Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
psychological disorders
psychological disorders
psychological disorders
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: psychological disorders
Without Conscience: Book Report Psychopaths all have something in common, and that's luring unexpected people in their traps. Its part of human nature to wonder and question the unknown. Psychopaths are a clear example of the unknown with their personalities and behaviors that are far from the norm on a continuum. We wonder what makes them do some of the unimaginable and horrific things to people and/or animals. How could be prevent psychopaths from taking advantage and lessening the harm on the people that they can hurt. Not surprisingly, psychologists are trying to find pinpoints that can protect the psychopath and public from them. Dr. Robert Hare, a psychologist that dedicated his life to studying and trying to pinpoint the psychopaths decided to publish his work for the public to witness. “Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us”, was published by Dr. Hare in 1993. He wanted to bring awareness to the public about psychopaths that …show more content…
The psychopath know the reasons behind acting a certain way and just don't think about the consequences. Even in the DSM-IV clear definitions of a psychopath doe not exist but the closes to diagnose is anti-social personality disorder. Dr. Hare instead developed the Psychopathy Checklist for people to diagnose psychopathy. The first part of the Psychopathy Checklist looks at the emotional and interpersonal traits of the disorder(Hare, 1993). Some of the emotional qualities that the clinician would look for is as followed: glib/superficial, egocentric/grandiose and lack of empathy. Another mark on the checklist is the violations of social norms and an aimless life (Hare, 1993). The psychopath is highly impulsive and has a constant need for excitement (Hare, 1993). The Psychopathy Checklist is filled with the basic characteristic of a person with a psychopathy
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations website, psychopathy has been described as the single most important clinical construct in the criminal justice system. It goes on to say that the need to understand psychopathy cannot be overstated (FBI, 2013.) From environmental influence to biology, psychopathy can be looked at from several different angles. This paper examines current thinking about how the brain and its structures contribute to psychopathy.
According to the “Hare Psycopathy Checklist” a psychopath is a person who knows right from wrong in our society but often feels no guilt, remorse or empathy when they engage in wrong actions. They lie easily, blame others for their actions and often hurt people who are close to them. David Berkowitz meets the criteria of Hare’s checklist and is believed to be a true psychopath. Berkowitz is known as the “Son of Sam”, a thrill seeking serial killer who terrorized the city of New York for over a year. Information about David Berkowitz’s background, personality traits and lifestyle and his serial killer profile help to prove that he is in fact a psychopath. In conclusion, this essay will prove to readers that David Berkowitz is a notorious serial killer that is also a psychopath.
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.
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
The infamous Jeffrey Dahmer and Hannibal Lector have been looked at multiple times and no one can get an exact reason as for why they ever committed such insane crimes. Although one is a fictional character and the other is real the common characteristic they share is a psychopathic personality. Most doctors can agree that psychopathy is a mental illness opposed to a choice of character unlike other criminals. They all tend to agree on that specific issue, researchers and doctors are unaware of proper treatments or if psychopathy is treatable. Many doctors will describe psychopaths as manipulative, with callous emotions and lack of empathy for anybody (Kerns). Most doctors start research with hope of discovering something new or discovering a treatment but most end with the same conclusions they had known in the beginning. Doctors have looked at research and brain scans which in a psychopath do show differences compared to a “normal” person (Kerns). Doctors can all agree that studies show differences between a normal brain and a psychopathic one, what they don’t understand is how to treat or prevent crimes from happening or why a psychopath can’t control urges that they get. The fact that psychopaths understand that viscous crimes are very much tragic and definitely illegal, which includes the possibility of being put in a mental institution or prison. The tragic prospect of crimes often doesn’t affect them due to their personality. They also don’t register the pain they inflict upon their victims (Kerns). The basics of knowing the vicious crimes of many psychopaths are well known and view as tragic cases of someone gone crazy, but what most people don’t look at is the fact of many researches done on psychopathic behavior.There s...
Within this essay I will reflect upon the statement “The psychopath is not mentally ill; he is evil.
