Research Proposal
Introduction
Operational Definitions
In short, psychopathy is an emotional disorder, which, if it develops into its full form, puts the individual at risk of repeated displays of extreme antisocial behavior. This antisocial behavior can involve reactive aggression but it is important to note that psychopathy is unique in that it is a disorder that is also associated with elevated levels of instrumental aggression. Psychopathy is a disorder in urgent need of understanding. Without understanding, we will remain unable to efficiently treat it.
Psychopathy
Although there is an operational definition of psychopathy for this essay, there is no scholarly consensus on who exactly is a psychopath. 20% of the prison population in the US comprises of psychopaths who are responsible for 50% of violent crimes. However, if one is a psychopath it does not necessarily mean that they are criminals. Statistics show that one in 200 people in the US is a psychopath. According to Hare, there are three types of psychopaths namely, the primary, secondary and dysocial psychopaths. This classification is almost based on the causes of criminal behaviour. Primary psychopaths, who are in fact ‘real psychopaths’ according to Bartol and Bartol ( ), are those that are biologically born psychopaths. These primary psychopaths are rare and they constitute quite a small fraction of criminals and they are usually non-violent. Secondary psychopaths……….. Dysocial psychopaths……..
The crucial aspect of psychopathy is not the display of antisocial behavior.
Instead, it is the emotional impairmentThe advantage of the concept of psychopathy is that it identifies a population who share a common etiology, a dysfunction in specific forms of emotional processing. Psychopathy is a disorder that consists of multiple components ranging on the emotional, interpersonal, and behavioral spectrum. Factor analysis is a means of examining how the items of a given construct hang together. For example,
Operational Definitions
In short, psychopathy is an emotional disorder, which, if it develops into its full form, puts the individual at risk of repeated displays of extreme antisocial behavior. This antisocial behavior can involve reactive aggression but it is important to note that psychopathy is unique in that it is a disorder that is also associated with elevated levels of instrumental aggression. Psychopathy is a disorder in urgent need of understanding. Without understanding, we will remain unable to efficiently treat it.
Psychopathy
Although there is an operational definition of psychopathy for this essay, there is no scholarly consensus on who exactly is a psychopath. 20% of the prison population in the US comprises of psychopaths who are responsible for 50% of violent crimes. However, if one is a psychopath it does not necessarily mean that they are criminals. Statistics show that one in 200 people in the US is a psychopath. According to Hare, there are three types of psychopaths namely, the primary, secondary and dysocial psychopaths. This classification is almost based on the causes of criminal behaviour. Primary psychopaths, who are in fact ‘real psychopaths’ according to Bartol and Bartol ( ), are those that are biologically born psychopaths. These primary psychopaths are rare and they constitute quite a small fraction of criminals and they are usually non-violent. Secondary psychopaths……….. Dysocial psychopaths……..
The crucial aspect of psychopathy is not the display of antisocial behavior.
Instead, it is the emotional impairmentThe advantage of the concept of psychopathy is that it identifies a population who share a common etiology, a dysfunction in specific forms of emotional processing. Psychopathy is a disorder that consists of multiple components ranging on the emotional, interpersonal, and behavioral spectrum. Factor analysis is a means of examining how the items of a given construct hang together. For example,