Son of Sam: Understanding Him from Behind the Bars

David Berkowitz Case Description Group members: Janhavi Subramaniyan, Kajori Ganguly, Keertana Nagrajan, Meher Gandhi, Rachel Elizabeth Elengical, Kimberly Galstaun Case description Early life: David Richard Falco was born on June 1st, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York. He was adopted by Pearl and Nathan Berkowitz a few days after his birth, making him David Richard Berkowitz (Abrahamsen, 2012). He had a history of misconduct and a troubled childhood but these instances did not result in any legal interventions. Berkowitz was close to his adoptive mother who passed away due to breast cancer when he was only fourteen. He did not have a positive relationship with his adoptive father. He joined the US army at the age of 18 and was honourably discharged three years later in 1974 (Leyton, 2001). Having spent his life believing that his mother died giving birth to him, he had been filled with a sense of guilt. When he later discovered that his birth mother was alive and had him out of an extra-mari...

  Biological Perspective By Rachel Elizabeth Elengical (1930247) The biological perspective traces physiological and neurological developments of an individual to determine whether or not they are capable or predisposed to undertake criminal behaviour. Areas of concern include genetic make-up, brain structures, hormone balance, etc. Although there are no public reports published about the biological constitution of Berkowitz, possible factors that may contribute to his ultimate spiral down a path of crime can be inferred from that which is available. Genetics The first possible biological factor is genetics. David Berkowitz was born to Elizabeth Broder and Joseph Klinman. He was born out of an extra-marital affair and given away due to Klinman’s insistent declarations that he would not be involved with the child (Abrahamsen, 1985). It can be assumed that Berkowitz’s problematic behaviour, even as a child, is attributed to genetic inheritance as neither of his parents seemed particu...

Cognitive Approach By Kimberly Galstaun (1930268) The roots of Cognitive Psychology can be traced back to the late 1950s when the behaviourist school was slowly sidelined and topics such as attention, problem-solving and memory gained importance. This school of thought, according to Sternberg deals with how people perceive, learn, remember and think about information. Hence, major theorists of cognitive psychology study mental processes that underlie how information is learned by an individual. Instead of focusing on direct observable behaviours, cognitive psychology emphasized unseen knowledge processes which became crucial for bringing a new perspective to criminal behaviour.  Connecting the cognitive theory with the case of David Berkowitz Schemas are cognitive frameworks that enable individuals to organise information to represent experiences. One way that it can affect cognition is by affecting our ability to comprehend new information. According to Aaron T Beck, if one has an...

Psychoanalytical Approach By Janhavi Subramaniyan (1930236) The psychoanalytic theory proposed by Sigmund Freud has occupied a place of significant importance in psychology. Psychodynamic approaches postulate that issues in later life are a result of intrapsychic influences and childhood experiences. The driving force behind one’s life is seen as the ‘libido’ which is described as the overall sexual energy that shapes personality traits and mental health as a whole (Petric, 2019). In the field of forensic psychology, the theory aims to trace the origins of criminal behaviour and identify risk factors to predict the result of specific childhood experiences. This knowledge can help develop intervention strategies to reduce the incidence of crimes and improve the quality of life by intercepting those more likely to get engaged in criminal behaviour.  Structure of personality Freud conceptualizes the psyche as consisting of three components- the Id, Ego and Superego. The Id is primitiv...

Behavioural Perspective By Meher Gandhi (1930244) To clearly understand David Berkowitz’s case through the behavioural perspective, it is important to understand the theories that make the crux of the perspective including operant conditioning, observational learning and classical conditioning and how they can be applied Berkowitz’s case. Operant Conditioning and David Berkowitz Operant conditioning can be applied for clearer understanding of Berkowitz’s actions. This method was proposed by B. F. Skinner according to whom operant behaviours depend on the consequences of our actions. These consequences lead to the repetition or termination of our behaviour. These consequences also exist as reinforcers and punishments, each of which can be either positive or negative. Positive reinforcers include addition of rewards which strengthen the occurrence of a particular behaviour (response), making it more likely to occur again. Negative reinforcers include removal of something that is unfavour...

Humanistic School of Psychology By Keertana Nagrajan (1930239) Up till the mid-1950s, the study of human behaviour was focused on the environment and external factors. There wasn’t a school of thought that promoted individual human nature, uniqueness among beings, individuality and freedom of thought and expression laying emphasis on subjective experiences. To fill this gap, there emerged the Humanistic school of psychology. While psychoanalysis and behaviourism tried to understand the human mind and behaviour, humanistic psychology provided a holistic view of the individual and viewed an individual as a whole person (Greening, 1985). While the origins of humanistic philosophy can be dated back to the middle ages, significant leaps were made in psychology with the contributions of Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.  In “Motivation and Personality” by Maslow (1954), he boldly introduced the concept of needs as motivations. According to Maslow, there is a five-level model of needs that ...

Sociocultural Perspective By Kajori Ganguly 1930238 A common characteristic identified in most serial killers is the loss of mental and physical self-control. David Berkowitz, when he said that he was under the possession of a demonic dog with a thirst for blood, exhibited psychotic symptoms which show mental instability. In addition to that, the murder to his victims with a .44 caliber gun clearly depicts loss of control on physical actions. This loss of control stems from inadequate and ineffective parenting or the correct environment during childhood.  David was an orphan and even though he was adopted by a loving family, after his mother’s death due to cancer and his father remarrying a woman he did not like, he fell into habits of petty theft and arson. He was an above average intellectual student but when he dropped out of school and joined the Army, his father was disappointed that he never lived up to his potential. When Berkowitz converted from Judaism to Christianty in th...