The four officers presented in the article are major pioneers in the rediscovery and conceptual clarification of serial murder. Research by Ressler et al. (1992) showed that formative events and experiences within the backgrounds of the killers had culminated in a cognitive structure necessary to commit murder. The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding of the psychodynamics that produce such a cognitive structure, and to answer three questions: 1) what is the origin of the dynamics of serial killing; 2) why is the aggressive drive so singularly powerful and persistent in serial killers; and 3) why is it that serial killers often reveal their identities to the police? The article considers the first two questions together because they are so closely tied and notes that emotional deprivation during infancy is probably the most significant factor in the genesis of serial killer dynamics. A major consequence of the insufficiency of nurture is anxiety and the pervasive emotional hunger. A second major factor is destructive aggression. While an easy infant might succumb to the lack of nurture, a more difficult child would react with intense anxiety. In contrast to the development of a healthy, integrated personality, the personality of a serial killer appears to be founded on at least four separate, dynamic pillars that emerge as separate dynamic forces. In a healthy personality the forces are integrated, while in a personality that fails to develop, the four pillars are fixed separately. The third question is answered by realizing that the contradiction between the need to be recognized and the need to avoid discovery is an example of duality, a concept that is poorly recognized in Western thinking. Contradictory and contrasting behavior and learning can simultaneously exist and under proper circumstances emerge, as is shown by the research. References