Essay On Psychopaths

Psychopathy as a mental disorder or construct, although not included in the presently valid classification systems, is gradually fascinating the experts and investigators involved in the field of mental health. Curiosity in psychopathy has mainly grown after the declaration of the new classification system DSM V in which psychopathy is mentioned as a clear diagnosis in the context of six new personality illnesses.

In Chapter 4, we talked about mental disorders and how it was difficult for psychiatrists to figure out criteria that would help them decide which offenders are mentally ill, which is also known as psychopathy (Adler, Mueller, and Laufer 2013, pg. 103).  Hare & McPherson (1984) states that “crimes and behavior of psychopaths are more violent and aggressive than are those of other criminal”. We learned that it is difficult to get reasons that would help determine which offenders are mentally ill. Adler, Mueller, Laufer (2013) stated that, “Some psychologists consider psychopathy to be an artificial label for an antisocial personality" (pg. 104). As we learned many criminals are labeled and it seems interesting to see that psychopaths are very hard to label. In

When most people hear the word psychopath their mind forms a picture of a wild-eyed, rambling, lunatic who is often restrained in a straitjacket. The media has helped this belief along the way with slasher horror films and grisly CSI episodes depict these strange humans. However, the average psychopath is much harder to spot than most people believe. In fact, most of them are extremely difficult to distinguish from ordinary humans. They outwardly appear normal and many do not find it difficult to blend into common society. They can interact with others, hold successful jobs, and effectively keep themselves out of trouble. Most are not the sadistic killers many people think they are. Psychopaths are people born with problems (Bartol 105) or

Studies of the human brain have been done multiple times and it has been concluded that “those who had been convicted of murder with aggression or antisocial disorders showed distinct brain activity as compared to those who were normal. Those brain scans showed a relationship between the orbital frontal cortex, the anterior cingulated cortex, and the amygdale, which plays a large part in controlling negative and violent emotions” (Coleman et al. 2). Mental illness is something very serious that, if diagnosed at a relatively young age can be controlled by medication and counseling. The problem lies within those who either don’t receive medical treatment or don’t follow doctor’s orders when it comes to treatment regiments. For example, a schizoid patient following a doctor’s order may very well be an upstanding member of society. But when medication is no longer being taken, that person will be more likely to give into the urges given by the voices inside their head. Many serial killers are also considered to be psychopaths: a psychopathy is “a neurodevelopmental disorder, one which a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as neglect or poor bonding with parents, lead to deficits in the brain” (Anderssen and Mcllroy 1). Psychopaths are unable to feel empathy, kindness, and in some cases they even struggle with feeling love. Psychopaths experience these symptoms from a young age and are often very violent as children. The corpus callosum is frequently different structure wise, it is part in the brain that connects the left and right side while controlling someone’s ability to control other people. Psychologists and Psychiatrists “generally agree that factors outside a killer’s control, such as their upbringing and hereditary background, can have a defining effect on the way they behave as adults”

Psychopathy; a term used to describe an individual with the ability to differentiate between right and wrong and acknowledge the rules of society, but are impervious to the moral foundation of these rules. Unlike other mental disorders such as sociopathy and schizophrenia, psychopathic individuals are able to understand actions that violate the law or go against social norms (Glenn 1). Although, they may be able to accurately judge moral and/or legal violations, one major factor that they lack is – emotional capacity. It is estimated that about 1% of the general population is made up of psychopaths, which is a considerable risk when it comes to crimes (Parry n.p). Therefore, the way in which the law responses to psychopathic individuals is an important moral and empirical issue. With that being said, should psychopaths be held criminally responsible for their behavior? Due to psychopathic individuals failure to meet criteria necessary for moral responsibility, such as the lack of understanding of the human race, predetermined biological structures of the brain and the fact that psychopathy is

Psychopathy, in both the mental health and criminal justice systems, has emerged as one of the most important clinical constructs of the 21st century (Hare, Clark, Grann, & Thornton, 2000, p. 623). Where clinically, psychopathy is traditionally described as a combination of inferred socially deviant behaviors and personality traits. Some traits and behaviors a psychopath is seen to possess are commonly known, for example, to being impulsive, selfish, aggressive, lacking remorse, shame, feeling for others, pathologically lying, and having asocial or antisocial behaviors (Hare, & Neumann, 2006, p. 59-60). One of the reasons as to why psychopathy has come to see an increase in the development of its theoretical and applied interest is the

Psychopaths have been around for more than a century, and have found themselves to be able to make the public fear them. Belle Gunness, the Zodiac Killer, and John Wayne Gacy are all examples for the character traits compatible with psychopathy and have been able to provide more reason to the research of psychopaths. Statistically, psychopathy is found in three percent of the male population and in one percent of one percent of the female population. A psychopath’s behavior of exploitation, lying, recklessness, and arrogance has been studied to further understand how their brain structure is different in MRI scans and how they are able to use special abilities to catch its victims. Many research studies have been able to provide more information

