Psychology of Va. Tech, Columbine Killers Still Baffles Experts

As a psychology major I found this article really interesting given the recent shooting in New York. One of the main things we talk about is how to determine the mindset of a person who is willing to commit such a terrible crime so that we can identify others with similar characteristics and potentially prevent them from taking the wrong actions. When I was in my cognitive psychology lab class we specifically talked about this very issue and we ourselves came up with a list of characteristics we felt would indicate potential for harm. Unfortunately, when we tried to put them up against research, we found that we overestimated some of the psychotic tendencies that shooters have and underestimated some of the hatred for life that they had. This article points out some very good findings that really leave the box open for the classification of serial shooters and I agree with the final conclusion that one of the best things we can do is mental health work for people as they grow up so that some of their negative tendencies can be corrected early enough and worked on through therapy or other activities. I know that Hamilton has tried to make the campus safer with its warning system to every person on campus, but instead of being retroactive we should be encouraging a more proactive approach coming from the counseling center.