[Whispers]

I've been reading about psychopathy, and have discovered that it is not exactly the same disorder as Anti Social or Conduct disorder. A lot of the material I've been reading, both online and at the liebrary tend to contradict each other though. Some say that a psychopath is in fact capable of experiencing remorse or guilt, and can actualy love another person. So I am confused. What exactly defines a psychopath, or are there different levels of severity with this disorder as with any other disorder? Also, is it possible that psychopathy can be an extreme case of narcissism gone out of controll?

[Whispers]

Maybe it's not:

Dr. Robert Hare's checklist for psychopathy:

1. Glibness/superficial charm
2. Grandiose sense of self-worth
3. Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
4. Pathological lying
5. Conning/manipulative
6. Lack of remorse or guilt
7. Shallow affect
8. Callous/lack of empathy
9. Parasitic lifestyle
10. Poor behavioural controls
11. Promiscuous sexual behaviour
12. Early behaviour problems
13. Lack of realistic, long-term plans
14. Impulsivity
15. Irresponsibility
16. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
17. Many short-term relationships
18. Juvenile delinquency
19. Revocation of conditional release
20. Criminal versatility
Narcissism is also a characteristic

In my readings about Narcissism, it was evident that a narcissist is a very emotional person, but very self indulged. They can spend hours in their own catharsis, not thinking about how anyone else is affected. They are convinced that they're always the victim, and nothing is ever their fault. The world revolves around them, and the world owes them. They are the perfect martyrs. Yet they are still cabable of empathy, whereas a psychopath is not. So how can both of these personality traits be thrown together? It should also be noted that not all psychopaths have come into trouble with the law, and certainly not all are criminals. From my own readings and studying it has been noted that there are plenty of psychopaths in office and in managerial positions in institutions. So it should be clear that not all psychopaths can necessarily be impulsive either. Some can display a tremendous amount of patience, making them more thorough in their planning as well. In short, any kind of person can lack a conscience. Just my thoughts though, I'm no expert. Any other thoughts on this?

Hi Whispers,

I was just curious if it listed how many of the traits one would have to have to fit the dx?

Thanks,

Petunia

[Whispers]

Hi Petunia,

I actualy got this checklist from a book, and from Dr. Robert Hare's website, but unfortunately it didn't list the requirements for diagnosis. I am ineterested in knowing that too, and will look further for it. I'll post my findings here.

[Myzen]

Hi folks,

Interesting thread. I suspect that many psychopaths have been able to hold positions of power, as their cleverness allows them to behave 'as if' they are normal. They are able to be highly competitive, ruthless and successful in certain arenas.

It's a sad fact but a moral sense is not a prerequisite for material success in this world.

One thing though, around a psychopath people get HURT.

Cheers, M

Hmmm, I don't often use capitals on the forum, I guess I felt pretty strongly about that point.

[_embrace]

Hare's Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) is (from what I've learned in psychology class...but I'm not an expert or anything) a list of traits that the psychologist matches onto a person. The list is composed of 20 items which are rated from 0-2 (weak-strong) by the psychologist. This means that the highest possible score is 40, with 40 being a "prototypical psychopath". A score of 30 or higher on the PCL-R is the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy under the DSM-IV.

[(JD)]

Exactly? No. Psychopathy is a term used to denote a conglomeration of certain mental disorder aspects... and while most psychopaths are anti social, not all anti socials are psychopaths. It isn't a diagnosis quite like having a specific disorder (being "narcissistic" for instance) but is a term that refers to the whole area that includes certain attributes.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Psychopathy is a concept subject to much debate, but is usually defined as a constellation of affective, interpersonal, and behavioral characteristics including egocentricity; impulsivity; irresponsibility; shallow emotions; lack of empathy, guilt, or remorse; pathological lying; manipulativeness; and the persistent violation of social norms and expectations (Cleckley 1976; Hare 1993).

The crimes of psychopaths are usually stone-cold, remorseless killings for no apparent reason. They cold-bloodedly take what they want and do as they please without the slightest sense of guilt or regret. In many ways, they are natural-born intraspecies predators who satisfy their lust for power and control by charm, manipulation, intimidation, and violence. While almost all societies would regard them as criminals (the exception being frontier or warlike societies where they might become heroes, patriots, or leaders), it's important to distinguish their behavior from criminal behavior. As a common axiom goes in psychology, MOST PSYCHOPATHS ARE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITIES BUT NOT ALL ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITIES ARE PSYCHOPATHS. This is because APD is defined mainly by behaviors (Factor 2 antisocial behaviors) and doesn't tap the affective/interpersonal dimensions (Factor 1 core psychopathic features, narcissism) of psychopathy. Further, criminals and APDs tend to "age out" of crime; psychopaths do not, and are at high risk of recidivism. Psychopaths love to intellectualize in treatment with their half-baked understanding of rules. Like the Star Trek character, Spock, their reasoning cannot handle any mix of cognition and emotion. They are calculating predators who, when trapped, will attempt escape, create a nuisance and danger to staff, be a disruptive influence on other patients or inmates, and fake symptoms to get transferred, bouncing back and forth between institutions. The common features of psychopathic traits (the PCL-R items) are:

List of Common Psychopathic Traits

Glib and superficial charm; Grandiose sense of self-worth; Need for stimulation; Pathological lying; Conning and manipulativeness; Lack of remorse or guilt; Shallow affect; Callousness and lack of empathy; Parasitic lifestyle; Poor behavioral controls; Promiscuous sexual behavior; Early behavior problems; Lack of realistic, long-term goals; Impulsivity; Irresponsibility; Failure to accept responsibility for own actions; Many short-term marital relationships; Juvenile delinquency; Revocation of conditional release; Criminal versatility

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Hope that helps clarify it for you.