Concluding Thoughts...

http://intentblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/alot_like_love.jpg

  As my time blogging comes to and end many thoughts about what I have learned come to mind. First, I feel that I am better able to understand my initial question as to why women marry murderers. The answer that I have reached is that there are many combinations and possibilities as to why. Love, companionship, power and fame were the most common reasons stated by women or thought to be by psychologists.

I think that this question is a seemingly impossible to answer due to the wide variety of women and their varying reasons. Some may say that they are involved because they love them, when they are really only interested in the fame that comes along with it. So it is very hard to to get an accurate gauge of the real rationale.The case study's gave a small sample of a possible outcomes that could represent the general female consensus. Amanda Vicary, who conducted the study, found that dominance is not a characteristic that women find attractive. Also, that there is not a correlation between fame and if the women found the man attractive.

Before I started the research process for this blog, I thought that these women were crazy to become involved with these dangerous men. After researching the reasons behind it, I deduce that these women are often normal, but with a stipulation. Whether that is that they were abused as a child, have abandonment issues, or a poor relationship with their father. 

Some things that I wish I could research further, would be the many books that look at this topic. For the sake of time and my limited understanding on psychology jargon, I avoided using them. I think that these books may have different methods for arriving at the same conclusions about power and fame being possible factors.

Overall, looking into this topic further was very interesting and I enjoyed it. I am glad I chose this topic as an offshoot. Due to the fact that it was about women made it easier to relate in someways and offer my opinion. The research was intriguing and thought-provoking.

Case Study #2

Note: This was not the picture used in study.
www.fanpop.com

This study looks into whether women find dominance attractive in killers and whether women with certain personality characteristics are more likely to find killers attractive.

• 190 female undergraduates.
• Completed the same questionnaires as Study 1.
• Participants read one of three stories on the computer. The stories appeared to be from a site called True Crime Library. 
•  In the “dominant” condition, the individual was described as a 6’2”, 210 pound killer who murdered three young women. 
• The first two girls had been “mutilated” and “stabbed repeatedly.” They had been “tortured” and their bodies showed signs of “bruises and strangulation.” 
• It also was mentioned that the killer tied up the women with rope.
•  During the third murder, the killer nearly cut off the woman’s head.
•  In the “less dominant” condition, all components of the story were held constant with the exception that the killer was 37 described as being 5’9”, 160 pounds and having used a gun to shoot the victims. 
• No mention was made of stabbing, ropes, or injuries to the bodies beyond the gunshot wounds. 
• In the “bank robber” condition, the individual was described as being 6’2”, 210 pounds and having robbed several banks. 
• During one robbery, he held a gun to a woman’s head and yelled at the employees. 
• During another robbery, he shot a woman in the foot; however, he did not kill anyone. 

Vicary stated that the purpose of including the third condition was to determine whether women with certainly personality characteristics may be more or less attracted to someone who has killed versus a criminal who has not killed.  

After reading the stories, the women answered the same questions regarding attraction as the first study and additional questions such as:

1. How exciting would it be to go on a date with him? 

2. How exciting would it be to have sex with him? 

3. How exiting would it be to get a letter from him?  

Participants also were asked to rate on a 1-7 scale how dominant and famous they found the individual. Again, they were told that the stories were fictional.

Results

 Results revealed that women considered the killer who stabbed as more dominant than the killer who used a gun. Specifically, women were more attracted to the bank robber than the killer. Vicary also found that dominance does not appear to be a characteristic that women find attractive. Also, women found thoughts of a relationship with the lesser dominant killer to be more exciting.

-  I suppose that dominance could be shown as a form of power. This does prove other theories to be true, that woman want the power and control. Hence, why they would not seek a dominant. So why are women attracted to murders?- it sure doesn't have anything to do with the killers dominance.

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/26208/Vicary_Amanda.pdf?sequence=1

Case Studies

I am continuing to look at the dissertation by Amanda Vicary. This time I will look at two different studies that she conducted; analyzing each of them and the different methods used.

Note: This was not the picture used in the study.
www.fanpop.com

Case #1

This study was done to  investigate whether women find fame attraction in killers and whether women with certain personality characteristics are more likely to find killers attractive.

This study looked into the idea that women are attracted to fame. 

