Written by Leo Ghorishi
Introduction on Psychopathy
“Psychopathy is an enduring biopsychosocial disorder in which violence and antisocial behaviours require long-term management in order for changes to occur and for relapse to be prevented”. (Wang and Hare, 2014)
With the study of Psychopathy we tend to analyse and research the biological and innate behaviors of an individual rather than the social interactions they have and the societal environment they grew up in. The term ‘psychopath’ suggests a biological link with personality whereas, ‘sociopath’ puts emphasis upon the environment.
It is a form of personality disorder affected by emotional, interpersonal, and behavioral factors. Characterised with traits such as ‘manipulation; impulsivity, irresponsibility, superficial emotions, pathological lying, lack of empathy, and repeated violations of social norms and expectations’ (Cleckley, 1976, Hare, 1970). Some researchers link psychopathy with above-average intelligence.
The Mask of Sanity was a research study conducted by Cleckley’s, in 1957. Cleckley goes on to theorise that psychopathy is linked to above-average intelligence, absence of psychotic symptoms, absence of anxiety, lack of guilt, failure to learn from experience, egocentricity, and lack of emotional depth. These are are all essential criteria subjects to magnify.
The Triarchic Model
The Triarchic Model was created in response to a long-running discussion about psychopathy. The extent and limitations of the “construct” of psychopathy, as well as questions about whether psychopathy is dimensional or typological, and the features of psychopathy, such as variation among persons scoring highly on psychopathy measures, were all discussed.
According to the Triarchic Model (Patrick, Fowles and Krueger, 2009), it encompasses three distinct yet interrelated phenotypic dispositions. These involve; Disinhibition: a tendency to act impulsively in general, Boldness: defined as a combination of social dominance, emotional resilience, and a willingness to take risks, and Meanness, also
known as “disaffiliated agency,” is aggressive resource-seeking with little regard for others. Mixed with a biological basis (eg. impulsivity, executive control (precortex)- conduct disorder in children).
The link between Psychopathy and Crime
Psychopathy is a disorder of high public concern because it predicts violence and offence recidivism. Despite the fact that psychopaths form a small percentage of the population, there is a clear link between psychopathy and criminal activity.
‘Treatment’
Traditional means of treatment, intervention, and management, which focus on factors such as growing self-esteem, empathy, and conscience, are not as effective with psychopaths. This is due to the fact that psychopaths do not show signs of emotional discomfort and do not distinguish between right and wrong. Moreover, they will “engage” in treatment when it is convenient for them.
Treatment that focuses on the affective/emotional part of moral reasoning is unlikely to be beneficial. This is due to offending behavior is more likely to be influenced by contextual factors than by the moral reasoning principles that normally regulate behavior. As a result, moral reasoning-based psychopath therapy may not be helpful.
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