Frederick Toates

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• Doctor of Science
• Professor at The Open University

An integrative model of sexual addiction is presented, involving a combination of models based upon (i) incentive motivation theory and (ii) the dual organisation of the control of behavior. The model is related to ongoing arguments about the validity of the notion of addiction when applied to sexual behavior. It is suggested that the evidence stro...

Why do some people engage in serial killing for sexual pleasure? This book considers the phenomenon of sexual serial killing from the perspective of motivation theory, as advanced in psychology and neuroscience. By examining biological, psychological and social determinants, it develops a model of sexual killing that integrates widely dispersed exi...

Some sex-linked killers feel a deep resentment against their mothers. This is often for their treatment in the family, as in harsh punishment and/or favouring siblings. In turn, the resentment fuels a corresponding hatred against women. John Crutchley was a suspect in a number of lust killings, but ws never found guilty. However, his sexual turn on...

A few serial killers act in pairs, each bringing a disturbed upbringing. Some report distress through lack of sexual opportunity. Attachments to others, engagements and commitments to work can offer some protection against following this toxic trajectory. The choice of victim reflects the killer’s sexual orientation and desirability of the target,...

Bowlby proposed that the child forms a working model of the relationship between his/herself and caregivers. Where there is abuse, the working model represents this. In response, the child can learn to perform aggressive behaviour. A common feature of serial lust killers is that they experienced humiliation in their early lives. Early sources of ab...

This chapter integrates different parts of the book. A general model of motivation involves dopamine underlying the 'wanting' part and opioids the 'liking' part. Humans (and other mammals) appear to strive to maintain their mood within a tolerable zone, if necessary, through addictive activities. A widely observed feature amongst sexual serial kill...

Sometimes killing by male-female couples represents an escalation of an adventure that starts with entirely, or at least relatively, harmless activities, as in looking at fringe pornography, sharing fantasies or accounts of earlier experiences, S&M or swinging. In some cases, this could be seen as grooming by the male. The existence of killer coupl...

Drugs and addiction are relevant to the present study: (1) by analogy with drug-taking, the term ‘addiction’ can be applied to serial killing even where drugs are not involved and (2) drugs play an important role in the lives of some serial lust killers. The discussion first turns to two killers where the term ‘addiction’ has been applied but where...

For some, part of the attraction of lust killing is the opportunity to pose wearing the clothes of their victims. For the two discussed here, this would seem to be a dominant paraphilia. Both men showed evidence suggesting a role of stress in their killing. Commander of the largest military base in Canada, Colonel Russell Williams would seem to be...

A desire for belonging is a fundamental feature of humans. Securing and maintaining a bond is rewarding, whereas abandonment, jilting and loneliness trigger strongly aversive feelings. The chapter’s emphasis is upon belonging, and the theoretical basis of understanding Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen is different from those in the preceding chapte...

Insights into killing can be obtained by considering theories of general crime and non-lethal sexual offending. This chapter considers the theoretical positions of Marshall, Barbaree, Malamuth, Ressler et al. and Seto. Drive theory fails to explain behaviour and has largely been replaced by incentive motivation theory. The distinction between organ...

Some future lust killers had an early identifiable traumatic experience. By the time they become adult, the experience has been relabeled with some positive qualities and forms a target of desire. This appears to be something like fetishes and partialisms linked to objects. Harold Shipman witnessed the death of his mother in association with a medi...

Phenomena such as fantasy, anger and temptation can be studied in a non-forensic population and insights tentatively extrapolated to lust killers. Consider the fantasy experienced by someone addicted to drugs. An image of a drug might pop into the conscious mind and if it will soon become available, the imagery can be pleasant. Otherwise, it can be...

Revenge probably features in most, if not all, lust killing. This chapter exemplifies where revenge for perceived transgression comes into the clearest focus and seems to occupy center stage. Of course, the revenge was disproportionate to the ‘offence’, a feature of displaced aggression and ‘revenge collecting’. Part of the trigger to revenge is a...

Even some entirely peaceful gay males feel so-called internalized homophobia towards gay males, including themselves. This is particularly so if their social context is anti-gay and they have not ‘come out’ publicly. For a tiny minority, feelings of shame and guilt might sometimes be assuaged by acting aggressively towards other gay males, which ap...