Vicary's study looked into characteristics based on her hypothesis, that an insecure attachment orientation, low self-esteem, and high sensation seeking will correlate with women’s attraction to murderers.

•  Participants were 241 female undergraduates
• Completed several questionnaires
• Relationship Structures (ECR-RS) questionnaire
• Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale 
•  11-item Sensation Seeking scale of the ZuckermanKuhlman Personality Questionnaire
•  Basic demographics questionnaire
•  After completing these measures, participants viewed one of two short videos on the computer. The videos appeared to be from a news broadcast. 
• They both featured the same individual (a male in his late 20’s) starring as the serial killer. During the video, a “newscaster” described the man as having murdered two women on different occasions. 
• In one condition (the “fame” condition) the broadcaster also made note that the killer made headlines around the country and had been the focus of three true crime books and one made-for-TV movie. The other video did not include this information.
• The killer’s mug shot was shown an equal number of times in each video.

After this, the participant filled out a questionnaire with several questions. One of the questions was:

"2. How interested would you be in writing to this person while he is in prison?" 

The participants were also asked to rate on a scale of 1-7 how famous they found the killer. After they were told that the individual was not an actual serial killer and that the crime was fictional.

Results were not clear. There were no differences in ratings of attraction between women who viewed the famous video versus the control video. However, there was a correlation with the women who considered the killer to be more famous found him more attractive. Also, women who were higher in sensation seeking and attachment avoidance with their fathers found the killer more attractive.

 Lastly, it was not the case that women higher in certain personality characteristics were more or less likely to find the famous killer attractive. However, women who suffered more abuse as a child found the killer more attractive.

- I was surprised that their wasn't a proven correlation between a women thinking the killer was famous and their attraction. Fame is thought to be a factor in why many women are attracted to killers, as I I have found in my research. This proved all the other experts to be wrong. But I am sure that if the sample size was as big as the world population and had a wide variety of all the different types of people, the results might be different.

I found it to be strange that the women who stated they had been abused as a child found the killer more attractive. One would think that the woman would be repulsed by his violence, but it is the opposite. A possible explanation for this could be that they are used to it or "expect" it. So they do not know any different. Whereas a woman who did not have an abusive past knows to stay away.- But I would think that she might not be as afraid, because she has not experienced it in the past, so she would be more likely to find him attractive. Very interesting!


As I have previously stated, this source has invented ethos and gains even more credibility for conducting case study's.

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/26208/Vicary_Amanda.pdf?sequence=1

Dissertation 

As I discussed in a previous blog, I discovered a dissertation by Amanda Vicary. She wrote it in order to fulfill the requirements for the degree of the Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Once again, as Amanda stated, there has been no research conducted to investigate the phenomenon. I am going to use her findings to compare it with other conclusions that I have found in my research process. 

Amanda's hypothesis is that an insecure attachment orientation, low self-esteem, and high sensation seeking will correlate with women’s attraction to murderers.

Attachment

The first thing that Vicary addresses is a woman's attachment to her father. Was he there during her upbringing? Did he pass away at a young age? Or was he just emotionally unavailable? 

Findings from research conducted in the area of life history theory (Belsky, Steinberg, & Draper, 1991) provide support for the notion that a woman’s early childhood experiences may impact her subsequent relationships.

avyakt7.com

Attachment theory was developed by Bowlby (1982) to explain the bond that develops between an infant and his or her caregiver. According to attachment theory, children instinctively form an attachment to their primary caregiver that helps to insure their survival. In 1987 Hazan and Shaver  extended theory on attachment to adult romantic relationships when they noted that the same patterns of behavior observed between infants and caregivers also seemed to exist between romantic partners.

With this information, Vicary proposed that women who are high in attachment avoidance with their fathers and romantic partners will be more likely to find killers attractive.  Individuals who score high on avoidance prefer not to open up to others and are uncomfortable being close to others. Vicary went on to state that they, the women, may prefer a partner with whom they do not need to interact with emotionally on a level that would occur if he were free, due to the score of high avoidance.

-In other research I have came across, they never gave "daddy issues" as a reason for these women to be drawn to these dangerous men. But if you think about it, it does make sense. They know where the man will be at all times and they have the power to come and see them as they please. I think that desire for power and control, as discussed in a previous post, could come from this theory.

