Psychopathy Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is the special thing about psychopathy as a personality disorder? Why
Its not in the DSM
Its a clear personality profile and not necessarily problematic
What is the prevalence of psychopathy?
1% of population
6% men
10-25% of male corretional facilities
Mask of sanity first appearance of psychopathy: When and by whom?
1941 - Cleckley
Describe the mask of sanity using the 3 characteristics
Positive: charming, intelligent, no irrational thought, not suicidal
Chronique Behavioural deviance: Impulsive, irresponsible, doesn’t learn from experience, sexually promiscuous, doesn’t have long-term life plans.
EMotional and interpersonal: Lack of remorse, empathy, and love. Manipulates and lies.
Describe the mask of sanity in the other way
Poverty of emotions and disregard for emotions of others
Can’t force them into anything using guilt or love.
Fearless, cold-hearted, superficial charm, average to above average IQ
What are the two causes of psychopathy for Clerckley? Research back it up
Externalizing vulnerability and callousness: impairement in brain system that controls behaviours, attaches moral value to experience. Prefrontal cortex
Trait fearlessness: mediate reaction to punishment cues. Amygdala
Who is the person who came up with the current conceptualization of psychopathy? What did he call them?
Robert Hare
Intra-species predator
Describe the intra-species predator.
outgoing, charming, verbally proficient, egocentric, shallow, impulsive, manipulative,.
What did Hare changed from the mask of sanity?
He made it measurable and diagnosable with the PCL-R
Is psychopathy related to intelligence or psychosis?`
No.
What happens to psychopaths who are criminal? When do they start, etc.
start younger, persist longer, more violent, more likely to reoffend.
What is violence and psychopathy like?
predatory, instrumental, callous, calculated, target, strangers, not reactive.
What is the relationship between psychopathy and murder?
Multiple victims, strangers, male victims, deny responsabilit, left crime scene.
What is sexual violence and psychopathy like?
rare. but when they do, its high risk, opportunist, impulsive.
Often commit sexual homicide.
Dont feel anxious about it.
Child molesters are rarely psychopathy.
How does psychopathy affect criminal cases?
Harsher sentences.
PCL-R used in death penalty and increase sentenced.
Doesnt meet the NCRMD (insanity defence).
What are the two types of violence?
Predatory and instrumental: Intentional, motivated, non-emotional, premeditated.
Affective: spontaneous, impulsive, no planning, emotional
Why are pschopaths good in business?
Creative, good communication.
What are the two ways to asses psychopathic traits in youth?
anti-social process screening device: 6-12 years olf. Observer rating scale for callous, narcissism and impulsivity
Hare psychopathy checklist youth version: 12-18, interpersonal, affective, behavioural and anti-social traits.
Why bad to label youth psycho?
Moerate stability from 13-24
negative consequence of label.
Youth who score higher on PCL-YV tend to…
begin criminal younger
engage more violence
greater risk to reoffence.
Nature
genetic predisposition: 29-59% of variance of psychopathic personality inventory
Amygdala: difficulty recognizing sad and fearful expressions.
Learning arguments
Can’t learn to avoid fear/anxiety of punishment
Response modulation deficit theory: Fail to learn to read the room to avoid punishment.
Neuro-biological evidence:
Problems with certain emotions that guide pro-social behaviours. Didnt identify emotional words faster, didn’t have blink startle to emotional image.
Amygdala dysfunction theory.
What is the role of the amygdala in the brain?
center of fear and empathetic processing.
