Not many people have a “perfect” childhood. Divorce rate is at an alarming 50 percent right now, bullying is taking on new forms, and abuse in the home is sadly more common than expected. The recent abuse statistics indicate that there are approximately 1.4 million reported cases of child abuse each year, and that does not take in to account the cases that went unreported. The National Child Abuse Statistics website estimates that 80 percent of people who have been abused as a child, and who now are over the age of 21, can be classified as having one or more psychological disorder. Depression and anxiety are amongst the most common, but what splits the gap between dealing with child abuse and the resultant emotional distress or becoming a psychotic serial killer, such as Iceman Richard Kuklinski? Could it be the severity of abuse or as Dr. Wede mentioned in lecture, a severe biological response that turns off all emotion.

As a biology major, I have had plenty of experience with evolutional theories and adaptation. Is it possible that the physical response of the body could be altered to mentally protect itself from the emotional distress of abuse as a form of adaptation? Although my knowledge is not backed by solid scientific research that I have been a part of, I believe that cases such as the life of Richard Kuklinski have been influenced by a biological response such as that. In Kuklinski’s case, he was diagnosed with a psychological disorder called Antisocial Personality Disorder, which causes him not to “feel” anything, or in scientific terms, not exhibit any internal biological response in events that cause people with normal biology to have severe reactions. When the Iceman was murdering a person, he simply felt nothing, and was doing it simply for the money he received as a Mafia hit man- or at least that is what he says- which is difficult to wrap my head around.

Morbid as it may be, I am fascinated with the psychological response of serial killers and the biology behind their reasoning for their actions. I watched the Iceman interviews that have been published and see that reasoning as evidence of a tumultuous childhood. He was taught from an extremely young age to handle any emotional stress by physical violence, and just like learning to ride a bike, parents inadvertently teach children how to behave, usually by example. Although I may not understand what happened in his life that differentiates him from an abused child that grows up to have depression or a more mild disorder, I know that the abuse was greatly significant in the devastating effects of his life.

I think that as a culture, psychological disorders need a better classification system and treatment method, so that a wide variety of disorders can be prevented, bettered, or controlled, leading to a happier life for those people and the ones that they know. Suicide rates are heartbreakingly high, such as the much publicized deaths of NJ teens Madison Holleran and Tyler Clementi, and although those deaths were not caused by a serial killer or child abuse, these psychological issues need to become revered as diseases that rank amongst heart disease and cancer. Even the events of today’s tragedy in a small suburb of Pittsburgh, PA, where a bullied student stabbed twenty people in his high school, shine light on the increasingly present effects of psychological disorders and the results of emotional pain, regardless of the source.

“National Child Abuse Statistics.” Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.

I often wonder how in the world my sister can adamantly say that she is telling the truth when she does not remember stealing my shirt or using my makeup a few weeks ago. Or how she does not remember that one time she slapped me for taking a cookie that she wanted when we were little. It seems as if she is blatantly lying to our mom, but maybe, she actually thinks she is telling the truth. Maybe she does not remember that she slapped me or convinced herself otherwise, or maybe I exaggerated a story I was told and it suddenly transformed into a memory I have of that situation.

I like to think that 9/11 was a day I remember perfectly. I was young and only in 1st grade, but I remember it as if I were right in my classroom again. I can picture exactly where I was standing, right beside my teacher. She had turned on the radio in that dingy, old classroom, after she had gotten a call about her sister, who they could not reach. The radio hosts stopped talking and paused, then announced “folks, I think there is an act of terrorism taking place right now. This is certainly tragic.” As if it were a movie, I cut to the next scene, my mom running in to the school as I stand by the door waiting for her. She takes our neighbors, Tommy and Alex, home from school too, and I could not understand why she was so upset. I said “Mommy, did you hear a plane crashed into that building Dad goes to sometimes… and where Tommy’s dad works? And Uncle Billy too…”

My mom shushed me as tears streamed down her face. Next thing I remember, my eight month pregnant mother sobbing on the floor as we watched the news and the first tower fell. I remember those moments so vividly that I feel like I am watching a movie about it. Luckily, my dad was at a different office today, Tommy’s dads glasses broke so he had to stop at the eye doctor before work, and Uncle Billy decided to go down for breakfast in the basement of tower right before his entire floor was obliterated by a jet.

Are all my memories false? No, probably not. But the fact that I may not actually know which are real and which are not so real frighten me to the bone. I cannot fathom the idea of things that are beyond my “reality” or the “truth” that I thought I had understood being different from exactly how I believed they were. What did I miss? Talk about some serious FOMO… I don’t even know if what I remember is really all that was happening. When Dr. Wede was talking about how from what he understands about memory, most of what he thinks is fact is probably only partially actual events, it made me feel as if I was not necessarily in control of my brain- like it is acting on its own, separate from the body we both inhabit. The power of the brain is so beyond my imagination that it can actually change my entire perception of the world based on my memory cues.

In lecture, we learned about the idea of behaviorism, a previously accepted theory of psychology. Behaviorism, a mental response based on actions relating to reward, is not a modern theory of psychology, yet it seems to make more sense than is accepted by psychologists. My dog, even Pavlov’s dogs, respond by a behaviorism approach, and yet psychologists think that we are too advanced for a simple animal response? I trained my dog to jump up and give me two high fives, and in return I give her a treat. As any dog, she enjoys the treat and knows that her completion of the task will result in an enjoyable reaction. It seems to me that humans, which are just complex animals, respond based on a reward system as well. Take college kids here for example. Girls know that if they dress up in a short little dress, do their makeup nicely, and have a nice hairdo, they will get positive attention from boys. Boys know that if they complement the girls and flatter them, they will be more likely to get a date with the girl. As another example, college kids know that if they study a lot, they will get better grades, and chances are, their happiness will improve. In the article Can Behaviorism Still Apply today, many psychologists argue that behaviorism does not apply to emotions, therefore it cannot be the logical primary source of modern psychology. I believe that behaviors can result in a beneficial emotional response which is a reward, therefore is a very prevalent source of psychological study and it should be more widely accepted in the field today. I think that if psychology accepts behaviorism in conjunction with the ideas of other sections of study will be able to create a well-rounded approach to human psychology.

Article: http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/pizzurro.html

“Can Behaviorism Still Apply in the Face of Overwhelming Opposition?” Can Behaviorism Still Apply? N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.