These character traits allow the psychopath to commit his atrocious acts. However, because the psychopath is rendered incapable of moral reasoning, the criminal legal system has a problem in justifying the punishment of one, as psychopathy intervenes with the person’s ability to be a normally functioning adult. Currently, psychopathy is not recognized as a mental illness by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR. Most psychopaths end up being diagnosed with ASPD, or Antisocial Personality
Psychopaths are different than their common criminal counterparts because they live a parasitic lifestyle, are often charming, apathetic, and may have average to above average intelligence. Psychopaths, or predators, usually impress others as friendly, outgoing, likeable, and alert. They appear to be well educated and knowledgeable. Predators can be verbally skillful and can talk themselves out of trouble. Psychopaths exhibit arrogance and are selfish, self-centered, and self-motivated to secure their own self-interests (DeLisi, 2009). Psychopaths, like life-course persistent offenders, start offending at a young age as persistent and versatile
What is a psychopath? What type of person can be characterized by this and how do they come to be? But first before we can answer these questions we must first know what a psychopath is. Psychopaths are people suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviors; clinically it is a person who has a lack of what we would consider a conscience. Psychopaths are seen to suffer from a lack of empathy because of psychological, genetic and environmental factors. Scientists have many theories concerning psychopaths. Scientist do not have a definite clear cut answer on what is the cause for psychopathy but they have many ideas; nature and the nurture of the person. Nature is the genes that the person carries. The nurture of the person when they were a child is 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.
Depictions of psychopaths today have become exaggerated based off of what you see in movies and films. The psychopaths in movies are believed to be dangerous or have an anti-social personality disorder. Not all psychopaths can be defined in that manner. Psychopaths are identified as people who are emotionally unstable. They are ultimately suffering from a chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior. There have been studies ultimately wondering if a psychopath is born, or is it raised? Genetics and environment combine to produce conditions that create psychopathology. By paying attention to environmental variables we can potentially reduce the amount of people who become dangerous psychopaths.
Hare, Robert. D. (1993). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. Guilford Press.
A psychopath is someone who is unable to live harmoniously in society due to their profound lack of compassion, empathy, conscience, and remorse (Hare, 1993). Many psychopathic symptoms have been proposed to result from cognitive and emotional processing impairments. The concept of a psychopath is often of a ruthless and dangerous criminal, an image commonly depicted in the media and film. Though psychopaths do make up an estimated 40% of dangerous offenders in Canada, it is the non-violent manipulators and cheaters, like white-collar criminals and unethical business people, who can have the most impact on the general population (Bonta & Motiuk; 1996, Hare, 1993). Therefore, understanding the cognitive bases and development of psychopathy can allow exploration into possible interventions and treatments, as well as identifying measures for use in diagnosing psychopathy in childhood and adolescence. Additionally, the deciphering of abnormal processes can give insight into normal functioning, thus helping to expand current knowledge. This paper reviews conclusions that processing of
“Without Conscience" by Robert D. Hare is one aimed towards making the general public aware of the many psychopaths that inhabit the world we live in. Throughout the book Hare exposes the reader to a number of short stories; all with an emphasis on a characteristic of psychopaths. Hare makes the claim that close monitoring of psychopathy are vital if we ever hope to gain a hold over Psychopathy- A disorder that affects not only the individual but also society itself. He also indicates one of the reasons for this book is order to correctly treat these individuals we have to be able to correctly identify who meets the criteria. His ultimate goal with the text is to alleviate some of the confusion in the increase in criminal activity by determining how my of this is a result of Psychopathy.
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
Contrary to the movie industry’s portrayal of psychopaths, rarely do psychopaths come out in the open and kill their victims with chainsaws or wear disturbing masks. Nor do they act menacing or evil out in public. Rather, most psychopaths attempt to blend into society. A psychopath can be defined as one who uses superficial charm and manipulation to achieve his or her goals, even if it involves committing crimes. They can act quickly and feel neither remorse for committing the crime nor empathy for their unsuspecting victim. As much as they attempt to blend in, psychopaths are unable to fully function in society because they lack some qualities of a “normal” person. In the medical field, psychopathy is not recognized as a disorder. In fact, Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines psychopathy as an “obsolete term” (Venes and Taber 1372). In an effort to define psychopathy, multiple psychiatrists attempted to describe i...