In most cases of psychopathic individuals a mixture of environmental pressure and pre existing mental health issues blend together to result in extremely violent episodes.

When it comes to the idea of serial killers and understanding them this article covers something interesting. According to Day, “It’s really the first time in American history where a serial killer is caught … and becomes part of the culture”—seeing how the idea of killers in media is fantasized about, especially as a result of the Dahmer show that came out on Netflix.

Serial killers becoming serial killers is all mental. Whether it’s nurture or nature that causes it is different between serial killers – it’s likely that Gein (who was committed to a mental institution) had pretty severe trauma surrounding his mother, as (at a quick look over his wikipedia page) it is noted that his violent tendencies were only towards women who resembled his mother.

There are many people who have the same mental disorders as serial killers, it all depends on how a person grows up, interacts with others, and if they ever decide to act on the thoughts or ideas that come to them. An additional part of this, is if a serial killer grew up in a circumstance where they had a disadvantage and want to harm those who had the advantage.