Psychopaths
Psychopathy is the topic that interested me the most throughout this course. To think that these individuals can be just about anyone and that in most cases you can’t tell outwardly if they are or not. In many cases these individuals are a lot smarter than the average person and have the capability to hide their actions and seem like any everyday individual.
The cause of psychopathy is something that we can’t put a definitive answer to. Some causes that are argued by professionals include genetics and early life factors (Tracy). For many individuals you can see the signs that any individual has psychopathic tendencies before they turn 16. The symptoms of psychopathy tend to be thought of as stable throughout the lifetime of the individual (Tracy). The genetics of an individual seems to have an impact on the development of a psychopath. Those with psychopathic parents are more likely to become psychopaths themselves.
To many we think of psychopaths as the type of individuals that we see in movies where they act like everyone else but may display odd behavior in the privacy of their own home or may lurk in the shadows watching someone waiting to make their move. Psychopaths are quite different from what we see in film. An interesting fact I learned through this class is that there are three categories of psychopaths. The categories of psychopaths are as follows; primary, secondary and dissocial (Bartol & Bartol, 2017, p. 179). A primary psychopath has identifiable psychological, emotional, cognitive, and biological differences that will distinguish them from the general and criminal populations. A secondary psychopath is a psychopath that commits antisocial or violent acts because of severe emotional problems or inner conflicts. In some cases, these individuals are called symptomatic psychopaths. The last type of psychopath is the most interesting to me. These individuals are dissocial psychopaths. These individuals display aggressive, antisocial behavior that they have learned from their subculture, such as their gangs, terrorist groups, or families (Bartol & Bartol, 2017, p. 179).
The dyssocial psychopath is the most interesting to me because they show that genetics and environmental factors can lead to psychopathic behavior. It just proves that nature has more of an impact than nurture. I think that for an individual to display psychopathic characteristics that it really depends on their environment and less on whether they are loved and cared for from the beginning. I think that if an individual is neglected or abused it can contribute to their criminal behavior but if they are in a safe caring environment that it can influence the individual positively.
My thinking personally has changed since taking this course when it comes to a psychopath. For most we think that anyone that commits a heinous act is a psychopath but, that’s not the case. I think that we need to study more those individuals that we determine to be a psychopath to determine what causes their behavior to see if we can do anything to turn their behavior around or keep a young person from joining in psychopathic behavior.
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2017). Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Tracy, N. (n.d.). Psychopathy: Definition, Symptoms, Signs and Causes – Psychopath – Personality Disorders. Retrieved December 10, 2017, from https://www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/psychopath/psychopathy-definition-symptoms-signs-and-causes/