Psychopath Essay

A psychopath has the ability to act normal. They have no real emotions, but they have the ability to mimic emotions and thoughts of normal people. They cannot form attachments with others, but they can falsify them. Many psychopaths received a well-rounded education and maintain steady jobs. These tend to be very organized killers.

There is an obvious difference between the neurological structure of psychopaths and the average human. There are multiple different scans used to detect different formations. A PET scan will detect brain activity when the subject is given a task. An MRI will show of the size of the components of the brain and if they have changed. To measure brainwaves an EEG is used. Since psychopaths have a different brain structure, their frontal lobe does not function the same as the average person. The frontal lobe is responsible for making judgements, problem solving, and impulse control. They understand the difference between right and wrong, but they simply do not care. The amygdala is accountable for aggression, fear and guilt. Psychopaths lack the ability to perceive guilt. Since there is no guilt, aggression is

Chances are you’re acquainted with a sociopathic character; you’ve probably read a book, watched a film or watched a television show that displays a character with sociopathic personality traits and have grown to enjoy following them through their story. It’s not uncommon; they’re charismatic, manipulative, powerful, and have an extremely different personality than most people. They’re charming and entertaining to watch, so it’s no wonder authors and producers alike have begun to use sociopaths and psychopaths in their work more frequently. Many of the most popular television shows, films, and books in American culture today feature a sociopathic main character; even if it isn’t blatantly obvious.

“Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by an inability to form human attachment, aggressive narcissism, and antisocial behavior defined by a constellation of affective, interpersonal and behavioral characteristics, most of which society views as pejorative” [1]. Some of these characteristics include irresponsibility, grandiosity, cunning, deceitfulness, selective impulsivity, sexual promiscuity, lack of empathy, etc. People who are psychopathic display not only antisocial behavior but also emotional impairment such as the lack of guilt. They are able to prey on others using their charm, deceit, violence or any other methods that allow them to get what they want. A strong feature of most of the behavior

Many things set psychopaths apart from normal people, but the qualities that psychopaths possess are what truly make them psychopaths. The brains' of psychopaths are always damaged in away that affects their ability to feel emotion the same way we do as well as their ability to control themselves from bringing harm to others. In "Exploring the mind of a Killer", a Ted Talk given by Jim Fallon, it is explained that all psychopaths "had damage to their orbital cortex...and also the interior part of the temporal lobe." The orbital cortex has a lot to do with emotions and decision making, so if it is damaged, the person may have trouble making desk ions skillfully and feeling accurate emotions for their situations (both traits that psychopaths

There are many reasons as to why someone could become a sociopath. Many of the causes being due to biological roots and also the environment. Scientists have made some theories stating “the brain … matures at a slower rate” compared to non sociopaths. With much research done it has been concluded that someone’s background can “add to the development” of becoming a sociopath. Nevertheless, such circumstances being poverty, rejection, abuse, and even trauma. In the opinion of the author, Tanya J. Paterson, concludes that:

This author uses the definition provided by the Oxford Dictionaries Online for psychopath: a person suffering from a chronic mental condition with abnormal or violent social behavior. This author has chosen to use the criteria provided by Dr. Hervey M. Cleckley, an American psychiatrist and pioneer in the field of psychopathy. His book, The Mask of Sanity published in 1941, details his research into the realm of psychopathy, his assertion that psychopaths are capable of providing a charming and benevolent face to the world while hiding a mental disorder, and the criteria by which he (Hervey) determines the psychopathy. Cleckley’s book became a seminal work on the subject, and his criterion is still used today. Cleckley’s list includes: Superficial charm and good intelligence; Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking; Absence of nervousness or psychoneurotic manifestations; Unreliability; Untruthfulness and insincerity; Lack of remorse and shame; Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior; Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience; Pathologic egocentricity

Psychopathy is a disorder that may be difficult to spot in a person as they may seem normal and charming on the outside but within they lack conscience and empathy which may lead to them being manipulative and volatile. Psychopaths tend to have no empathy or feel real emotion for others but can easily gain people’s trust by mimicking the other’s emotion. Psychopathy is often scrutinized into three salient facets: affective, interpersonal, and behavioral traits (Hawes 623). Affective refers to the callous-unemotional traits which is a limit of empathy, lack of guilt, and shallow affect. Interpersonal refers to manipulativeness and behavioral is referred to as impulsively

Ronson: Great question. First, I should explain that although a good portion gain psychopathy through their life, many are born with it. Being born with it is

What’s has research done to explain why psychopaths or the way they are? There are a lot of theories behind what makes a psychopath, some theories are based on research and some are based on what people have seen and what they have concluded from that. The human brain is a complex thing and all the studies that have been read for this topic show that although the brain is complex a psychopath is not. Scientist and doctors have been doing research and tests since the 60’s, they’ve done shock experiments they’ve done personality evaluations. There are a lot of traits that can point out a psychopath, certains things they do and the way they act. Research has always said that illness is definitely part of being psychopathic, which leads one to

Much like the University of Pennsylvania study, results indicated that reduced functioning in parts of the brain involved in moral decision making and the expression of emotion may help to explain psychopathy (Glenn et al, 2009; Marsh et al., 2011).

The most prevalent deficiency psychopaths are diagnosed with is lack of empathy. Non- violent psychopaths in particular are master manipulators when it comes to getting something they want by not caring about who they climb over or put down. There are two types of empathy, cognitive (which is knowing what other people are feeling) and emotional empathy (which is when you are able to feel what the other person is feeling). Psychopaths may know what a person is feeling but don’t feel it themselves. So these CEO’s, executives and business leaders can understand what

What makes an individual a psychopath? Does the environment an individual grows up in or whether or not an individual’s gender plays a role? Questions which have been examined and researched by psychologist. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the concept of psychopathic behavior is based off guideline set in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is classified as a personality disorder. The difference between a psychopath and a regular offender is the way they respond emotionally, their cognitive functions and their behavioral characteristics. Differences, in behavioral characteristics have been found between male and female psychopaths. Factor examined to distinguish

Psychopathic behaviors can be traced back to Ancient Greek times, however; such behaviors did not become well known until about the 1870's. There has been a great discussion to whether such people are born with these acts or if it grows onto them. Through the late years of the 1900's, child upbringing and deprivation became a big problem. Many people choose to believe that psychopaths, murders, rapist, etc., are born with an instinct to harm people, but most behaviors developed through children who experienced a rough childhood.

According to Robert Hare, Ph.D (2017), psychopathy is “intraspecies predators who use charm, manipulation, intimidation, and violence to control others and to satisfy their own selfish needs.”