Psychopathy is a personality disorder typified by a continuous antisocial conduct, impaired remorse and empathy, and bold, egotistical and disinhibited traits. Psychopathy is a constellation attribute that comprises affective characteristics, interpersonal features, and antisocial and impulsive conducts (Miller & Lynam, 2015). The interpersonal attributes include narcissism and superficial charm. The affective aspects include deep emotional attachments or affinity to other people, empathy, and the lack of guilt. The antisocial and impulsive behaviors include reckless risk-taking, being manipulative, and dishonesty. Contrary to patients with psychotic disorders, many psychopaths are usually in touch with actuality and are seemingly rational. Some laboratory studies evince a correlation amid psychopathy and atypical reactions to averse stimuli; this incorporates significantly weak conditioning or response to painful stimuli, low levels of reactivity in the autonomic nervous system, and the inability to avoid responses that inflict punishment. As stated in the response modulation hypothesis, psychopathic patients often exhibit difficulties in shifting from an ongoing activity in spite of the environmental cues which signal the need to switch from a particular activity (Netland & Minner, 2012).
Symptomology
Lack of Emotion Recognition and Empathy
An extensive body of research associates psychopathy with atypical reactions to distress cues; this includes the decreased activation of the extrastriate cortical and fusiform regions which are partly responsible for the reduced autonomic reactivity and impaired recognition of expressions of fear and empathy impairments (Patrick, 2018). The fundamental biological surfaces for generating the expression of happiness are usually functionally sound in psychopaths. However, they are usually less responsive compared to their counterparts.
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Poor Moral Judgment
Studies associate psychopathy with amorality. Amorality relates to the disregard, indifference towards, or the absence of moral beliefs (Khan et al ., 2017). An increased sense of self-worth often typifies psychopathic individuals, they lie pathologically and are manipulative, they exhibit a significantly poor control over their respective behaviors and are impulsive. Additional amorality traits depicted by psychopathic individuals include high levels of irresponsibility, promiscuous sexual conducts, and criminal versatility.
Occurrence in the General Population and Demographics
Approximately 3% of individuals in the general populace may be diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD); this condition is twice more prevalent in men than their counterparts. Approximately 2% of the populace may fit in the category of psychopathy (Megias et al ., 2018). Approximately 50% to 80% percent of the inmates meet the criteria of diagnosis for ASPD. However, only 15% of the prison inmates may be diagnosed with psychopathy. The diagnosis of ASPD is primarily based on criminal and social deviant acts. Psychopathy, on the other hand, usually takes into account the unemotional, remorseless, and callous mindset which is not necessarily an element of all convicted criminals (Megias et al ., 2018).
Treatment Options/Concerns
Psychopathy is untreatable; its distinctive attributes make it one of the most refractory personality disorders (Pletti et al ., 2017). Psychopathic individuals are usually unmotivated to find treatment for their disorder and are usually uncooperative during therapy. The efforts to treat psychopathy using the modern psychiatry tools have been unfruitful. Additionally, no pharmacological therapies are effective in the alleviation of moral interpersonal, and emotional psychopathy deficits. Psychopathic patients who undergo psychotherapy are likely to gain the proficiency to become more skillful in deceiving and manipulating others and are likely to commit a crime (Pletti et al ., 2017).
Prognosis over the Lifespan
The prognosis for Psychopathy in clinical and forensic settings is relatively poor with specific reviews indicating that the treatment is likely to worsen the psychopathic antisocial aspects as evaluated by recidivism rates. Nonetheless, some considerably rigorous quasi-experimental research using the advanced methods of treatment have identified improvements in minimizing future vicious and other criminal conducts, irrespective of the PCL-R scores (Miller & Lynam, 2015). Among these studies, none were randomized controlled experiments.
References
Khan, R., Brewer, G., Kim, S., & Centifanti, L. C. M. (2017). Students, sex, and psychopathy: Borderline and psychopathy personality traits are differently related to women and men’s use of sexual coercion, partner poaching, and promiscuity. Personality & Individual Differences , 107, 72–77.
Megías, A., Gómez-Leal, R., Gutiérrez-Cobo, M. J., Fernández-Berrocal, P., & Cabello, R. (2018). The relationship between trait psychopathy and emotional intelligence: A meta-analytic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews , 84, 198–203.
Miller, J. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2015). Psychopathy and Personality: Advances and Debates. Journal of Personality , 83(6), 585–592.
Netland, J. D., & Miner, M. H. (2012). Psychopathy traits and parental dysfunction in sexual offending and general delinquent adolescent males. Journal of Sexual Aggression , 18(1), 4–22.
Patrick, C. J. (2018 ). Handbook of psychopathy . New York: The Guilford Press.
Pletti, C., Lotto, L., Buodo, G., & Sarlo, M. (2017). It’s immoral, but I’d do it! Psychopathy traits affect decision-making in sacrificial dilemmas and in everyday moral situations. British Journal of Psychology , 108(2), 351–368.