Vicary added on to her conclusion, "Highly avoidant women, possibly due to their fears of being abandoned, their dislike of closeness, or distaste for sexual relations, will find a man who  is behind bars more attractive than women of a more secure attachment orientation."

- So plainly stated, if a woman didn't have a father figure, she is more likely to become involved with a killer for reasons as simple as that he can't leave her and she has control of what happens.


Self-esteem

"Isenberg (2000) states, based upon her interviews, that women who love killers are often suffering from extremely low levels of self-esteem. They seek out killers because they want something that society has also branded as unacceptable", stated Vicary in her dissertation.

- I have found that self-esteem issues is a common reason given to explain these women's actions. They are using "love" to boost their self-esteem and give them self worth. They don't think that they can do better. Another idea to think about is that these criminals with settle for anything, They are lonely and seeking companionship. I don't think a criminal is going to be to picky as to who he accepts letters and maybe even money from. We need to remember that these convicts are cons, con-artists. They can lead these women to believe anything, they are the perfect targets.

Self -esteem and attachment are just some of the reasons that Vicary discusses in her dissertation. I chose to use this dissertation as apart of my research process because this id the first work I have come across that attempts to answer my initial question in its entirety. Her dissertation is entitled, "An investigation into the potential romantic appeal of convicted killers."  I feel that she has invented ethos due to the fact that she has done extensive research and cites many credible sources. She is writing it in order to fulfill the requirements for the degree of the Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, so she is of an advanced level. Additionally, if she chose to write her dissertation on it, she must be passionate about the subject.

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/26208/Vicary_Amanda.pdf?sequence=1


Isenberg, S. (2000). Women who love men who kill. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.

Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. R. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511-524.

Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books. (Original work published 1969)

monkeytraps.wordpress.com

Control and Power

This article, "Control and power: why some women fall in love with convicts", is by a German broadcasting company. This article describes a story in which a prisoner stabbed his girlfriend to death during a visit. They had been together for five years.

Women falling in love with convicts is not a rare phenomenon: It's all about control and power, according to German psychologist and media expert Christian Luedke. 

Luedke also stated that women who fall in love with dangerous criminals are more often than not suffering from depression. That they would rather have a relationship with a dangerous criminal than deal with their own fate.
"...but in the end "it is the women who need the relationship, they are giving the convict what they themselves have lacked most in life: time, affection, love and devotion," Luedke said."

-In my last post, I discussed the "Savior Complex," this theory by Christian Luedke states another possible reason into why women are attracted to men who are incarcerated.This is an interesting concept, that the women are really doing it for themselves, and not to "save" the other person.

 Another thing that he stated that differed from the other research I have found is that he states the women suffer from depression, whereas in another blog the entire article was about how the women are normal and sane human beings, not suffering from mental health problems.

Luedke also noted that the relationship only works as long as the partner is in jail. --So the obvious choice is a death row inmate.

First of all, he killed his girlfriend of five years. How twisted is that? She dedicated her time and energy to coming and visiting him. She gave him a second chance and he turns on her. Then again he was in prison for rapping and killing a child. 

 This heartbreaking story is an appeal to pathos. I really liked that this story was out of a prison in Germany because it shows that this is a worldwide phenomenon. This broadcasting company seems credible. The DW website is well developed and doesn't have any advertising on the sides. If you look at the "About Us" section it is professional and you are even able to contact a Corporate Communications representative. 

To read the full article:  http://www.dw.com/en/control-and-power-why-some-women-fall-in-love-with-convicts/a-5466396

SAVE ME.

One of the most common theories behind women becoming involved with men in prison is that they feel that they can change them or that they can "save them." 

This idea of saving them could be called or considered a "Savior Complex." 

What is a Savior Complex? 

cantarsentimentos.blogspot.com

According to www.peopleskillsdecoded.com, "The savior complex is a psychological construct which makes a person feel the need to save other people. This person has a strong tendency to seek people who desperately need help and to assist them, often sacrificing their own needs for these people."

Whether the actual term of a savor complex is real or not, it does makes logical sense. The idea of being able to change someones life is appealing to most women. Maybe the woman is at the stage of her life where she wants someone to take care of. Or wants to feel needed. Becoming involved with a man behind bars satisfies these needs. The man looks forward to her letters and phone calls. He is depending on her for companionship.


