The Psychopath: Understanding Behavior and Treatment
The Psychopath
Understanding and Treatment
Abstract
Mental health disorders are among the most complex disorders to understand. Persons with these types of disorders are not commonly accepted into society. Psychopaths are among some of the most difficult disorders to treat. These persons most often come from a background lacking structure and continuity. Proper treatment is heavily debated.
Report
It is a popular belief that psychopaths are considered to be individuals that are as brilliantly charming as they are morally insane. However, the tendency to refer to the psychopathic behavior as “morally insane” is a misconception. Regardless of scientific discoveries, psychopathy is a disease which results in a physiological deficiency. The brain of psychopaths is believed to fail in generation of proper wave activity. Waves emitted are generally slower in individuals suffering from psychopathic behavior. This fundamental incompetence is responsible for a lower degree of arousal when these persons face a threatening situation. Their lack of anxiety and consequent careless behavior in any situation is commonly referred to as lack of conscience. These individuals lack the plethora of emotions that arise in the “normal” individual; that is, the ability to feel, to anticipate the breaking of the law, or to feel sorry when they break these laws. They are deprived of a conscience which organizes the moral notions of good and bad. In normal behavior, acts are constrained by external laws at work in society. The conscience of average individuals are able to anticipate any destructive action which could obstruct the law. Psychopaths don’t have such a capacity. They are leading a life which ignores external impediments. This fundamental unawareness is directly related to a slower activity of waves at work in the brain. This abnormality blocks the entire process of learning. The lower waves produce a decreased response of anxiety which causes the psychopaths to
Understanding and Treatment
Abstract
Mental health disorders are among the most complex disorders to understand. Persons with these types of disorders are not commonly accepted into society. Psychopaths are among some of the most difficult disorders to treat. These persons most often come from a background lacking structure and continuity. Proper treatment is heavily debated.
Report
It is a popular belief that psychopaths are considered to be individuals that are as brilliantly charming as they are morally insane. However, the tendency to refer to the psychopathic behavior as “morally insane” is a misconception. Regardless of scientific discoveries, psychopathy is a disease which results in a physiological deficiency. The brain of psychopaths is believed to fail in generation of proper wave activity. Waves emitted are generally slower in individuals suffering from psychopathic behavior. This fundamental incompetence is responsible for a lower degree of arousal when these persons face a threatening situation. Their lack of anxiety and consequent careless behavior in any situation is commonly referred to as lack of conscience. These individuals lack the plethora of emotions that arise in the “normal” individual; that is, the ability to feel, to anticipate the breaking of the law, or to feel sorry when they break these laws. They are deprived of a conscience which organizes the moral notions of good and bad. In normal behavior, acts are constrained by external laws at work in society. The conscience of average individuals are able to anticipate any destructive action which could obstruct the law. Psychopaths don’t have such a capacity. They are leading a life which ignores external impediments. This fundamental unawareness is directly related to a slower activity of waves at work in the brain. This abnormality blocks the entire process of learning. The lower waves produce a decreased response of anxiety which causes the psychopaths to
References: American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn) (DSM-IV) . Cleckley, H. (1982). The mask of sanity (mosby medical library). St.louis: Plume. Hare, R. D. (2003) The Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (2nd edn). Multi-Health Systems. P. Lawrence and N. Nohria, Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices, 2002, Jossey- Bass, San Francisco, CA. P. Lawrence, “The Biological Basis of Morality?,” Business, Science, and Ethics, E. Freeman and P. Werhane, Editors, 2004, Society for Business Ethics, Charlottesville, VA. Wong, S. C. P. & Hare, R. D. (2005) Guidelines for a Psychopathy Treatment Program. Multi- Health Systems.