Just think, one could be living next door to you right now. Or with you!
Psychopaths lack a conscience and are incapable of experiencing empathy, guilt, or loyalty. Descriptions of psychopaths callously manipulating, intimidating, or harming others go back hundreds of years.
Psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley wrote The Mask of Sanity (1941, Mosby), a classic textbook on psychopathy. Cleckley portrayed psychopaths as superficially charming, intelligent people who don’t feel deep emotions and lie about almost everything because they neither understand nor care about others.
[…]
Antisocial personality disorder, an official psychiatric ailment, is a diagnosis applied to people who commit a broad range of aggressive and criminal acts. Some qualify as psychopaths, but many don’t.Although psychiatrists don’t currently label psychopathy as a formal personality disorder, a wave of new research has yielded insights into how psychopaths think and suggested biological and temperamental roots of this condition.
Among psychopaths who kill, a thrill-seeking temperament and sadistic interests form a toxic brew, Porter says. Famous sexual murderers such as Ted Bundy and Albert DeSalvo, who was known as the Boston Strangler, targeted a wide array of victims to fend off boredom, he says.
Psychopaths plan murders with special care because the stakes are so high, Porter argues. Even their impulsive, nonhomicidal offenses, such as robberies and assaults, reflect not an inability to control behavior so much as a lack of interest in controlling it, he suggests.
Psychologist Paul J. Frick of the University of New Orleans recalls a boy who was recently referred to the mental health clinic where Frick works. The 10-year-old had trapped a cat and killed it by slowly slicing it with a knife. The youngster calmly explained to Frick that he wanted to see how much he could cut the animal before it died.
“He wasn’t upset by the incident at all,” Frick says. “He was a bit annoyed about being brought to me, though.”
I have a nephew who is definitely a sociopath. He’s very bright, verbal, attractive, etc. And has zero empathy, compassion, contrition, impulse control, etc. He enjoys hurting other people. Thinks it’s a game. The kid’s a future Ted Bundy for sure.
I dug around a little bit, talked to some experts. My nephew is now 8 years old. Apparently this kind thing can be treated while the kid is very young. Stuff like teaching empathy and developing relationships (attachments). But now it’s too late.
I suspect my nephew has some fetal alcohol syndrome symptoms. My sister won’t admit to anything. But I think she was drinking before she knew she was pregnant. (It was an unexpected, unplanned, and very unwelcome pregnancy.)
This fetal alcohol syndrome and similar stuff is serious business. These kids are born mis-wired. And if it’s not caught early, there’s really nothing that can be done to mitigate the damage.
#1, While FAS may cause some anti-social behavior, I think a more likely cause would be found later in your post.
(It was an unexpected, unplanned, and very unwelcome pregnancy.)
If the child isn’t shown any affection, it becomes very difficult to develop any. Negativity shown by the parent(s) will also imprint a young child.
However, I am neither a psychologist nor have ever met your nephew. I wish you the best with him.
FAS came first to my mind, too.
Makes you wonder what link these scientist have made between their studied sociopaths and alcohol effect. Roughly 50% of the prison population is estimated to have FAS or some form of fetal alcohol effect. Lots of FAS folks do better in prison, where there is more structure.
My 6 year old’s become attached to a kid down the street who I’m sure is FAS – all the facial symptoms, and zero impulse control. Scares the liver outta me… you want to be compassionate, and hope the kid responds, but “rocket” is right – there’s not much hope.
Sometimes I wonder if you bloggers are smoking crack… “FAS folk do better in prison, there is more structure!?” Are you the product of 2 drunks and trisomy-21!? MORE STRUCTURE!! Is that how you view prison!? As a structured environment that nurtures FAS patients and allows them to thrive!? Last time I checked it was an inhumane and hopeless place that denied people their one fundamental necessity and right… the thing that nobody is supposed to be able to take away…freedom. I’m also worried for your six year old because his or her mother is a freakin’ ignorant idiot. That kid down the street isn’t half as dangerous to your child as your ridiculous suspicions and preconceived notions of things you obviously know nothing about. I’ll bet you are the overprotective type that thinks your child is an angel and can do no wrong, arent you? Its parents like you – that are always looking to blame your child’s actions on “that bad influence down the street” – that are too blind to see when your own child is having a problem, and secretly harbor monsters. And also, what do you know about fetal alcohol syndrome?… Are you a doctor?? Well I am, and I can tell you, there are a million conditions that present with the same facial abnormalities as fetal alcohol syndrome, and a lack of impulse control is prevalent in all children… even yours when you aren’t around. You should be ashamed to be a mother.
and the ones who don’t murder just go into business or politics. I would classify most of our world leaders as psychopaths.
34…..Your a Doctor huh? I venture to say that you must be a Jekel and Hyde personality then, taking your repressed aggressions out on people in a blog instead of your patients……otherwise I can’t imagine you have a long list of patients. Obviously YOU need to get some empathy, compassion and impulse control.
You might want to brush up on your reading skills as well, especially under the **comprehension** title. I hardly think anyone was saying that those with FAS should be in prison, only that it was shown that prisoners WITH FAS did better in prison because of the structure.
You should be able to grasp that idea……since with Doctors who have your interpersonal skills are far better off in Research, where they can channel their aggression towards the mice, Monkeys and little puppies.
#1 – Nuthin a little electro-shock therapy cant cure – or in today’s modern medicine/refined era – a handful sri’s & prozak & brain drugs
also – hook the kid up w/ a 360 and a copy of gears of war, then he’ll be in his element