Why do some people engage in serial killing for sexual pleasure? This book considers the phenomenon of sexual serial killing from the perspective of motivation theory, as advanced in psychology and neuroscience. By examining biological, psychological and social determinants, it develops a model of sexual killing that integrates widely dispersed exi...

The motivation underlying lust killing normally arises from a merging of desires for sex and dominance. Although anger is a negative emotion, aggression has properties of an appetitive activity. Heterosexual lust killers generally have a grievance against women. Homosexual lust killers appear to be unhappy about their sexual orientation, often beca...

Serial killers tend to score highly on a scale of psychopathy, ticking boxes such as low empathy and glib superficial charm. Another condition that can be tapped to derive insights is anti-social personality disorder (APD). Some reports of the experiences of lust killers point to a split in individual consciousness, sometimes expressed as good vers...

This chapter continues the theme of the last two in terms of imprinting on a particular object and event, but the two cases described are somewhat more speculative. They are paired together because of their similarity. Both killers were raised in very squalid conditions under the powerful influence of their mothers. Both were exposed to an animal c...

This chapter looks at killers who were subject to abuse from their fathers. Heterosexual killer Richard Ramirez was subject to severe punishment and witnessed punishment of his brothers, while his cousin showed him photographs of the sexual assault of Vietnamese women. He consumed large amounts of drugs, which could have had a sensitizing effect on...

Some serial lust killers suffer from erectile dysfunction in the context of a consensual relationship with a living human. In one sample of them, 44 per cent indicated erectile difficulties. It appears that some killers can only secure and maintain an erection, if at all, in the presence of a dead body, as with John Christie, or blood, as with Andr...

Why do some people engage in serial killing for sexual pleasure? This book considers the phenomenon of sexual serial killing from the perspective of motivation theory, as advanced in psychology and neuroscience. By examining biological, psychological and social determinants, it develops a model of sexual killing that integrates widely dispersed exi...

Why do some people engage in serial killing for sexual pleasure? This book considers the phenomenon of sexual serial killing from the perspective of motivation theory, as advanced in psychology and neuroscience. By examining biological, psychological and social determinants, it develops a model of sexual killing that integrates widely dispersed exi...

We know a lot about Jack the Ripper’s crimes, but have no idea as to who he was. His crimes had a sexual character, and his dislike of women could be because he caught venereal disease from one. He targeted, amongst other regions, the women’s sex organs. We don’t know the identity of the Zodiac Killer, who targeted courting couples. It is likely th...

The chapter considers the range of features that enable investigators to describe a killing as ‘sexual’, such as clothes removed, objects inserted into the body and presence of seminal fluids on the body. Some killing done in association with sexual behaviour is not motivated by lust. For example, it might represent an attempt to avoid capture foll...

A relatively large number of serial lust killers were adopted as young children. It appears that those who commit sexual violence against women feel a resentment against their mothers for their adoption. In turn, this fuels resentment against either women in general or those having characteristics in common with their mothers. This would be in addi...

Some cases of sexual serial killing exemplify anger directed at an ex-wife/partner, which gets transferred to other women. These involve (1) displaced aggression and (2) collective guilt of women as a whole, or particular types of women, such as sex workers. Faryion Wardrip exemplifies anger directed towards his ex-wife, and he reported seeing her...

Some sexual killers choose victims in a particular age group. Three killers described here (Igor Irtyshov, Clifford Olson and Arthur Bishop) preferentially targeted children and young adults. Olson was an all-round career criminal who showed bisexual tendencies. Vladimir Vinnichevsky killed very young children, while Anatoly Biryukov sexually attac...

Sometimes two males combine their efforts in the sexual killing of women. Each brings a damaged history and personality. The combination then shows such additional features as male bravado, bonding and loyalty. In the best-known cases, one of the pair is the junior partner and the other the senior. This chapter looks at the lives of two such pairs:...

The chapter gives several examples of sexual serial killers who incorporated fetishes or partialisms into their killings. Glen Rogers was pushed under water by his red-headed mother. When killing, he targeted red-headed women and their bodies tended to be left in water. Volker Eckert had a fetish linked to women’s hair, and the assaulting of women...

