He examines famous serials killers and professional theories, as well as studies concerning them and the general characteristic traits they possess. He states that serial killers are “frequently the products of broken or severely brutal homes, where they have themselves been subjected to gross cruelty, sexual abuse, and in some cases prolonged and systematic torture, in deprived childhood: negative parenting as the jargon has it. Vulgatim: the brutal father is the father to the brutal father.” (Egan 327). Serial killers bare painful memories from their childhood, of abuse, humiliation, frustration, or being bullied, they use fantasies to escape, comfort themselves, and even develop an alternate identity that feels more powerful or provides greater ego status.…
`Psychopathic personality' was once widely used but was superseded by `sociopathic personality' to indicate the social aspects of the disorder, but now `antisocial personality disorder' is the preferred term. The term psychopath is commonly used incorrectly in the media to describe someone who has done something considered “evil.” Terrorists, mass killers and bombers often get labeled with this term before anyone has caught them, let alone had time to make an assessment of them. It’s become shorthand for people who do terrible things, and that disconnect from the reality of the situation is a problem in the way we view people and their actions. By labeling someone a psychopath, it’s easy to write them off as evil and never look at the actual factors that go into their actions.…
A lot of people want to blame the parents of the offenders, asking “what did you turn your child into?” 36% of serial killers were physically abused, 26% were sexually abused, and 50% were psychologically abused (Mitchell and Aamodt 45). Many people have logically come to the conclusion that just because someone is abused, it does not mean that they will become a serial killer; or even a murderer; which is true. In the general population (people who have never committed murder) only 6% are physically abused, 3% are sexually abused, and 2% are psychologically abused (Mitchell and Aamodt 45). The dramatic difference of abuse frequency between people who are serial killers and people who are not seems evident enough to support that serial killers are created.…
Throughout this article, M.E. Thomas writes about being a self diagnosed sociopath who has never killed anyone but had serious thoughts about it. First, the article starts with an example Thomas experienced. To start off, she scaled a closed escalator which was blocked off then got affronted by the employee who had previously closed the escalator. As a result of getting scorned by the worker, Thomas followed closely behind the worker imagining the satisfaction she would receive by getting this man alone and driving her hands into his neck with an unrelenting grasp until he was stripped of life. After the hallucination of murdering this worker, Thomas realized she had lost him in the crowd of people.…
An article describing the characteristics of psychopaths and sociopaths. The article covers many areas such as violence over confidence and shallow to none emotions. Compares the differences between psychopaths and sociopaths.…
Introduction Purpose of the Book The purpose of this book is make people aware of the sociopaths around us. Over and over again, the author mentions that one in twenty-five people are sociopaths meaning that they lack a conscience. It serves to warn the readers of the dangers of interacting with the sociopaths around us.…
Also, a sociopath may base his feelings on “the reactions of others to decide what feelings to display, because otherwise he would not know what is appropriate” (“Antisocial Personality-Part I”). In order to resolve issues dealing with emotions, sociopaths must work them out in a way unlike normal people. Normal people respond to emotional issues quickly while sociopaths address these issues in steps (Stout…
Martha Stout would describe a sociopath as someone who has no empathy for another person, has no conscience, and does not feel guilt. In other words they lack moral reasoning, “Moral reasoning is the thought process that attends conscience and helps it decide what to do” (Stout, p.171). In the model for morality and moral development, made by Lawrence Kohlberg, these individual would belong to Level 1, that’s when moral issues are approached from the perspective of self-interest Sociopaths are commonly known to be criminals or have criminal characteristics, which isn't always the case, but can also be described as ethical egoism, which states, “we should act from self-interest—that our motivation for moral behavior should be our own rationally derived interests” (Williams & Arrigo, p.103). In this reading I would argue…
Certain people whom are lacking the basic social skills necessary are excelling at life because they have found their niche. The hallmarks of the psychopathic personality involve egocentric, grandiose behavior, completely…
Understanding how human behavior is linked to ¬¬¬different disorders is essential while striving to comprehend crime and its causes. Many professionals often assume psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder are identical, and interchangeably utilize the two terms. Upon further investigation and research, both have been proven to be in fact different, and entail different elements. Psychopathy is a bundle of socially deviant behaviors and personality traits; antisocial personality disorder, on the other hand, is composed of both criminal and antisocial behavior. According to Hare’s article, Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Case of Diagnostic Confusion, most psychopaths meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, but…
As scary as it seems, society plays a vital role in the formation of a serial killer, along with occurrences of a person’s childhood. For the most part, evidence supports that serial killers are…
Personality disorders affect millions of people worldwide. Although it does not discriminate among socioeconomic parameters or race, mental disorders control how people interact with each other through all areas of life. Sociopathy, a mental disorder which curtails emotional connectivity, such as empathy, guilt, compassion, and shame to society, plagues a behavior, one cannot simply look into present actions, but a person as a whole. It is often confused by nonmedical professionals for psychopathy and other personality disorders; however, predisposition and childhood trauma have to be present to create a full-fledged sociopath which will affect the person’s choices and quality of life in adulthood.…