Halina Sulestrowsk A Psychological Analysis

When we look at how fragile each one of our lives are, we need to take a minute and realize the different characteristics that form us into who we are today. Studies have shown that there are characteristics within the behavior of an individual that can be linked to the specific behaviors demonstrated by an offender that would classify them as a psychopath. Along with other research that looks into an individual’s genetics to see if that plays a role in defining or making a psychopath. John Allen Muhammad, also known as the D.C. sniper, was labeled as a psychopath when he terrorized D.C. for two weeks, taking thirteen victims and killing ten of them. This paper will go over the behaviors that constitute psychopathy, and the behaviors that

The same psychiatrist, Johnathan H. Pincus examined 14 other death row inmates who had murdered when they were under the age of 18 and realized that they all had the same factors of neurologic damage, abuse, and paranoid thinking (Pincus, 29). A study done by Lisa Marshall and David Cooke shows the differences between the childhoods of psychopath criminals and non-psychopath criminals. They used the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised and the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse to show how much the environment your surrounded with as a child can affect your adult life. Not only did they study the results of familial childhood factors such as neglect, physical abuse, and psychological abuse but they also looked into societal factors such as negative school experience and negative school performance. Results showed that “Inadequate or incompetent parenting leads to insecure attachment bonding that forecasts low levels of empathy, compliance, cooperation and self control.” (Lykken,199). The most obvious differences in the childhoods of psychopath criminals and non-psychopath criminals were in parental discipline, parental neglect, and negative school performance. (Marshall and Cooke, The Childhood experiences of psychopaths). Another environmental factor that should

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

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

Sociopathy is a definitive wayward behavior that is considered to be strayed from the norm. Sociopaths are understood to behave in ways that are out of the ordinary or outside of the acceptable norm (Eiseberg, 1995). In essence, sociopaths are overbearingly preconditioned to perform excesses of certain behaviors. Sociopaths often fall under the category of moral outlaws (Joana & Abigail, 2014). Psychologists have noted that psychopathic tendencies are inert. They can be triggered by brutal upbringing, or life-threatening or -changing experiences (Marsh, 2013). For a trait that is so mystifying, it leaves to ask, how are sociopaths created? How do people with this trait get to become this way? A major theme of this literature review finds that there are still large gaps of understanding when it comes to the clinical study of what makes a sociopathic mind work.

One of the first things that come to people’s minds when they hear the word psychopath is Ted Bundy. Bundy spent most of the 1970’s killing 30 or more young woman who happened to resemble his ex-girlfriend in some way. The exact time and number of Bundy’s kills will likely never be known. Ted Bundy is what is considered a successful psychopath. Psychopathy is a form of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Not every person with ASPD is a psychopath, but every psychopath has ASPD. No one knows exactly what causes this disorder, but there has been some speculation over the decades. The two main ideas is that an genetic influence causes psychopathy or an environmental influence causes psychopathy. The neurotransmitter MAOA has been linked to several brain structural differences in the brains of a psychopath when compared to the brain of a non-psychopathic person. Multiple studies have linked childhood abuse to the psychopathy development. Both of these causes have been shown to influence psychopathy development but it is my hypothesis that genetics hold

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 development of a sociopathic personality disorder is influenced by several elements. These factors largely are attributed to a person’s genetics and the environment. At large, there is not a significant amount known about what exactly makes a person a sociopath; however, there are several factors linked in our genes that can help identify what may contribute to the mental disorder. By no means is there a strict formula that we can follow that with one hundred percent certainty determines whether someone will end up a homicidal maniac or not. However, we can partially diagnose why and how this disorder comes to be. Sociopaths make up approximately three to five percent of the general population; meaning about three out of one hundred, people are likely to have sociopathic traits. While genetics may aid in identifying a persons’ potential for developing a mental illness, the environment around said person plays its own role.

Review of literature indicates that there have been, and still are sociopathic children who kill, and commit sadistic crimes in this world. Is it possible that such young people can develop sociopathic traits? This paper intends to prove so. Sociopathic children display certain archetypes that can either be taken as a warning, or something to go off of when getting the child help. Children who develop sociopathic traits at a young age can most likely be treated with the help of psychologists, and constant encouragement from parents. However, some children do not take to the treatment and do not feel empathy, or remorse to those around them. If these children are not treated for their behavior, problems are more than likely to

This documentary specifies that there is no easy answer to what is going on inside the mind of killers, and we cannot simply place these individuals into “neat diagnostic boxes” that explain why their actions turned so violent. However, the investigators present research studying different avenues regarding ways to “predict” the likelihood that an individual will commit violent crime, will maintaining that no method is perfect. Throughout the presentation, viewers are offered mountains of research highlighting a mix of nature and nurture ranging from neurologists from Harvard studying brain patterns affected by genetics, to psychologists studying maternal care and attachment during infancy.

The social sciences often question if psychopathic behaviour is innate or a product of a social environment. In the movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock, Norman Bates’ downfall proposes how crucial a healthy childhood is to the mental state of a developing child. Contrary to nature focused beliefs, not all human behaviour comes from an individual’s genetic makeup, but rather through experiences that become ingrained in the mind like scripture (Cooke 25). Theories proposed by Sigmund Freud and other research comparing the relation between psychopathy and environment can help to rationalize the reasons behind Norman Bates’ unsuccessful childhood, the impact of his parent-child relationship on his self-perception,

One researcher studied a theory relating to sociopaths and their antisocial behavior. This specific study proposed a theory that a primary sociopath is lacking in moral development and does not feel socially responsible for their actions. This type of sociopath is a product of the individual's personality, physiotype, and genotype, which supports the theory that a person’s genotype is the significant factor in the development of criminality. There is a secondary sociopath that develops in response to his or her environment because of how and where they were raised. Living in an urban residence, having a low socioeconomic status, or poor social skills can lead an individual to being unsuccessful in reaching their needs in a socially desirable way, which can turn into antisocial or criminal behavior. This supports the theory that the environment is the significant factor in the development of criminality. With these studies, it shows that both the genetic make-up of an individual as well as the environment play an important role with what kind of person they are going to be as an adult.

The research findings of Herrnstein & Wilson are not only conclusive to the claims of Lombroso, but also correlate with Sheldon's (1949) declaration of somatotypes relating to criminality. In an attempt to authenticate the notion of hereditary criminal predisposition, Lange's (1931) study of twins concluded identical twins share innate criminal tendencies, however; the results were less conclusive with fraternal twins; whereby evidencing the possibility of hereditary criminality.

The social sciences often question if psychopathic behaviour is innate or a product of social environment. The answer seems difficult to discern because it is not split down into equal parts of nurture and nature, but rather rely on one another for a better understanding. In the movie Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock, Norman Bates’ downfall proposes how crucial a healthy childhood is to the mental state of developing child. Contrary to nature focused beliefs, not all human behaviour comes from an individual’s genetic makeup, but rather through experiences that become ingrained in the mind like scripture (Cooke 25). Theories proposed by Sigmund Freud and other research comparing the relation between psychopathy and environment can help to rationalize the reasons behind Norman Bates’ unsuccessful childhood, the impact of his parent-child relationship on his self-perception, and the influence of his upbringing on external relationships. Despite the age of the theories and the year of the film, the question concerning if Norman Bates’ mental state is innate or a gradual creation provides an understanding of current parent-child relationship issues. To be familiar with the cringing extent of vacant family bonds emphasizes how necessary it is for parents to build a strong relationship with their child or suffer the consequences.