The actions of serial killers shock many people and they wonder why serial killers do what they do, and what which would make one killer more malicious than another killer. John Wayne Gacy and Jeffery Dahmer, two of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century, can be compared through the use of various sociological theories and devices, which can work together, to assess the psychopathy of these killers and produce a ample report. sustained explanation of why they do what they do. Some devices and explanations include Michael Stone's Gradations of Evil, Robert Hare's Psychopathy Checklist, James Fallon's explanation of the cause of evil in his TED talk "Exploring the Mind of a Killer" and finally the analysis of evil by Phillip Zimbardos in his “psychology of evil”. TED Talk, which will be used to better understand Gacy and Dahmer by examining their lives and behavior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Two sociological instruments that can assess psychopathy by Dahmer and Gacy are Michael Stone's Gradations of Evil and Robert Hare's Psychopathy Checklist. Michael Stone's Gradation of Evil is used to assess a person's degree of wickedness by examining their criminal behavior. Gacy tortured, raped and murdered his victims, Dahmer was a necrophiliac who also tortured, raped, murdered his victims, but he also cannibalized his victims. Dahmer and Gacy fall into category 17 because they were sexually perverted serial killers, but they tortured their victims and therefore also fall into category 18. In Stones' gradations, categories 17 and 18 fall under the sixth level of the gradations of evil, the third. This is where psychopathic characteristics begin to appear. Dahmer and Gacy are three levels above level three, making them psychopaths, according to Stone's method. Dr. Robert Hare's Revised Psychopathy Checklist can assess the number and extent of Gacy and Dahmer's psychopathic behavior and personality traits, which will help show how psychopathic they were and whether any of them were Whether or not they were more psychopathic than the other. Hare established a scoring system, the range for most ordinary people is below 20, 20 to 29 is borderline psychopathy, and a score of 30 or more meets the criteria for psychopathy (Hare). The traits that Hare exhibits in the personality category of his checklist are flippancy and superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self-worth, a pathological inability to tell the truth, a need to defraud and manipulate others , a lack of remorse or guilt, superficial affect, insensitivity. and a lack of empathy and an inability to accept responsibility for one's own actions. In the second factor of his checklist, Hare exhibits the behavioral characteristics of a psychopath that maintain a parasitic lifestyle, poor behavioral control, inability to adopt realistic long-term goals, impulsivity, irresponsibility , juvenile delinquency, early behavioral problems, need for stimulation. or tendency toward boredom, parole revocation, short-term serial marital or common-law relationships, and sexual promiscuity (hare). The tests of these killers led to an interesting conclusion: Gacy scored a 24, Dahmer, for his part, a 31. It is astonishing that Gacy does not meet all the criteria of a psychopath.