A large body of literature has significantly established the construct of the relationship between psychopathy and violence. It is generally inferred that psychopaths have a higher propensity for violence as evidenced by their attributes which have been critically evaluated by several researchers in different times of existence. The study of psychopathy entails numerous complex components that have been argued by various researchers based on scientific concepts, observation, and the interplay between the elements of mental and personality disorders. Additionally, the subcomponents of psychopathy syndrome which embody psychopaths’ attributes have linked it to the various types of violence committed. The gaps in this topic’s research are on the relationship between psychopathy and the attraction of psychopaths to perpetrators of violent crimes. Subsequently, another gap lies in the insufficient research on the dispositional tendencies that a child can convey at an early age that can evidence the possibilities of violent behaviors in the future.
Also, the aspect of victims of psychopaths has also been neglected thus presenting a gap. The primary focus of this paper is on further understanding the proactive violence as tied to psychopaths. The criteria for evaluating and comparing the literature will be based on the specific objectives of the authors. The elements delineated by the various authors include the relationship between psychopaths and violent offending, characteristics of psychopaths, delinquent psychopaths and violence, and the relationship between psychopaths’ structure and functions of their brain with violence.
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People are expected to understand and adhere to laws and regulations in society without which results in a compromise in society’s safety. The behaviors of psychopaths are inherently disconnected from the rest of society as posited by Sarteschi (2020). The magnitude of crimes committed by psychopaths is significantly higher than the violent crimes carried out by non-psychopath offenders. According to Sarteschi (2020), The Globe newspaper from the US argues that a psychopath is a person that is devoid of every moral notion but who can logically think, distinguish good from bad, and act based on reason with himself being the only worthy being. The author further states that psychopaths characteristically lack remorse, empathy, and even reservations about committing murders. Research also points out that despite their lack of remorse when committing murders, most of them kill for their interests to become successful (Sarteschi, 2020). Their emotional insensitivity enriches their intentions to willingness to steal, cheat or kill others without any sense of guilt.
Psychopaths lack the restraining impact of conscience thus making killing perfectly acceptable by them without any considerations on the possible consequence. Such attributes classify a psychopath as an extremely violent individual. However, not every psychopath is violent as noted by Robert Hare. Lykken (1996) also affirms the nature of a psychopath as exemplifying violence. The author uses various real-life examples to describe psychopaths who are essentially individuals with sound boy and minds, rational but who are surprisingly unaffected by their excessive violation of societal conduct. The primary psychopath has no conscience or empathetic feelings resulting from innate psychological peculiarity. However, such attributes are not tragic unless when combined with perverse desires and aggressive temperament that can result in explosive violence as evidenced by serial killer Ted Bundy who was extremely involved in sexual violence among women. The two authors provide a clear picture of the complex nature of psychopaths in relation to their innate attributes that make them extremely explosive with no restraining conscience. It thus evidences the connection of psychopaths and their involvement in extreme violence. The most recent public portrayal of a psychopath is Nikko Jenkins who was labeled as a dangerous psychopath by the Dallas County prison system psychiatrist, Eugene Oliveto (Beck, 2014). Nikko Jenkins was competent to stand trial based on the psychiatric findings that deemed him mentally stable. Jenkins had been accused of killing four people thus placing him as a dangerous individual as aligned with the consistent literature from various authors that define a psychopath.
Subsequently, psychopaths exhibit proactive criminal thinking which entails the proper planned use and calculation of techniques designed to compel their criminal activities inclusive of violence. According to Walters & DeLisi (2015), the existing debate among researchers on the validity of the PCL-R can be in its limitation in conveying an in-depth understanding of behavioral deviance elements that aid to predict offending behavior. However, reactive and proactive criminal thinking can be applied as potential mediators of the relationship between psychopaths and violence. The planning that is attributed to proactive criminal thinking strongly correlates with the manipulative, callous, unapologetic, and unemotional features of a psychopath. Such features are described as Factor 1 which entails core personality disorders (Walters & DeLisi, 2015). As such, psychopathy-violence relationships connect to violence through proactive criminal thinking. The extensive contribution of psychopaths’ personality to violence indicates the intense possibility with which they can commit extremely violent crimes. In contrast, reactive criminal thinking is associated with Factor 2 on the PCL-R which signifies behavioral deviance.
While proactive criminal thinking is defined as the calculated use of techniques before committing a crime, reactive criminal thinking is a thought process influenced by environmental challenges such as boredom or an inadvertent bump in a crowded marketplace. The results of Walter & DeLisi (2015) further highlighted the relationship between violent offending and Factor 1 features of personality which are aligned with a psychopath as consistent even in the presence of other mediating factors such as background and demographic variations between participants of the study. The results indicate a natural connection of psychopaths and violence as ascribing to their personalities and whose characters are not influenced by external elements but are rather innate. The characterization of psychopathy with violence is also delineated by Verona & Patrick (2015). The authors indicate the association of proactive violence resulting from psychopaths and whose affective-interpersonal features include social relations and emotional processing disturbances. The relation of the two factors of the PCL-R with violent behavior is further analyzed using the externalizing spectrum model. From the model, it is evident that the unemotional and callous tendencies associated with Factor 1 on the PCL-R are aligned with predatory and proactive violence. Verona & Patrick (2015) also posit an overlap of Factor 1(core personalities) and Factor 2 (behavioral deviance) in a psychopath. It is therefore imperative to note the extensiveness of the existing relation between psychopaths and their proneness to violence. The proactive criminal thinking displayed in psychopaths makes it possible for their proneness to engaging in violent crimes as it is significantly influenced by their personalities while amplified by reactive criminal thinking.
