Buffalo Bill Psychology

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For the most part, people who carry out crimes believe they have good enough reasons to commit them. Whether our society agrees or somehow validates the criminal action is how we evaluate appropriate punishments for the convicted criminals. Psychology and the law study the psychological reasons as to why someone would commit certain crimes. Wilson and Herrnstien’s Net-Advantage Theory dictates that any choice we make rests on the cognitive and emotional calculations we construct in our minds before deciding on a course of action (Wrightdmsn’s Psychology and the Legal System, Eighth Edition, Edith Greene, Kirk Heilbrun). We normally tend to evaluate the possible positive and negative consequences that may result from a decision. This theory…show more content…
These personality traits help understand offending and are a part of Eysenck’s PEN theory (Wrightdmsn’s Psychology and the Legal System, Eighth Edition, Edith Greene, Kirk Heilbrun). Some extroverted actions Buffalo Bill expresses in the movie include the active aggression he uses in his abductions, such as removing his victims’ skin. An extroverted act Lecter expresses in the movie is his impulsivity to escape the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane and kill Dr. Frederick Chilton, the doctor who worked there. Lecter shows neurotic traits, such as restlessness when speaking to the FBI agent during the interview. Because the agent attempts to analyze Lecter, he grows very impatient and fiercely refuses her. The psychotic traits both Lecter and Bill encompass are shown specifically in the scenes where the victims’ dead bodies are exposed; the bodies clearly emphasize the lack of empathy and insensitivity for the person’s life and body. Lecter also manipulates the agent throughout the movie by playing with her mind. He forces her to revisit her dangerous past in return for acquiring information about Buffalo Bill. All of these personality traits lead to the diagnosis of a treacherous disorder: Anti-Social Personality Disorder. This disorder accounts for why people like Hannibal Lecter cannot apply the Wilson and Herstien’s Net-Advantage Theory. According to the DSM-5, Anti-Social Personality Disorder is a broad pattern of disregard for the right of others. In order to be classified as anti-social, a patient must show symptoms by the age of 15 years old; however only 1% of the population will have this

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