PCL-R: The Test of Success

894 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Psychopathy nurture vs nature

“People fake a lot of human interactions, but I feel like I fake them all, and I fake them very well,” admits Dexter, the infamous television serial killer. Thoughts and statements similar to this may be seen as morally reprehensible or repugnant, but gasps and frowns on those behaviors don’t rule out significantly plausible benefits.

Psychopathy has long been labeled a personality disorder; a disorder believed to be serious enough of a threat to society to be treated using methods of sedation, incarceration, and climaxing at lobotomization. But could the worry have been that these psychopaths would just become too successful? The following analyzed documents support the hypothesis that psychopathic personality traits lead to success.

A psychopath is one who tests above 30 on the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R). This test contains 20 components, each question is assigned a 1 to 3 rating on personality traits such as: superficial charm, pathological lying, cunning/manipulative behavior, lack of remorse, lack of empathy, criminal versatility, etc. In an environment, where the majority of society adopts a strategy of cooperation, it is easy to see how an individual with the previously mentioned traits could employ them to one’s advantage. These advantages have been widely examined, from evolutionary perspectives to business environments, and will be summarized in the following reviews.

The basics will start it off: evolution. From an evolutionary point of view, psycopathy is a collection of adaptations that have proven successful enough to continue being naturally selected for. A profuse number of evolutionary theories all pose very similar questions as to why there are psychopaths; however, the study Evolution...

... middle of paper ...

...d, stock manipulation, and having lower ranking workers’ jobs seen as meaningless, may not seem so appealing to those possessing empathy. However, success is being measured as monetary rewards for this review, and cold-hearted decision-making seems to be the culprit of raking in those rewards. How the psychopaths or the other employees in question feel about making decisions required to gain higher corporate status is just a mediator variable.

After reviewing many articles on psycopathy, there is little room for doubt that they will be more successful. Whether or not they mimic the cheater hawk or the warrior hawk (two current hypotheses on how psychopaths function according to the Department of Psychology at Queen’s University) hypothesis, most can blaze through restrictions and force everyone to consider if there ever was a line between genius and insanity.

Show More
Related

  • Nature versus Nurture: Criminal Behavior

    2165 Words  | 5 Pages

    Nature versus nurture has been argued in attempt to understand how criminals behave. The theory of what influences psychopath and serial killers’ violent and destructive pathways has not been agreed on till this day. Criminals such as psychopaths and serial killers have been researched for the past two decades. Scientists have found that genetics is a determining factor of who becomes a serial killer. It is important to understand the determinants involved within a serial killer, because if these social and environmental causes are discovered, they can be altered and controlled to reduce crime (Lykken, 1993). With more studies, we would therefore prevent mass murders and could assist in significant reductions of crime within society.

    Read More

  • The Psychopath Test By Jon Ronson

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry is a book by Jon Ronson, where he investigates the idea of psychopathy and the many individuals involved. Psychopathy is defined as “a person who is mentally ill, who does not care about other people, and who is usually dangerous or violent.” Ronson visited mental health professionals and psychopaths in order to determine the right way to control the diagnosis of mental health disorders. Throughout the novel, Ronson focuses on three main themes, which are the definition of madness, unnecessary mental diagnoses and the problem with confirmation bias.

    Read More

  • Without Conscience Chapter Summary

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    Identifying the mystery of the psychopath can prove to help the them and the general public. Early awareness of the common psychopaths among us will reduce the impact on society. Further research is still needed to better help the psychopath and the general population.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Psychopath And Sociopath

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Psychopath and Sociopath are so closely related that many don’t know they are different illness. Both psychopath and sociopath have similar illness but their factors are completely different. Study’s shows this may be a product of nature vs nurture. Secondly, Psychopath behavior is shown to be controlled while sociopath is shown to have uncontrollable behavior. Thirdly, there violence outburst is different, psychopath usually plan out their crimes while sociopaths are erratic and careless with their crimes. Fourthly, Psychopaths don’t feel any type emotion towards others but they can be in relationships when it comes beneficial to them. Sociopaths often don’t have relationships, they don’t become attached to others. Lastly, Psychopath are actually

