

Or maybe it was because they were students of mine and went into panic mode. Never had any further problems with that group during discussion time

Ah, haha, that would explain that. Was that other individual another teacher then? Either way, how embarressing for them

 

[Harrison]

Ah, haha, that would explain that. Was that other individual another teacher then? Either way, how embarressing for them

They were indeed, it was supposed to have been a joint seminar but for some reason the person in question chose to stay virtually silent during the students Q&A time. I did feel a teensy bit bad about it as they probably needed more time to process what they were going to say than I did. He had this big stack of notes he would rifle through whereas I, because it was my special interest, never used notes. Thinking about it, I was probably an ass that day, but the students learnt to never keep my waiting on an answer.

 

[Vanilla]

Anyone else had this as a special interest? I have on and off studied these areas since around the age of 17/18, so a few decades. I still watch any documentaries I see coming up, and have read many books and read any newspaper articles on the latest incidences. It sounds so gruesome and maybe sadistic, but I suppose it is that I cannot fathom the capacity of the human mind to allow itself to become so destructive to others.

I suppose my interest in Victorian lunatic asylums is similarly gruesome and maybe a little strange, heh.

I'm curious now, why Victorian lunatic asylums? Is there something in particular about them that sets them apart from other asylums? I don't know much about asylums; outside of Hollywood movies.