Psychopaths

Another interesting article about psychopaths which also backs up the belief that I have that a lot of people can be psychopathic but are not always criminals and get by in regular society unrecognized (undiagnosed) as psychopaths. This psychologist believes that it may be a learning disorder.

 

Psychologist adds scientific insight to loaded label of 'psychopath'

"For most people on the planet, the term "psychopath" evokes thoughts of violence and bloodshed - and evil of the darkest kind. But during 25 years, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has built a body of work that may help temper such deeply ingrained perceptions."

"So who are psychopaths? Broadly speaking, they are people who use manipulation, violence and intimidation to control others and satisfy selfish needs. They can be intelligent and highly charismatic, but display a chronic inability to feel guilt, remorse or anxiety about any of their actions."

"Scientists estimate that 15-25 percent of men and 7-15 percent of women in U.S. prisons display psychopathic behaviors. The condition, however, is hardly restricted to the prison system. Newman estimates that up to 1 percent of the general population could be described as psychopathic. Surprisingly, many who fall into that bracket might lead perfectly conventional lives as doctors, scientists and company CEOs."

"But Newman has a different idea entirely. He believes that psychopathy is essentially a type of learning disability or "informational processing deficit" that makes individuals oblivious to the implications of their actions when focused on tasks that promise instant reward. Being focused on a short-term goal, Newman suggests, makes psychopathic individuals incapable of detecting surrounding cues such as another person's discomfort or fear."

"People think (psychopaths) are just callous and without fear, but there is definitely something more going on," Newman says. "When emotions are their primary focus, we've seen that psychopathic individuals show a normal (emotional) response. But when focused on something else, they become insensitive to emotions entirely."

My question - is violence always present in a psychopath? I have known a few people who fit this definition but violence is not evident in their behavior. Also I believe our society cultivates psychopathic behavior in a lot of ways. I mean how focused are we on instant gratification? Also, how often are we taught to tamp down or put a lock on our emotions (especially men) in order to complete a task or get through something difficult? How much are we taught to read (or the importance of reading people) emotional cues that would clue us into what others are feeling? I think in today's society, emotions and reading emotions are forgotten or are made out to be something that is not important or even something to be feared.

Here is another article about the psychopathic brain:

http://www.physorg.com/news168610123.html

"The research investigated the brain biology of psychopaths with convictions that included attempted murder, manslaughter, multiple rape with strangulation and false imprisonment. Using a powerful imaging technique (DT-MRI) the researchers have highlighted biological differences in the brain which may underpin these types of behaviour and provide a more comprehensive understanding of criminal psychopathy.

Dr Michael Craig said: 'If replicated by larger studies the significance of these findings cannot be underestimated. The suggestion of a clear structural deficit in the brains of psychopaths has profound implications for clinicians, research scientists and the criminal justice system.' "

If there are structural differences in the brain of a psychopath compared to a non-psychopathic individual then it would be interesting to combine brain scans with the testing mentioned in the Newman study from the first article I posted. This could help psychologists get beyond using prisoners and start using the regular population in studies of psychopathy. Of course, people may be resistant to being used in a study of psychopathy but I don't think you necessarily have to share the purpose of the study with the participants and of course all testing would be confidential. Interesting, interesting....I may be able to use some of this in school.