Final Exam Study Guide for Psychology

Shooter:

• Dylan Klebold (1981-1999)
• Said people suck and wants to kill people. He felt like he had nothing.
• "I'm stuck in humanity. Maybe going 'NBK' with Eric is the way to break free."
• Shooting in 1999.

- Aritst:

• Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)
• His band (Nirvana) provided him freedom
• Said he could be creative and fit in the band.
• "Freedom from pain, suffering, and the external world"
• Shot himself

• Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
• Was a failed artist (painter)
• People thought art was boring

- "Recent": 1966 to present

- "Mass Shootings" or  "Rampage Killings": The use of a lethal weapon to attempt to kill more than one person. 

- "U.S.": American schools (elementary, secondary, & higher education) and the shooter is or was a part of the school. 

- There was a dramatic increase in the 1990's

- All individualistic countries

-Typically white males in their 20's from rural or suburbam communities. Low percentage from urban (city).

- 1927 Bath School Disaster (most deadly)

• Andrew Keehow
• Killed 38 children and his wife
• Bomb in school

- 1966 Texas Tower Shooting

• Charles Whitman
• Clock Tower in UTAustin with sniper
• 16 people killed

- 1999 Columbine School Shooting

• Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris
• 99 explosive devices in school cafeteria but fortunately didn't go off
• 12 children killed and 1 teacher

- 2005 Red Lake High School Shooting

• Jeffrey Weise
• Killed grandfather (police officer) and stole his guns.
• 9 people killed in total

- 2007 Virginia Tech University Shooting

• Seung-Hui Cho
• Killed his mom and wife
• Killed 32 people killed

- 2012 Sandy Hook School Shooting

• Adam Lanza
• Killed 20 students
• Very hot day

- Less than 1 in 2 million

- Charles Whitman: responsible for the Texas Tower Shooting in July 3, 1966.

• Was the youngest eagle scout in America (12 years old). By 12 he was an expert in shooting guns because his dad was abusive and strict.
• "After my death I wish that an autopsy would be performed on me to see if there is any visible disorder". And it turns out that he had a brain tumor affecting his amygdala.

- Eric Houston (1972-present)

• 1992 Lindhurst High School Shooting in California
• Brain damage due to early sickness and physical abuse.

- Brenda Spencer (1962-present)

• 1979- Killed 2 adults in elementary school and wounded 8 children in California.
• Had a seizure disorder and brain damage.

- Learn through media, mental scripts, and can be influenced by movies.

-Movie: Basketball Diaries- Leonardo DiCaprio

- Book: Rage (1977) by Stephan King (Richard Brachman): High school student talking back and gets kicked out so he shoots his teacher.

- Barry Loukaitis (1981-present)

• Before Columbine Shooting
• Killed his Algebra teacher and 2 other students, held class hostage for 15 minutes.
• "This sure beats algebra, doesn't it?"- quote from Rage.

- Movie: Natural Born Killers (NBK) 1994

• emphasizes killing and fame
• couple on killing spree, media gets hold of it and they get famous.
• Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold site this movie.
• Barry Loukaitis: "Do you deserve to die?"- quoting NBK.

- Stored in memory and can be used as a mental guide for behavior and problem solving. Help control and regulate behavior. We learn them.

• Ex: Going to a restaurant we expect to get a host, menu, and order. It gives us a sense on how to act.
• Media can influence these scripts. Ex: Violent Video Games (r=.2)

- Killers plan a script like a choreography (picture)

- It is likely that school shooters have limited successful cognitive scripts to draw on.

• Ex: try to change social status by performing

- School shooters have greater than average violent fantasies. 

• Ex: Michael Carneal wrote stories about elaborate violet fantasies where boys like himself gain power over others with the use of weapons. 
• Shooting at a high school in Kentucky
• Killed 3 students