...Psychobiography: Ted Bundy Though it could be argued that Ted Bundy’s characteristics could fall into that of other psychopath classification systems, this well-known serial killer exhibited many of the traits that Robert Hare outlined in his Psychopathy checklist. This paper will provide an overview of Bundy’s characteristics applicable to Robert Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R). Taking the two factors of the PCL-R interpersonal traits and antisocial behavior respectively this paper will unpack certain events in Ted Bundy’s life that were contributing factors to his career as a sexual serial killer. Prior to his career as a serial killer, a factor 2 trait from the PCL-R, juvenile delinquency was present in Bundy. The young Ted would sneak around at night to pleasure himself while peeping at women. He also became a shoplifter. (Rippo, 2007, p22). One of the two factors of Hare’s PCL-R demonstrates how certain interpersonal traits contribute to the explanation of the behaviour of psychopathic individuals. Two characteristics that fall under Hare’s interpersonal assets are being cunning and lack of empathy. These two traits are evident in his modus operandi, numerous escapes from police custody and trial(s). As an adolescent Bundy initially made good impressions due to of his good looks and superficial charm, however interpersonal relationships made him feel uneasy and he never felt that he fit in. Moreover, Bundy enjoyed being alone. When his stepfather...
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...Psychopaths Television and Hollywood are great at painting pictures of murderers and mean ugly people that do heinous things to innocent people that have no idea what they are in store for. Occasionally on some of the major criminal television shows like “Criminal Minds,” or “Law and Order,” they will tell a story that involves someone that is abused by a relative, neighbor, or a teacher. Even when this happens, it doesn’t paint a clear and concise picture of a criminal psychopath. Not all psychopaths are violent. In fact, many of them can function successfully in society. They are not all antisocial, but they are all very self-centered and everything that they do is to benefit them. “In short, psychopaths have a predatory quality to them, and in order to understand them, it is important to view them as classic predators” (Hare, 2009). Characteristics of Psychopaths There is no perfect way to describe a psychopath because they come in all shapes and sizes. Psychopaths can be either sex, surprisingly, almost one percent of the general male population are psychopaths. Some psychopaths are violent, and some are not. Some of them enjoy being the center of attention, and some are very antisocial and do not like being in crowds. “Psychopaths differ from each other, and their condition can vary in severity. Current research suggests a continuum of psychopath ranging from those who are highly psychopathic to persons who have the same number or fewer traits in a milder...
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...Gabriella English 12-7 27 October 2014 Independent Reading Project Jon Ronson was born on the 10th of May, 1967 in Cardiff, Wales. He is an award-winning nonfiction writer, radio presenter, and documentary filmmaker. He is the author of four bestsellers, Them: Adventures with Extremists, The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Psychopath Test, and Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries. In an interview, Ronson stated his reason why he wrote The Psychopath Test, “I wanted to write a book about madness because it has always been—I think— the elephant in the room of my other books. Do the people I write about behave the strange ways they do because madness is the engine that powers them? I felt I needed to address this question head-on. Is madness the force that makes the world go around?” The Psychopath Test: A Journey through the Madness Industry starts out with a mystery. A group of the world’s top researchers are plagued by an elaborate riddle, set in a series of curiously handmade books, and Ronson is called upon to investigate. He is of course, an established London writer, and by this time, fairly well-known for his taste in investigative journalism. Ronson is sucked into the mystery immediately, with an obsessive, infectious fervor. It’s through the riddle Ronson was introduced to, when he unwittingly stumbles into the world of psychopaths. Once solved, he finds that the world is populated by a group of people he had never truly examined—people that act without empathic reason...
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...As my professor Dr. Randy Oberhoff (Forensic Psychology 6101, 2013) said… “It's not as if there are some founding fathers of Forensic Psychology”. My choice of specialty would be in corrections oriented toward involuntary conferment of the mentally ill; this is because I have worked in this field for the last decade; Dr. Oberhoff centres his field of interest in malingering, deception, recidivism, psychopathy, and rehab for criminals. Theorists that contribute to Dr. Oberhoff area of interests are scholars such as Robert Hare (psychopathy); Rick Rogers (Malingering/deception); and Richard Rogers etc. Our evolving world, multicultrism, poverty, and the highest incarceration rate in the globe- the field forensic psychology is still considered at its early stages. (Bartol and Bartol, 2012) My two personal favourite theorists are Dr. Roger Hare, and Dr. Lorna Rhodes. There are many reasons as to why I chose these two theorists as my favorite for their efforts and contribute in to the field forensic psychology, and correctional services. It was noted by Dr. Gibbons and Dr. Katzenbach (2011)… “What happens inside jails and prisons does not stay inside jails and prisons” (Gibbons and Katzenbach, 2011, p.36). Being surrounded by negativity, fear, anxiety, rumors, hostility, and threat of physical violence have a profound effect on both the staff and offenders in a correctional facility. Dr. Gibbons and Dr. Katzenbach(2011) further state “when people lived and worked in facilities...
