Abstract
Cecilia Johanna Steyn, the subject of this study, was incarcerated for being the mastermind behind eleven murders in South Africa. The research study aimed to explore the behaviourisms and characteristics of female serial killers through an in-depth analysis of Cecilia Steyn’s life and development within the structure of a psychobiography. Psychobiography applies phenomenological and hermeneutical methods to explore the life narratives of a single individual on a conscious and humanistic level through the knowledge of psychological theory. The theoretical framework combines Robert Hare’s psychopathic checklist-revised (PCL-R) and Heinz Kohut’s self-psychology theory. The PCL-R was utilised to analyse Cecilia Steyn’s characteristics based on her interpersonal, antisocial, lifestyle, and affective dimensions found within her life narratives. The codes obtained from these dimensions were further analysed using Kohut’s self-psychology theory to understand her narcissistic personality development better. The utilised theories promoted theory development as an understanding of the overlapping characteristics and differences between narcissism and psychopathy (dark tetrads) is observed throughout the research. Findings suggest inadequate development of Cecilia Steyn’s narcissistic self through analysing the biographical data accumulated from her life narratives. The biographical data indicate possible narcissistic injuries Cecilia Steyn encountered during her development, which resulted in poorly cathected narcissistic configurations.
Keywords: Cecilia Steyn, Psychobiography, Self-psychology, Narcissism, Psychopathy.