    Read More

  • The Noble Savage Turned Ignoble

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sociopaths are prevalent among society, and some researchers, like Martha Stout, claim that one out of every twenty-five people is a sociopath. However, this statistic is incorrect. This statistic is based on the assumption that sociopaths and psychopaths are the same people—which is untrue. While the sociopathic and psychopathic traits overlap, sociopaths differ in that they are obviously nervous and agitated, unable to create the illusions that psychopaths are so proud of. They live on the fringes of society, uneducated and unable to keep a steady job. Psychopaths, unlike sociopaths, are suave and able to maintain an illusion of conformity and maintain relationships on a superficial level. Both, however, are dominantly male, tend to disregard the rights and social mores of others, and have a tendency display violent and disruptive outbursts without remorse. Unlike psychopaths, who completely lack remorse and the ability to love, sociopaths may attach themselves to certain people, though they still remain contemptuous of the rest of humanity (7).

    Read More

  • Tough Guy Case Study Analysis

    1401 Words  | 3 Pages

    Several employees have witnessed varied offensive conduct by Mazey but have kept opinions to themselves until recently (Yemen & Clawson, 2007). Senior management at Hudson is aware of his behavior via 360o reviews; however, Mazey’s ability to produce revenue secured his promotion to vice president (Yemen & Clawson, 2007). Mazey acquiesces to upper management and believes employees of lower stature should do the same for him, while also accepting his unprofessional, degrading and condescending habits (Yemen & Clawson, 2007).

    Read More

  • Diagnosing Psychopathy: The Triarchic Model by Christopher J. Patrick

    2026 Words  | 5 Pages

    Psychopathy has fascinated the public for years due to the gruesome and evil portrayal it has received in the media. Psychopathy is defined in the DSM-III as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior (Patrick, Christopher, Fowles, Krueger, Rober, 2009). Psychopathy represents a cluster of different dimensions of personality found amongst the general population to varying degrees (Patrick et al, 2009). The diagnostic definition is meant to be applied to adults, however psychopathology can occur in children. Controversy surrounds the topic of childhood mental illness because the brain is not fully developed until the age of 18; thus allowing the possibility that symptoms are the result of growing up and will change. The triarchic model, formulated by Christopher J. Patrick, is the most commonly used model in diagnosing adult and childhood psychopathy. This model suggests that different conceptions of psychopathy emphasize three observable characteristics to varying degrees; boldness, disinhibition and meanness (Patrick, et al, 2009). Boldness is the first observable characteristic and is comprised of low fear including stress-tolerance, toleration of unfamiliarity and danger, and high self-confidence and social assertiveness. Disinhibition; characterized by poor impulse control including problems with planning and foresight, lacking affect and urge control, demand for immediate gratification, and poor behavioral restraints. Meanness is defined as lacking empathy and close attachments with others, disdain of close attachments, use of cruelty to gain empowerment, exploitative tendencies, defiance of authority, and destructive excitement seek...

    Read More

  • Pieces of the Psychopathic Brain

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    One area of research in psychopathy focuses on the set of structures in the brain known as the limbic system, but more specifically on a structure known as the amygdala. According to neuropsychology class slides, the amygdala is involved in emotions and storage of emotions in memory as well as the fear response when encountering threatening environmental stimuli. Osumi and colleagues (2012) note that the affective and interpersonal facets of psychopathy, such as cold-heartedness and lack of empathy, which are thought to be the core features of psychopathy, are associated with reduced activity in the amygdala. This is coupled with the fact that a less functional amygdala is associated with a psychopathic individual’s exhibition of antisocial behaviors, at least in part because he will not perceive the threat of punishment as a consequence of his actions. So whether it be the acts against other people or the acts of justice that may be carried out against the perpetrator, the psychopath will perceive both as less significant, as compared to a non-psychopathic individual. (Osumi et al., 2012)

