Behavioral Analysis Of Violent Crime: Diagnosing The Iceman
After watching the video about Richard Kuklinski in class and determining his psychopathic tendencies while using the PCL-R (Psychopathic Checklist-Revised) and filling out the different traits that are considered psychopathic, we are able to conclude that he displays the qualities that are seen in someone who is a psychopath. The traits that are displayed can also help us in determining if he is either an aggressive narcissist type of psychopath or a factor one psychopath or a factor two psychopath who lives a socially deviant lifestyle.
In determining if Kuklinski is a factor one or two psychopath, we need to look at several different traits of the PCL-R. We need to look at his glibness, grandiose or sense of self-worth, pathological lying, conning/manipulative scores, lack of guilt, shallow affect, lack of empathy and failure to accept responsibility scores for the PCL-R. These factors that are seen in an individual, may lead us to believe that they are a factor 1 psychopath, and someone who is described as an aggressive narcissist. To determine if someone is a factor two psychopath, we need to find out if the person has a past criminal history, is promiscuous and impulsive. During the documentary, Kuklinski states how he would murder someone, even a friend if they looked at him a certain way. This means that there is nothing that can stop him from committing a murder and he shows no emotion or regret for the killing. He also mentions during the interview that during his killing spree, he was concerned about himself and his appearance after each murder.
Particularly, he told the psychiatrist that was conducting the interview that he would be self-conscious of his appearance and how to hide the smell that he would use a lot of cologne and put most of it under his nose to help him disregard and ignore the smell of the body. He also said how killing people does not really affect him as a person. These traits are a prime example of someone who has a high level of self-worth and would score high on the PCL-R. He mentions how he is not bothered by the sight of seeing a dead body or watching someone die and how most individuals when they see a dead body, react with more emotion and they are concerned about how others would react to seeing their friend or loved one’s dead corpse. In the documentary, he also mentions how he killed his friend and how he showed a blatant disregard for his well-being and act like nothing had happened when he killed someone or watched someone die from his or her injuries. During the interview, he mentions that he is not responsible that he committed the murders; instead, he blames his friend for the crimes instead of hold himself accountable for his actions.
As a result of his crimes and the way in which he described them, we are able to determine that Kuklinski is a Factor 1 psychopath and an aggressive narcissist. This is justified through his glibness, sense of self-worth, manipulation of others, lack of guilt for the crimes, reactions to the crimes, lack of empathy and his inability to accept responsibility for these crimes and hold himself accountable for them.