"If you want to be the savior, you’re essentially saying to your partner that you see them as a project to be fixed." This quote comes from everydayfeminism.com. This is an additional point to be made. By needing to "fix" them, you are projecting the idea that they are not good enough the way that they are, dooming the relationship from the start.


When will they be good enough?


Are you attracted to them? Or the idea of being able to save them?

Both of the websites that I referenced do not specifically talk about savior complexes in women that become involved with incarcerated men. For this reason, the purpose of these websites were to give more information on the "Savior Complex." I thought that was interesting that it can be found in all types of relationships for many different reasons. So a woman doesn't have to look for a criminal to save, she has plenty of other options for people to help in this world. Another interesting finding was that the term "Savior Complex" has not come up yet in my research. The definition given perfectly describes why outsiders think the women do it. Neither of these sites have situated ethos, one is a online magazine and the other is an opinion website with other random articles. I do not think that the term "Savior Complex" is official terminology used by experts, at least I could not find any experts describing it, but when you search "savior complex" there are several results that come up, so people are talking about it.

To read the full articles:

http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/10/savior-complex-toxic-relationship/

http://www.peopleskillsdecoded.com/savior-complex/

"Crazy Ladies"

This article entitled, "Women Who Marry Prisoners Aren't Just "Crazy Ladies."" This article is on the shorter side and it describes Amy Friedman's story. One thing that I found interesting that Friedman stated is that she still believes in the power of love to stop prisoners "turn[ing] from people who have committed crimes into real, honest-to-god monsters."

rapgenius.com

- The reason that I found this to be so interesting is that what about in the cases of convicted killers where they are serving life without parole? They will never be allowed back into society again. So what if they turn into "monsters"?  Most of us have been in relationships were we thought we could changed the person for the better, we soon learned that some people just can't change. Becoming involved with a prisoner is an extreme example.

Another key asset to this blog article is the ability for people to respond with their replies to the article.

Here are some that stood out to me the most:

"Women who marry prisoners and prisoners who get married on the inside are latching themselves on to a Romantic (capital R) love. It's idealized. It's a love that they can dedicate all their time to, especially the prisoners..." - LaComtesse

"I think there would have to be a certain level of delusion or at least naivete to even consider marrying someone who has murdered another person, hell, who has murdered anything. If it wasn't explicitly self defense, that's a whole lot of baggage that person's carrying around. I imagine prisoners and the women who marry them are both incredibly lonely people." - LolaLane

"Their behaviour strikes me as being highly disrespectful to the victims and their friends and families." -Rare Affinity

All of these responses to the article and replies to others really got me thinking. This phenomenon of becoming involved with individuals behind bars really does have negative effects on the other family members involved. If you read through some of the other comments, you can see through their stories that it has caused a lot of chaos for the families of the non-incarcerated person in particular.  

This reminded me of a quote I read earlier in the article. Friedman said, "Our stories are complicated — like every true love story is."   

neverxhide.deviantart.com

Does it have to be complicated? Are all love stories complicated? Whatever happened to "They met, they fell in love, The End." I feel like falling in love with someone should be just as easy as staying in love, and maintaining a healthy relationship, I realize I may sound naïve, but if your relationship is putting a constant strain between your family, wouldn't it make sense to end it because your family and friends are people who you get to see everyday and not just on scheduled visits?

I guess it is impossible to know what it is like to be a relationship with a person in prison and have to constantly explain yourself unless you have been in that position before. On the outside looking in it seems obvious. 

But as they say, you can't help who you fall in love with.

The purpose of this blog article was to show that that women who marry prisoners aren't "crazy ladies." Because this is a blog, with advertisements, I would not use it for a research paper, unless I needed real life accounts. Due to the personal accounts and interviews, this article has ethos. Adding to the ethos are the responses from other people who have been in and/or are going through a similar situation. Also, there are links to other credible websites, establishing ethos. There is also an appeal to pathos in that you hear these stories and feel sorry for some of them for having to go through this with their mother for example. It must be hard, I can't imagine what I would do or say if my mother told me she was in love with someone who was incarcerated.

To read the full article or more replies visit: 

http://jezebel.com/5755106/women-who-marry-prisoners-arent-just-crazy-ladie