Antisocial Personality Disorder
Imagine this, Jerry Smith, is considered to be the “bad kid” in high school with an extensive juvenile record. He steals from other students and lies about it. He is irritable and picks fights daily. Jerry gets bad grades, and it appears that he does not care. As an adult, he is a con artist and cannot seem to hold a decent job due to his impulsivity. Jerry thinks that life is not fair. According to the research, individuals who possess these antisocial behaviors during childhood commit most crimes in adulthood (Walsh & Wu, 2008). Therefore, understanding personality traits that may lead to criminal behavior is of great interest. It appears that individuals who possess these personality traits function, as criminals in our society, of these, the antisocial personality, or the related term “psychopath or sociopath,” is one specific psychological syndrome.
Development of Psychopath/sociopath Terminology
Outside of a psychological perspective, the term antisocial personality is not recognized (Walsh & Wu, 2008). The most common term to describe these behaviors is known as “psychopath.” Despite the similarities between the two terms, research suggests that they are distinct constructs from an empirical point of view. Most cases of psychopathy are diagnosed within prison or other forensic settings and will meet the DSM-5 criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD), whereas only 15-25% of the cases of APD will meet criteria
Antisocial personality disorder is a disregard for others rights and violating theses rights. This disorder starts as a child to people who carry this disorder portray the characteristics of irritability, aggressiveness, lack of remorse, and irresponsibility. A psychopath falls under the umbrella of antisocial personality disorders. A psychopath is a person with a personality disorders which is inherited from their parents at birth. Flashes of these inherited factors show and happen in the child upbringing this includes torture animals at a young age, playing weird dark games as a kid, or ripping heads of toys. A perfect example of a Psychopath is Edmund Kemper. A man who showed his psychopath tendencies at a young age that grew into to him becoming a serial killer.
According to studies led by King’s College researchers, it has been confirmed that “psychopathy is a distinct subgroup of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)” (Gregory et. al n.p) and similarly to psychopathy, the more severe ASPD behavioral patterns are, the symptoms can be referred to as sociopathic or psychopathic. Furthermore, according to Nigel Blackwood, Ma, MD.MRCPsych, “MRI scans...found that psychopaths had structural brain abnormalities in key areas of their ‘social brains’” (Gregory et. al n.p). The areas of the brain, in which are deficient in psychopaths, are important when comprehending an individual emotions’, intentions, and moral
Martens, W. H. (2000). Antisocial and psychopathic Personality Disorders: Causes, Course, and Remission- A Review Artical. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminolgy , 44(4), 406-430.
This report will describe the symptoms, suspected causes, diagnosis process, treatment, and prevention of antisocial personality disorder.
To be considered antisocial is to isolate oneself from general social conditions and demonstrate behaviors that deviate from the social societal norm. Antisocial Personality disorder describes an individual that lacks values and habitually violates societal standards in regards to ethics and social behavior. Individuals with this disorder can be described to lack empathy, act impulsively, and have flagrant disregard for other people. It is hard for them to form engage in positive social exchanges or maintain relationships with others. It was only until the early twentieth century that Antisocial Personality disorder was named. Previously, these individuals were categorized as psychopaths due to the thrill-seeking and cunning nature of their actions. Psychopaths have the ability to change their personalities to ultimately get what they desire then revert back to a malicious, egocentric state. When faced with a dangerous adventure, for those with ASPD the choice will always be to peruse the danger. This is due to a constant underlying feeling of restlessness (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011, p. 272). Although these traits can be deemed “psychopathic” this disorder is not only seen in those who have established themselves as violent criminals, but in those who have established as high-ranking members in society. How can this disorder differentiate itself so starkly within people? Although there are no direct medical test to diagnose this disorder,
Personality disorders are a class of mental disorders. People with mental disorders in general typically have a staggered pattern of thinking, functioning, and behaving. “Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a mental condition in which a person has a long term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the right of others.” (Berger 2016). In other words, ASPD is a condition where people suffering with the disorder tend to no care about rules or laws, and are likely to act on their impulsiveness to commit a crime.