There exists a correlation between delinquency and psychopathy. According to Hulbert (1939), delinquents are not always associated with psychopathy in most cases as they always engage in criminal activities to make a living. A delinquent psychopath exhibits anti-social conduct in other areas of life. Delinquent psychopaths are often recidivists and whose constant experiences in the world of crime intensifies their abilities to inflict more extreme harm to others either through cheating, swindling, or even killing. In comparison to a regular delinquent thief, a delinquent psychopath is more recidivist. According to Sarteschi (2020), the consequences resulting from psychopaths’ extreme crimes and violence are impossible to restrain a psychopath from committing them thus further highlighting the extreme nature of such individuals. In consideration of such personality, it is clear to discern the reason for delinquent psychopaths’ frequency in repeating their crimes. The element of a delinquent psychopath as posited by Hulbert (1939) is their ease with which others can constantly influence their decisions. Such easy manipulation makes a psychopathic delinquent a dangerous individual with the ability to commit gruesome crimes. It is also evidenced that delinquent psychopaths never improve by either incarceration, parole, or probation.
Nikko Jenkin’s case further paints a clearer picture of the inability of public correctional facilities in restricting his violent actions as conveyed in his killing of four people within ten days after his release from prison (Beck, 2014). Subsequently, Walsh, Beyer & Petee (1987) researched delinquent psychopathy in their attempt to discern the level of dangerousness ascribing from delinquent psychopaths. The authors involved the aspect of intellectual functioning in their study to identify its impact on the level of violence between the psychopath and non-psychopath delinquents. From the variance results tabled by Walsh, Beyer & Petee (1987), there was no significant difference in the level of violent crimes between non-psychopaths and psychopaths based on their intellectual functioning. However, combining the two then further conducting a comparison on their mean violence summation with the mean of psychopaths considered as low functioning conveyed a significant difference. The low-functioning delinquent psychopaths must be regarded as a dangerous individual based on their ability to commit extreme and violent crimes. According to Walsh, Beyer & Petee (1987), their findings were aligned with Heilbrun’s findings that low intellectual functioning intensified the level of violence committed by delinquent psychopaths. As evidenced by the authors, delinquent psychopaths display a significant difference in their level of violence which further highlights the identifiable correlation between psychopaths and extreme violence.
There are several arguments on the variations in the cognitive functioning of the brain of psychopaths and non-psychopaths. According to Sarteschi (2020), various professionals argue using neurobiology that psychopaths view their violent behaviors as normal because of their abnormal functions and structures of their brain. Despite the disapproval of that claim by several other researchers, there is evidence that antisocial individuals have different cognitive control systems (Verona & Patrick, 2015). As evidenced by Verona & Patrick (2015), brain imaging studies have indicated impaired neural systems responsible for cognitive functions specifically in the temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex. Although there exists no comprehensive research in the structural anatomic differences of brains of psychopaths and non-psychopaths, it is somewhat safe to state that the callous, violent, and unemotional nature of psychopaths results from their cognitive differences which impede their ability to act according to societal expectations. Additionally, Sarcteschi (2020) stated the universal acceptance by psychologists that psychopaths are individuals with a total lack of conscience. Humans are sane beings with our primary distinction from animals being sanity and conscience. However, the absence of conscience in psychopaths further raises questions on the structural and functional variations between the brain of psychopaths and non-psychopaths.
Conclusion
The past research conducted by various researchers has compelled a more solid understanding of the relationship between psychopathy and violence. The linking of psychopaths with proactive violence streaming from their personalities have provided an integral basis in developing this paper. Robert Hare’s PCL-R framework and the externalizing spectrum model have also significantly contributed to the understanding of violence based on core personalities and behavioral deviance. Subsequently, the past review of the behavioral differences between delinquent and non-delinquent psychopaths have further amplified the elements of this paper in understanding the relationship between psychopaths and violence. However, despite insufficient research on the differences in the structure and function of psychopaths’ and non-psychopaths’ brains, there exists an underlying possibility of their variations. The body of literature used in this paper conveyed similar theories with several inconsistencies specifically when using a newer prediction model which can inappropriately discount the efficacy of existing models such as the PCL-R. The field of medicine can further amplify the understanding of the relationship between psychopaths and violence by performing more structural anatomic experiments on the brain and also providing insights into the effects of hormones on psychopathy.
References
Beck, M. (2014). Psychiatrist says Jenkins is 'psychopath' . Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 17 March 2021, from https://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/psychiatrist-says-jenkins-is-psychopath/article_1a4c1da5-8a0d-5c5c-aa2d-7537be1729c9.html#:~:text=OMAHA%20%2D%2D%20A%20judge%20said,testified%20at%20a%20Wednesday%20hearing.
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Walsh, A., Beyer, J. A., & Petee, T. A. (1987). Violent delinquency: An examination of psychopathic typologies. The Journal of genetic psychology , 148 (3), 385-392.
Walters, G. D., & DeLisi, M. (2015). Psychopathy and violence: Does antisocial cognition mediate the relationship between the PCL: YV factor scores and violent offending? Law and Human Behavior , 39 (4), 350.