The field of forensic psychology is ever-changing as is the world around us. There is a persistent need to evaluate rules and procedures to keep up with the societal needs. A major area that is evolving within forensic psychology is the health care field and the usable technology. This new and advancing technology is allowing for the diagnosis of some very specific mental disorders, including the intriguing diagnosis of psychopathy. Until recently, very little research has provided conclusive evidence in makes a psychopath, a psychopath. Questions have been surfaced regarding the possibility of detecting psychopaths and preventing their trail of destruction

Berit Brogaard, D.M.Sci., Ph.D., is a Professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Brogaard Lab for Multisensory Research at the University of Miami. She earned a medical degree in neuroscience and a doctorate in philosophy. This article explained the traits of a psychopath, such as their callous, manipulative, and cunning behavior, along with the differentiating between psychopaths and psychotics. This article helped me by providing a good background on psychopathology and useful examples.

Accordingly, there exists a small group of people who exhibit most-to-all of these specific and peculiar characteristics and behaviours. This particular group of predators presents numerous challenges to morality, safety and policy. For instance, because a "psychopath" may display a general coldness toward others, they are more likely to commit criminal acts, and afterward not respond to punishment or deterrent tactics. Hare’s psychopathy checklist when used as a tool to identify psychopaths prevents harmful exposure of non-psychopaths to this dangerous group of offenders. For this tool to work effectively there must not be significant overlap of the specific characteristics used in the PCL-R to identify psychopaths as in the general population of non-psychopaths. In other words, the psychopath must

This article states that we need to stop interchanging psychopath and sociopath, as they are two different disciplines. Pemment goes into detail about the history, research, and growth of psychopathy. He says that we need to understand the difference between the two, as the behavioral characteristics and potential treatments for each are different. The article includes details on Hervey Cleckley and Robert Hares work on psychopathy. The article describes the PCL-R, and how Hare says the test should be done. The PCL-R is used as a screening tool to identify psychopaths, and

There exists sufficient proof that justifies the criminal justice system has turned out to house those suffering from psychological problems. At some point it can be viewed as the best solution according to some people it still creates some dilemma within the society. If an individual is branded a criminal others suffering from the same problem are likely to suffer from psychological problems. Most of the psychological problems that have been currently under study have proven to be heritable and if exposed to certain environmental conditions, those with the inherited genes are most likely

The four categories used to assess the individuals in question are interpersonal traits, affective traits, lifestyle behaviors, and antisocial behaviors. Based on their results, they have evaluated which traits and behaviors can be attributed to psychopaths. The interpersonal traits of psychopaths, or traits that are apparent when the psychopath interacts with other people, include glibness, inflated ego, pathological lying, manipulative behaviors, and superficial charm. In addition, psychopaths respond emotionally to their wrongdoings with a lack of true remorse or guilt and a flat or shallow affect, along with a failure to accept responsibility and the absence of empathy. These are known as affective traits, and can be associated with the fact that psychopathic serial killers do not value human life, and are often cruel and heartless when dealing with their victims.

Of all the psychiatric disorders, none are more chilling to the world then the psychopaths and sociopaths. These two disorders, categorized as antisocial personality disorders, bring about the absolute worse people and killers that the world has ever known. The infamous serial killers, the people who do the unimaginable, were all psychopaths. The ability of these people to do what they do and know that what they are doing is wrong, is perhaps one of the most chilling and shocking characteristic of these people. Psychopaths and sociopaths are very often thought by most to be the same disorder, yet they are different when classified by many psychiatric researchers. The people classified as psychopaths and sociopaths are separated by one main difference, and that is if they were born with a lack of the ability to empathize or if they were affected as children in a traumatic environment. Although both of these horrible disorders derive from a different area, the reality is that they are unpredictable, undetectable and most importantly, they can be very dangerous.

Psychopaths can seem just like you or me, but when you are not around them this is when their mental disorder kicks in. Psychopaths that have been put in jail committed three times as many crimes per year then non-psychopaths. 97% of convicted psychopathic criminals cause at least one violent crime compared to 74% of non-psychopaths. Psychopaths are shown to be more violence throughout their entire life compared to a regular people. Psychopaths tend to have a greater chance of failing on parole and mandatory supervision and have a faster rate of failing then non-psychopaths. Psychopathy predicts recidivism on conditional release as well as or better than do actuarial risk instruments. Psychopaths recidivate at a rate of three to four times higher than that of non-psychopaths.