Psychopathy and Crime Essay - 821 Words

Psychopathy is a disease of the mind, in which the psychological state of someone has emotional or behavioral problems serious enough to require psychiatric evaluation. Psychopaths have no concern for the feelings of others and a complete disregard of any sense of social obligation. Psychopaths are characterized by lack of empathy, poor impulse control and manipulative behaviors. They use charm, manipulation, intimidation, and the use of severe to mild violence to satisfy their own needs. Psychopathy is derived from two Greek words: psych, meaning soul, and pathos, meaning suffering. They were once used to explain any form of mental illness. Psychopathy was recognized in the early 1800s at which time Pinel explained the condition†¦show more content†¦Psychopaths can seem just like you or me, but when you are not around them this is when their mental disorder kicks in. Psychopaths that have been put in jail committed three times as many crimes per year then non-psychopaths. 97% of convicted psychopathic criminals cause at least one violent crime compared to 74% of non-psychopaths. Psychopaths are shown to be more violence throughout their entire life compared to a regular people. Psychopaths tend to have a greater chance of failing on parole and mandatory supervision and have a faster rate of failing then non-psychopaths. Psychopathy predicts recidivism on conditional release as well as or better than do actuarial risk instruments. Psychopaths recidiva te at a rate of three to four times higher than that of non-psychopaths. Doctors use a simple test to predict psychopathy called a Psychopathy Checklist-Revised or known as the PCL-R test. This is a checklist that has twenty items on it that included: glibness or superficial charm, grandiose sense of self-worth, need for stimulation/proneness to boredom, pathological lying, conning or manipulative, lack of remorse or guilt, shallow affect, callous and lack of empathy, parasitic lifestyle, poor behavioral controls, promiscuous sexual behavior, early behavioral problems, lack of realistic, long-term goals, impulsivity, irresponsibility, failure to acceptShow MoreRelatedPsychopathy And Social Learning Theory And The Copycat Effect1224 Words   |  5 PagesChapters 4 of Adler, Mueller, and Laufer. The topics that will be discussed in this essay are psychopathy and â€Å"social learning theory and the copycat effect. These two topics have me intrigued to learn more about. In Adler, Mueller, and Laufer it left me questioning why these people commit such cri mes and what motives or patterns might be linked to copy others. I also found interesting how â€Å"psychopathy is viewed as a serious illness even though patients may not appear to be ill† (Adler, MuellerRead MorePsychopathy, Sociopathy And Anti Social Personality Disorder913 Words   |  4 PagesAre Psychopathy, Sociopathy and Anti-Social Personality Disorder the same? Psychopathy, sociopathy, and anti-social personality disorder, also known as ASPD, are three very similar disorders; so much so that it is a common question if they are the same disorder or not. All three of them are defined as people who have anti-social behaviours. All of these disorders are very common in people who disregard both the law and social norms, have no shame or guilt, and are occasionally violent; such asRead MoreEssay on Genetics Are the Main Cause of Psychopathy1146 Words   |  5 Pagesdata prove genetics are the main cause of psychopathy. Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a constellation of interpersonal, affective and behavioral characteristics. (Harc, 1998) There are many personality traits that accompany those who are considered to be a psychopath. High levels of aggression or delinquency, and antisocial behaviors are all seen in youth with personalities correlating to those of psychopaths. Child psychopathy has not been emphasized as much within theRead MoreThe Role Of Antisocial And Borderline Personality Disorder928 Words   |  4 Pages2013,191). Another common co morbidly with ANTI SOICAL PERSONLITY DISORDER is psychopathy which is another mental illness though similar to ANTI SOICAL PERSONLITY DISORDER but is more severe. Another article that talks about ANTI SOICAL PERSONLITY DISORDER and psychopathy comorbidity is Criminal behavior and cognitive processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder with and without comorbid psychopathy by Riser. The article even thought th e two syndromes are correlated with one anotherRead MoreCharacteristics Of A Cure For Psychopathy952 Words   |  4 PagesPsychopathy is a collection of personality traits, which include callousness, low anxiety, remorselessness, failure to form emotional bonds, and externalization of blame. Although the condition effects ones personality, experts have stated that it has not been coded using the taxonomic system DSM-IV-TR. Furthermore, they have considered that psychopaths are influenced by social factors, environmental, biological and psychological factors. These factors influence social forces and biological predispositionsRead MoreCommon Traits And Characteristics Of Psychopaths917 Words   |  4 Pageschildhood. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this research is to examine the common traits and characteristics of psychopaths. It will also discuss the common myths and typologies of psychopaths. The specific objectives are to: 1. Define what psychopathy means. 2. Determine common traits and characteristics of psychopaths. 3. Determine what is different about psychopaths then other killers. 4. Determine who the typical victims are of psychopaths. Limitations: This research is limited to data obtainedRead MoreThe Psychology Classroom And Psychology1631 Words   |  7 Pagesbeen made that not all children who commit malicious crimes are psychopaths, and three main points were addressed to decide whether the statement was true or not. The first point discusses the early signs of psychopathy and what behaviors children with psychopathic tendencies obtain. The second point of the paper discusses what events can take place in early childhood that could possibly influence young children to commit such violent crimes. Finally, the last key point of the paper discussesRead MoreWhat Are Antisocial Behavior? Essay1297 Words   |  6 Pagesschool disciplinary problems, delinquency, and violent crimes indicates a rise in antisocial behavior in general, explains a mental health professional. Also, studies show that 30% to 70% of childhood psychiatric admissions are a result of disruptive behavior disorders, and that the diagnoses of behavior disor ders are generally increasing. The fifth edition of DSM (DSM-5), released in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association, lists Psychopathy andSociopathyunder the title of Antisocial PersonalityRead MoreAntisocial Personality Disorder ( Dsm V )1672 Words   |  7 Pagestheir victims. This popular idea, however, could not be farther from the truth. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V (DSM-V), released in 2013, places psychopathy, along with sociopathy, in the category of ego-syntonic1 personality disorders (Jenkins, 2014). The official term, encompassing both psychopathy and sociopathy, is Antisocial Personality Disorder; this disorder is â€Å"characterized by a long-standing pattern of a disregard for other people’s rights, often crossing theRead MoreThe Role Of Psychopathy And The On Entertainment Industries And Its Effects On The Way Of An Individual Processes Information1299 Words   |  6 Pagessociopathy and psychopathy have been researched for numerous years. Scientists an d Psychologists have come to the conclusion that psychopathy and sociopathy are distinct disorders that affect the way an individual processes information. However, media contentiously uses the terms interchangeably as if they were one disease. Furthermore, Hollywood keeps portraying these disorders wrongly resulting in various misconceptions. It is time to raise awareness in society about them. Psychopathy and sociopathy