Antisocial Personality Disorder or as Psychologists refer to as Psychopathic Personality disorder is known to inflict criminal behavior. The subject experiencing this
Antisocial personality disorder is usually referred to as psychopathy even though this isn’t recognized as a professional label for diagnosing mental illnesses (Gorhol, 2014). The disorder is 70% more likely to happen in males. It is said that most children who have this disorder will see a loss in the symptoms between age 40 to 50 (Gorhol, 2014). There are many different symptoms for this disorder; therefore not everyone with it has the same symptoms. Henry from The Good Son (1993) experiences many of the antisocial
Introduction The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the constructs of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder. The aim is to highlight whether the terms psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder reflect the same construct or whether they differ. Furthermore, recommendations for treatment of criminal behavior will be explored. For the purposes of this evaluation some definitions need to be highlighted: Criminal offence is an act that breaks a law, which relates how to behave in society. The harm caused by the act is seen to be against society as a whole, not just a specific person. Sometimes it refers to the specific law that was broken (Herring, 2009). Crime is the breach of rules or law for which some authority
The concept of psychopathy originated in the 1800s to describe individuals that consistently failed to conform to societal norms and exhibited antisocial behavior that did not fit the concept of mental illness of the time period. While, psychopathy was a common term used to describe individuals suffering from this disorder other descriptions were coined such as “Pinel’s term “manie sans delvie” meaning mania without delirium in the 1700s, to describe patents whose ‘affective faculties were disordered’” or Pritchard’s term “moral insanity” (Ogloff 520). In the 1930’s Partridge argued that psychopathy was a social rather than a mental disorder and proposed that the concept of sociopathy be introduced as a more accurate description. The American Psychological Association adopted Partridge’s term for their Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel in 1952. However, in 1968 the American Psychological Association changed the diagnostic label from sociopath to “personality disorder, antisocial” for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel – II that continued through to the DSM - III in 1980 and the DSM - III-R in 1987 and the DSM - IV in 1994. Today the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel categorizes antisocial personality disorder as a personality disorder and it is named as such. Unfortunately, not much research has been conducted
Antisocial personality disorders are immense, and psychopaths and sociopaths are just two of the various personality disorders. An antisocial personality disorders is defined as, “a type of chronic mental condition in which a person's ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional — and destructive.” (Mayo Clinic Staff). Sociopaths are a direct correlation to antisocial personality
Introduction: Antisocial Personality Disorder is defined to be a “pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age fifteen (APA, 2013). Antisocial Personality Disorder has also been referred to as psychopathy, sociopathy, and less commonly, Dyssocial Personality Disorder. The term “antisocial” indicates the rebellion against society and utter denial of obligations that create the foundation for relationships between people. Antisocial Personality Disorder, being a reoccurring pattern of outright rebellion from the literal and social law, is evident in someone through the presence of some primary symptoms.
Although the study of personality and crime has been an ongoing research for many decades there is still more to learn about the correlation of certain personalities and crime. From what researchers have been able to understand is that there are certain personality traits that shows a relationship with criminals. Research on personality is able to determine what types of people are the way that they are. For example someone with a strong leadership and honesty associated with their personality may be more likely to be CEO’s of business or well-known military leaders. One of the personalities that support the research is antisocial personality disorder; this personality begins to develop in early childhood. Due to neglect from one’s mother
The goal of this paper is to effectively explain the adverse affects of antisocial personality disorder. This paper will increase understanding on the psychological mindset of those who commit crimes and how it relates to their personality. I have selected two sources on the subject of antisocial personality disorders that will effectively explain an individual’s actions who suffer from this disorder. Finally we will discuss possible treatments for this disorder.
Anti-social personality disorder, sometimes referred to as a sociopathic personality, is defined as a psychiatric behavioral disorder in which the individuals affected “show no regard for the moral and ethical rules of society or the rights of others” (Feldman, 2018). This disorder, also known as psychopathy, was the first personality disorder to be recognized in psychiatry (Ogloff, 2006). People with this disorder may appear intelligent and socially normal at first, but their manipulative and deceptive behavior will show through quickly. Once the person behaves in a way that is harmful to another person, or animal, they would understand intelligently that they caused harm, but are incapable of feeling remorse for their actions. Without remorse, the consequences of the behavior may become ineffective, as no lesson is learned (Thompson, et.al., 2014). This disorder will affect people in both their personal lives and at work. Bills will go