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...When I read this piece about the plight of a family whose child is exhibiting all the signs of a sociopath at the tender age of 9, all sorts of questions ran through my mind. Science often just uncovers the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mental illness/conditions we don’t understand very well, and it’s true in this case. Calling a nine year old a “psychopath” in my view is irrational and segregating. Using that term for a child that has not done anything along the lines of the definition is looking at that child in a negative attitude simply because he does not act and react the same way as society. American society has a reputation of categorizing people. If you do not fit into a specific category, then you are looked at as a “special needs” person, or someone that has a disability and disadvantage. I believe it all comes down to the parents. The parents of Michael, the child profiled in the article, are well-educated, caring people who exist in a living hell with him. They have two other boys who are the focus of Michael’s aggressive actions, and have tried many paths to find help for him such as psychologists, behavioral programs, and research programs. One of the major issues and frustrations is that CU kids apparently thrive in these programs at learning how to lie and feign empathy. In some children, C.U. traits manifest in obvious ways. Paul Frick, a psychologist at the University of New Orleans who has studied risk factors for psychopathy in children for two decades...
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...Dr. Clarke November 18, 2011 Sociopathy and Psychopathy When most people think of a psychopath or sociopath they think of a person who is violent and has a lack of guilt. These traits are both true. But, a psychopath has many more characteristics that people see with the naked eye. Most psychopaths are anti-social and do not relate to others as normal people do. They usually plan out their violent attacks with no emotion or sympathy to what they do. To some people they get the tags “emotionless,” “fearless,” and “unstoppable.” The reason that psychopaths do not fear anything is because they somehow lack anxiety and feel that nothing matters to them. It is also hard to say what motivates a psychopath, could it be control or dominance possibly, but most psychopaths have had no long relationships with anyone in their lives or any purpose for the things they do other than planning violence. They tend to have a grandiose demeanor and an attitude of entitlement like other people owe them something. Certain brain disorders and hormonal imbalances make a person become a psychopath. There are four different types of psychopaths. First, there are primary psychopaths. This type of person does not respond to any type of punishment, apprehension, stress, or disapproval for the things that they do. For a primary psychopath, words to not connect to them like words would for a normal person. It is also unclear to scientist if they even understand the meaning of their own words...
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...Characteristics of psychopathy include emotional, interpersonal, and behavioral characteristics such as emotional detachment, callousness, irresponsibility, impulsivity, and disregard for society’s rules and rights of others (Hare, 1996). Psychopathy was originally used to define all cases of personality disorders, but now psychopathy is seen as a more severe form of Antisocial Personality Disorder (Maddux, J., & Winstead, B., 2008). This means that psychopathy has a prevalence rate of less than three times that of Antisocial Personality in both civil and criminal populations (Hare, R., & Neumann, C., 2009). Psychopathy Checklist The first assessment instrument used to measure psychopathy was the Psychopathy Checklist developed by Robert Hare in 1980 and was revised (PCL-R) in 1991 and again in 2003 (Hare, 1993). The psychopathy checklist is the most accepted instrument in assessing psychopathy by both psychologists and the criminal justice system. The PCL-R can also be used to foresee recidivism, violence and treatment outcome with criminals and is most commonly used in forensic assessments (Hare, R., & Neumann, C., 2009). The PCL-R consists of a 20 item scale and is conducted as a semi-structured interview as well as using case information – such as looking at a prison or psychiatric file -...
