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originally posted in:Spread the Word
3/7/2014 12:03:09 AM
5

Psychopathy Awareness Thread

The idea of what exactly constitutes a psychopath has come under a lot of revision throughout the history of psychology. And while I'm sure a lot of you will have at least a vague idea of what a psychopath or sociopath is, hopefully this can shed some more light on what is a very serious personality condition. [quote]Psychopathy is traditionally defined as a personality disorder, characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior.[/quote] But what constitutes "enduring antisocial behaviour"? The consensus is that, in order to be a psychopath, one must qualify for a diagnosis of [i]antisocial personality disorder[/i]. The DSM, fourth edition, defines the symptoms of ASPD as follows: [quote]A) There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three or more of the following: failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest; deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure; impulsivity or failure to plan ahead; irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults; reckless disregard for safety of self or others; consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations; lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another; B) The individual is at least age 18 years. C) There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years. D) The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.[/quote] Psychopathy differs from ASPD in terms of personality. Psychopaths typically have traits which involve quite a severe sense of diminished remorse, superficial charm and the ability to turn empathy on or off. Distinctions have been made between two types of psychopaths. Cleckleyan psychopaths usually display behaviour that is bold, fearless and uninhibited behaviour, whereas criminal psychopaths display these traits with a much more aggressive personality, oftentimes leading to problems with the criminal justice system. [b]One of the most important things to note about psychopathic individuals is that rarely see a difference between people and objects. [/b] There are two commonly used "diagnosis" tools for psychopaths, here is the system as devised by Cleckley: [quote]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 and incapacity for love General poverty in major affective reactions Specific loss of insight Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink and sometimes without Suicide threats rarely carried out Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated Failure to follow any life plan.[/quote] While it may seem evident that people oftentimes have these symptoms, what marks a psychopath is the severity with which they suffer from these social disadvantages. Another system of classification is the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist]Hare Psychopathy Checklist[/url] which has broadly similar points, but identifies two subtypes. Factor A psychopathy is associated with narcissistic personality disorder, extroversion, egocentricity and callous disregard for others, whereas Factor B psychopaths are usually more emotionally unstable and criminal in their actions, while experiencing higher degrees of fear or anxiety; the two subtypes are occasionally referred to as "primary" and "secondary" respectively. [i]Given that it is midnight, you'll have to excuse any lack of quality. As always, I will endeavour to answer questions as best I can, and as always I will not tolerate any offensive or non-contributory posts. [/i] [spoiler]Given the wide disparity of information regarding psychopathy/sociopathy, if you choose to look it up yourself you might find some discrepancies. I have constructed this using a mixture of as-universal-as-possible sources as well as personal experience.[/spoiler]

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  • They are such interesting people... Generally really successful in life too. You know in business how you have to avoid the "Wolves" in suits? Well, the sociopaths are the "snakes" in suits.

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  • I have researched this in depth, as I find the notion of evil interesting (though I don't personally believe in evil) and since psychopaths/sociopaths are frequently called evil, I wanted to know why. I was surprised to see that the defining category was ASPD, which a psychologist I saw when I was young talked about with me quite a bit. I was too young to fit the diagnosis criteria (which was 15 years old at the time) but he said I fit some of the criteria. I myself, provided I am actually a sociopath would fit into the Secondary category. Being a contrarian, I rejected the notion out of hand, but as I get older and am better able to rationally analyze the way I react to things, the more convincing it is. Also, [url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?next=/science-nature/the-neuroscientist-who-discovered-he-was-a-psychopath-180947814/]James Fallon[/url] has done some work with the physiological side of this disorder. He found a correlation in brain scans with psychopathic individuals, and a correlation to the MAO-A gene and psychopaths. Some of you have probably heard of the "Warrior Gene", that is the MAO-A gene. The warrior thing is a terrible moniker, and doesn't really apply to the mutation. It basically codes for the production of an enzyme which acts as a metabolizer for monoamine chemicals, like the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. The enzyme breaks the chemical chains via oxidation. The gene can be expressed a variety of ways, but there was found a correlation with 3 or so specific expressions and psychopathic behavior, and then once again to the brain scans. It might be the case that the gene mutation, when supervened to make a big complex system like a brain, might change the structure in way which reduces or numbs emotional response pathways in the brain. As I said, interesting stuff. Thanks for the thread BTW.

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    • [quote][b]One of the most important things to note about psychopathic individuals is that rarely see a difference between people and objects. [/b][/quote] I sometimes wonder if there's a link with this: [quote] The research showed that approximately 3% of those assessed in this management development program study scored in the psychopath range – well above the incidence of 1% in the general population. [/quote] ([url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2013/04/25/the-disturbing-link-between-psychopathy-and-leadership/]source[/url])

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      • So im a psychopath now? Interesting.

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        • Pity bump.

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