A paraphilia is sexual behaviour that lies outside conventional bounds, such as exhibitionism. They are of interest in that lust killers commonly also exhibit paraphilias, and they can form an association with killing. Voyeurism sometimes features in association with lust killing, as a gateway activity. A fetish describes sexual arousal to an inani...

Serial lust killing shows features of addiction, and some killers describe themselves as addicted. Comparisons of lust killing with such addictions as gambling, drugs and consensual sex reveal similarities. Following Robinson and Berridge, it is suggested that the motivational process involves dopamine and exhibits sensitization of incentive salien...

Inhibition can be reduced by stress and ingesting alcohol, making it more difficult to employ working memory, such as recall of instructions on how to avoid trouble. Alcohol tends to induce alcohol myopia; that is, a focus on the present and away from potentially future troubles. Some lust killers display ambivalence about offending, suggesting tha...

People are susceptible to boredom and seek an optimal level of arousal. Psychopathic individuals appear to be low on arousal, and they try to elevate this by seeking novelty and taking risks. Ways to achieve the optimal level by sensation-seeking include transgressions such as violence, arson and theft. These can have sexual associations and are so...

The chapter distinguishes serial lust killing from other forms of serial killing, such as those motivated by attention-seeking, revenge or material gain. However, it notes that other motivations such as those reflected in mission-killing and ego-boosting can combine with killing motivated by sexual desire. It also distinguishes serial lust killing...

Why do some people engage in serial killing for sexual pleasure? This book considers the phenomenon of sexual serial killing from the perspective of motivation theory, as advanced in psychology and neuroscience. By examining biological, psychological and social determinants, it develops a model of sexual killing that integrates widely dispersed exi...

The chapter looks at two heterosexual killers who made extensive confessions of their crimes: Gerald Stano and Gary Ridgway. It looks at their similarities and differences. Both had unhappy childhoods with sibling rivalry and the experience of bullying and taunting, and both felt inferior and failures in life. Each killer revealed a fusion of sex a...

Ted Bundy was separated from any individual caregiver after birth. Apparently, he was disturbed by the uncertainty around who was his biological mother. Pretense on who she really was might also have contributed to his distress. These experiences seemed to have initiated his resentment against women, which were subsequently inflamed by jilting. Int...

Sex-linked killing is based upon a combination of factors. Michael Apter uses the English killer Neville Heath to emphasize one of these: the irresistible lure of excitement. It is unclear what factors in life led Heath down this pathological route. A bomber pilot in World War II, Heath was reckless and disorganized, exemplifying not just sensation...

It is argued that understanding war and peace requires integration between reversal theory and psychobiological perspectives within the study of motivation. The article shows where such integration can yield insights into phenomena such as the bases of aggression in the brain and the property of addiction that aggression can take.

The first published demonstration of multimodal (oral-gastric) configural (learnt unique stimulus) control of meal and (dessert) portion sizes from a regular menu in human beings was by Booth, Lee & McAleavy (1976 Br J Psychol). The 'post-print' uploaded here presents the same data in two ways from different publications: (1) a summary bar graph an...

The article applies an incentive-motivation model to sexual violence. It suggests that insights can be gained by looking at the biopsychological processes that underlie ‘conventional behavior’. It argues that sexual violence, as in rape, arises from a fusion between (i) sexual motivation and (ii) sensation-seeking and varying strengths of dominance...

No abstract is available for this article.

It is argued that consideration of the notion of agency can be illuminated by incorporating into explanatory models: (1) the role of incentive motivation and (2) a distinction between two types of control underlying behaviour: System 1 (fast, unconscious, evolutionarily and developmentally old) and System 2 (slow, in humans consciously accessible,...

There are countless books on sex and an endless fascination with the subject. Varieties and vagaries of sexual desire have long been documented, but there has been little engagement with cutting-edge scientific research to uncover the biological and psychological bases of sexual desire. Here, Frederick Toates uses the insights of modern science to...

In order to evaluate superstition and thirst explanations of psychogenic polydipsia, thirsty rats were allowed water from a burette in a test box. Later, when hungry, they were given food pellets on a 90-sec free fixed-interval schedule (FFI). This procedure was followed during daily 3-h sessions for 14 days, water being available in the home cage...