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...Snakes Suits When Psychopaths Go To Work Book Review by Antoinette Foster-Shaw EDD 9100 Leadership Nova Southeastern University April 19, 2011 1 Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work (2007) is a compelling and realistic book that openly discusses corporate psychopaths. This book also helps the reader go beyond the stereotypes placed on psychopaths. The authors are two psychologist; Dr. Robert Babiak and and Dr. Robert Hare who both have performed extensive research in psychopathy. These authors have displayed how psychopaths slither not only their way into people’s personal lives but also the workforce with devious methods and strategies. The main tool of a psychopath is disarming charisma with the lack of empathy, remorse, and shame. Their mind is constantly searching for angles to start the games of deceit. They also represent confidence, strength, calmness, and always seem right for the job offered. Assessment, manipulation, abandonment, and ascension are the phases of psychopathic behavior which are concisely explained in very simple terms for easy understanding. The phases enable the reader to clearly understand each phase that is relevant in a psychopath’s process towards their main goals of accomplishment. The authors have clearly demonstrated...
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...Eng. 102 Revealing a Psychopath “If you’re in a room and at one end lies madness and at the other end lies sanity, it is human nature to veer towards the madness end” (Ronson 72). In other words what Jon Ronson is trying to say is that humans by nature are always looking for craziness. One example is a teenage boy always wondering, “What would happen if…” What would happen if I drink one of my dad’s beers instead of the Mountain Dew next to it; would he find out? Or another example when you get your first car, you want to press and investigate what each button or pedal does and you see the accelerator. The first thing that might run to your mind is what would happen if I just press this all the way down? Despite the fact that we know the consequences we still do them because humans by nature veer towards madness as said by Ronson. After reading Ronsons “The Psychopath Test” I realized that we all have some type of manic tendencies or a disorder in us, yet we are not all considered psychopaths. Once Ronson started reading the DSM he started to diagnose himself with disorders and some of these disorders also pertained to me. The disorders were arithmetic learning disorder and caffeine induced disorder. As a kid I was never the best at math so did that mean I had arithmetic learning disorder? How about when you drink coffee for the first time and you start getting the jitters, does that mean you have caffeine induced disorder? In this section of the book I believe that the procedure...
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...| Harvard University | | | Lessons from Antigone | | | | by | | | | Barry Humphries | | | | 31/01/2010 | | | | | | | | | We love our heroes. In sports, it’s Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods. Exploration? Christopher Columbus and Captain James Cook. Business? Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch are revered by millions. No matter how fast, far or rich, how ruthless, mercenary or arrogant – it seems we can’t get enough. The question is, are we creating heroes or monsters? In the play Antigone, Sophocles draws Creon as an autocratic dictator, interested only in political order and public obedience to the state. His stubbornness renders him unable to feel the injustice of his decree and ultimately rewards his blindness with personal tragedy. Could it be that Sophocles is asking us to question the qualities of unwavering focus, resolve and commitment – celebrated by many as being vital attributes of effective leadership (Avolio, 1999)? Qualities which in the case of Creon, may also be categorised as sociopathic or even psychopathic (Babiak & Hare, 2006). Sub-clinical socio/psychopathic traits such as narcissism, impulsivity, superiority, low-empathy and self-promotion are ironically also those that may assist individuals in rising to the top of the corporate or government ladder (Boddy, 2009). Paradoxically, these traits are often accompanied by the more positively held attributes of charisma, ambition and opportunism (Andrews & Furniss...
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...orbitofrontal cortex. There many types of neuroimaging but the most commonly used in psychopathic diagnosing is the fMRI or functional magnetic resonance imaging. This particular scan allows psychologists to see the activity in the brain when given a specific task. Through multiple scans and varying tasks psychologists are able to see the average brain functions that occur in a patient's brain when it is tasked. However, neuroimaging is only one portion of the diagnostic process for psychopaths. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), which was developed by Dr. Robert Hare, is used as well as many other checklists which are derivatives of this. The Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV), the P-Scan, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV), and the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD) are a few of these which were co-authored by Hare. (Hare, Psychopathy Scales) The PCL-R, as well as its derivatives, is one of the most widely used checklists for diagnostic help in psychopathy. Due to the nature of the violent psychopath, a trail of victims is often left in their wake. Both the emotional and physical trauma to these victims is unacceptable and frequently irreversible. Family members affected by psychopathic tendencies have every right to want justice to the maximum and those victims and their families deserve justice just as much as every other victim of crime; however when dealing with psychopaths, normal methods of incarceration and rehabilitation...
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