    Read More

  • Summary Of Without Conscience By Robert Hare On Psychopaths

    1771 Words  | 4 Pages

    Are psychopaths like Alice, “mad or bad?” (page 21). The question whether psychopaths are mentally ill or just a bad seed has caused much debate. Dr. Hare explains that the problem is not only labeling them mad or bad, but who deals with them. “Does the treatment or control of the psychopath rightly fall to mental health professionals or to the correctional system?” (page 21). Not only are professionals confused on how to classify psychopaths, but the media also creates confusion. Psychopath means mental illness and the media uses the word to classify someone as, “insane or crazy”, (page 22). Dr. Hare explains that even though psychopaths, “cannot be understood in terms of traditional views of mental illness”, they, “are not disoriented or out of touch with reality, nor do they experience the delusions, hallucinations, or intense subjective distress that characterize most other mental disorders…psychopaths are rational and aware of what they are doing and why.” (page 22). Most professionals use the term psychopath and sociopath as one in the same. Since DSM-III, antisocial personality disorder has been used in place of psychopath and sociopath. Philippe Pinel was the first psychiatrist describe a psychopath and Harvey Cleckley was one of the first successful publish a book describing a psychopath to the general public . Pinel used the term, “insanity without delirium”, (page 25). Cleckley wrote The Mask of Sanity, which influenced researchers in North America. Dr. Robert Hare explained that WWII was the first time clinicians felt a need to diagnosis people with psychopathy. Due to the draft, there was a need to weed out the people could disrupt or harm the military structure. Dr. Robert Hare realized how hard it was to identify a true psychopaths from rule breakers and developed the Psychopathy Checklist. This checklist is used world wide to help clinicians identify true

    Read More

  • Without Conscience by Robert D. Hare

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...res of the psychopaths and gives the reader various examples of these individuals playing out these characteristics in everyday life. A widely used checklist is provided so the reader can get a wide spanning view of what is accounted for when scoring a psychopath. This form of research is very important within the deceitfulness of this population; it allows the professional to ignore their words and examine their actions. Hare made it clear that it is not uncommon for there to be an emotional and verbal disconnect from their actions. With virtually no emotional functioning psychopaths feel no remorse for the offenses that they commit and it is very important that we work towards using the opportunities we have to study and assist these populations; not only for them but for ourselves.

    Read More

  • The Zodiac Killer Case Study

    1751 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cleckley, H. (1976). The mask of sanity: An attempt to clarify some issues about the so-called psychopathic personality. St. Louis, MO: Mosby. Inc. (Original work published 1941).

    Read More

  • The Biological Crime Theory

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Biological crime theory describes that an individual is born with the desire to commit a certain crime. Evolutionary factors influence an individual’s involvement in criminal behavior. “Biological theories focus on aspects of the physical body, such as inherited genes, evolutionary factors, brain structures, or the role of hormones in influencing behavior” (Marsh, I, 2006, 3). Murderers that are innate to kill are born with factors such as mental illnesses that are the driving force as to why one may kill. Because of the biological crime theory, some individuals, though rare, are able to plead insanity. This is because the actions of the individual are said to be beyond their control (Ministry of Justice, 2006, 3).

    Read More

  • Nature or Nurture for Determining Psychopathy

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scientists have many theories concerning psychopaths. Scientists do not have a definite clear cut answer on what is the cause of psychopathy but they have many ideas: nature and the nurture of the person. Nature is the gene that the person carries. The nurture of the person when they were a child simply means how they were treated when they were growing up and/or how they were raised. Some scientists even consider it a possibility that it could be a mixture of the two.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Psychopaths

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    The media most often showcases psychopaths as individuals who are inherently evil and dangerous towards themselves and others. Yet, this concept of psychopathy goes far beyond this idea of pure evil and instead necessitates a needed psychological understanding. These individuals, psychopaths, are generally characterized by a lack of empathy and conscience. Indeed, psychopath’s indifference to the repercussions of their actions combined with other characteristics such as hostility and aggression make for a potentially dangerous personality (Lyken, 1996, p.30). In order to identify a psychopath’s recidivism, it is important to differentiate them from sociopaths who, instead of having a psychological impairment that makes it difficult for them to socialize, have been systematically under socialized (Lyken, 1996, p.30). In accordance. psychologists have developed the methods such as the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R) to help identify those with psychopathic tendencies (Walters, 2012, p.409). That is why predictions of recidivism among psychopaths is most efficient when done

    Read More

  • Are Criminals Born or Made?

    2147 Words  | 5 Pages

    There are various theories within the biological explanation as to why individuals commit criminal behaviour, these include: genetic theory, hereditary theory, psychosis and brain injury theory. In the next few paragraphs examples of each will be shown.

    Read More

More about PCL-R: The Test of Success

Open Document