Psychology

1. There are a number of important things that I learned from this program. I learnt that there are two broad categories of stalking, one is long term stalking and the other is short term stalking. Long term stalking can disrupt the life of the person who is being stalked. The victim can suffer from panic, distress, terror and low self confidence. I got to know about two interesting facts. Earlier stalking meant a famous celebrity being relentlessly followed by an ardent fan but now it has become an extremely common behavior amongst the common man. Also, the number of male stalkers is more than the number of female stalkers. The upsetting thing is that the victims can go to the extent of pretending to be victims themselves and can lodge complaints with the police or visit psychiatrists in order to make their positions safe while creating a chaotic situation for the real victim.

2. Stalking is related to both biological as well as psychological theories of abnormal psychology. According to biological theory, behavior genetics can be one of the reasons of an abnormal behavior like stalking. Every persons genetic make up is different. Perhaps, the stalkers genotype is such that they behave in activities that create stress to people who might be complete strangers to them. From the angle of psychological theory of abnormal psychology, there might be certain psycho dynamism that creates certain underlying and unconscious motives that builds up especially in the minds of those people who have lack of support system like families and friends. Perhaps this is why they start stalking in order to satisfy their hunger for love.

3. I had heard that with the increasing technological advancements, the stalkers are getting more chances of harassing the victims. One of my friends used to get emails with pornographic pictures for a short period of six weeks. But those mails gradually stopped, much to the respite of my friend.