What is a psychopath? Flashcards
Hare’s checklist (a selection)
- Glib and superficial charm
- Grandiose self worth
- Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
- Pathological lying
- Conning and manipulativeness
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow affect
- Callous/lack of empathy
- Parasitic lifestyle
- Lack of realistic long term goals
- Impulsivity
- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
- Criminal versatility
Hare’s PCL-R: 2 factors (1991)
Factor 1: selfish, callous, and remorseless use of others. The so-called core traits.
Factor 2: chronically unstable, antisocial and deviant lifestyle. Correlated with ASPD, reactive anger
History of psychopathy
Cleckley’s ‘mask of sanity’, the cornerstone of modern knowledge. Define the psychopath, suggest the individualistic, winner-take-all aspect of American culture nurtures psychopathy.
Lykken’s low fear hypothesis
Hare created the PCL-R method of diagnosing psychopaths
Popular knowledge and stereotypes
We think of psychopaths as predators (as they might themselves), as people without the capacity for emotion, and often connect the image of a psychopath with the terrible, shocking murders we have heard about in the media.
The term ‘psychopath’ is thrown around by people who have little understanding of the diagnosis, but to describe someone immoral, mean or unusual to the point of worry.
Fascination: psychology of dexter, Ronson
Grubin (1994) sexual murder
Brittain (1970) describes the characteristics of a sadistic murderer, This article describes men who killed during a sexual attack, and offenders who had never killed. Isolation was the most robust characteristic of the murderers, many lived alone with little social contact, few intimate relationships, emotionally limited if any.
Suggests as a possible indicator of underlying affective abnormalities - empathy, or as leading to increased dependence on a fantasy life which could weaken violence inhibiting restraints