Stomachs and small intestines were examined and weighed up to 6 h after rats had been allowed to eat for 30 min without water available. A meal of commercial rat food left the stomach with a time constant of about 4 h. Each gram of food eaten attracted approximately 1 ml of additional fluid into the gut. The time course of this fluid movement and o...

An integrative theoretical framework and model for understanding sexual motivation, arousal, and behavior is presented, combining the principles of incentive motivation theory and the hierarchical control of behavior. It is intended to stimulate discussion. The framework can serve as a "route map" in understanding the links between different compon...

Processes comparable in important respects to those underlying human conscious and non-conscious processing can be identified in a range of species and it is argued that these reflect evolutionary precursors of the human processes. A distinction is drawn between two types of processing: (1) stimulus-based and (2) higher-order. For 'higher-order,' i...

Aspects of the history of behavioural science are reviewed, pointing to its fragmented and faction-ridden nature. The emergence of evolutionary psychology is viewed in this context. With the help of a dual-layered model of behavioural control, the case is made for a more integrative perspective towards evolutionary psychology. The model’s applicati...

In response to Baars’ (2003a) contribution, it is argued that crucial elements of Skinner’s perspective need to be integrated within a broader context of psychology including consciousness studies. The behaviourists championed processes that are an integral part of our psychological composition. The history of psychology is one of pointless fragmen...

A model of the interactive processes of cognition, motivation, emotion and action selection is proposed. Building on earlier theoretical models, it is argued that behaviour is determined by a combination of 'on-line' direct controls and 'off-line' cognitive controls. These result in different modes of behavioural control exhibiting different behavi...

Evans [1] describes a dual-process account of human reasoning, involving an evolutionarily old System 1, common between humans and various non-human species, and a System 2 that, he proposes, is distinctively human. This communication is designed to raise two issues: (i) How uniquely human is System 2?; and (ii) can the fundamental dichotomy betwee...

A model of the control of behaviour by a combination of direct stimulus-response (S-R) like and cognitive factors is extended to involve emotion. It is argued that emotion (a) interacts with such different levels of information processing and (b) is itself triggered at different levels of organization by processes that are similar to the S-R and co...

Behaviour, Psychobiology and Introduction to Neuroscience at the undergraduate level which assumes no prior understanding of science. The first four-colour European entrée in this market. In a visually appealing format, this text approaches the material from an "integrative approach" to help students see the big picture and how such aspects of the...

This commentary suggests how Norman's dual control model of vision can be fitted into a broader general model of the control of behaviour by direct (on-line) and indirect (off-line) processes. Some general principles of behavioural organization, development, and competition are described and their specific application to vision is noted.

This book discusses the ethology of domestic animals. It is divided into two parts: basic elements of animal behaviour (chapters 1-6); and species-specific behaviour of some important domestic animals (chapters 7-13). The first part is divided into the following chapters: the study of animal behaviour and its applications; behavioural genetics, evo...

This book brings together a range of scientific perspectives from biomedical research on stress and welfare, and assesses new approaches to conceptualizing and alleviating stress. While much of the focus in on conventional farm animals, there is also consideration of fishes, laboratory animals and zoo animals. The 30 contributors include leading au...

It is argued that both stimulus-response (S-R) and cognitive theories of learning and behaviour capture part of the truth, in that these terms involve two different types of process that are jointly responsible for the control of behaviour. The proposal that both processes coexist is investigated in the context of the production of behaviour. Evide...

So-called ‘pure’ ethologists have proposed various models of behaviour. It is suggested here that each of these contains features that underlie the control of real behaviour. The case for reconciliation is argued. It is suggested that a schism exists within ethology between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ approaches but that a start to bridging this can be made...

The complexity and apparent inconsistency in most physiological ‘stress indicators’ has led many scientists to doubt the scientific value of the concept. However, there is clear evidence that the psychological perception of the stressor and the situation modulates the physiological reactions, and psychological concepts such as predictability and co...

Various apparently incompatible theories of hippocampal function have been proposed but integration is now needed. It is argued that the involvement of the hippocampus is most clearly seen when the animal needs to extrapolate beyond current sensory information. Such control can involve both the initiation of behaviour in the absence of appropriate...