...who craves excitement, feels little guilt, and is unable to form meaningful emotional attachments to others” (McCord & McCord, 1964). Psychopaths often describe themselves as dealing with “intense feelings of boredom” that they crave to satiate (Copley, 2008). http://criminology.wikia.com/wiki/Psychopathic_Personality_Theory According to The Psychology of a Psychopath, psychopathic researchers have found that psychopaths often have common traits including, a lack of empathy, guilt, conscience or remorse, shallow experiences of feeling or emotions, impulsivity and a weak ability to defer gratification and difficulty...
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...Are Psychopaths Violent? Topics as intriguing as the one our group has deserve to have more attention and that is how we tackled the topic. First of all, what is psychopathy was a point we needed to clarify. Psychopathy is a collection of affective, interpersonal and behavioral characteristics including, impulsivity, lack of remorse and empathy, superficial, doesn’t accept responsibility, poor behavioral controls, lack of goals, grandiose, deceitful and adolescent and adults anti-social behavior (Hare, 2000) These characteristics do not relate to criminal behavior but some of characteristics do make the people more willing to commit crime these features are also seen as related to Anti-social personality disorder. The criteria in the diagnosis...
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...THE EXECUTION OF PSYCHOPATHS Is the Performance Unconstitutional? Mental illness and capital punishment make an extremely controversial mix. However, what happens when the subject of psychopaths get introduced to this popular mix? The main focus of this paper is to shed some light on the argument of whether or not it is unconstitutional to execute psychopaths. This paper will introduce definitions, history, and current theories being introduced by both sides of the argument. Brief History of the Death Penalty on the Mentally Ill The death penalty is one of the most talked about punishments in the United States today. However, there are common misconceptions as to where did the death penalty originate in the United States. Early America actually...
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...11:14 am Harris and Klebold enter their high school, Columbine, and leave two bags against pillars both containing propane bombs (CNN.com, Sheriff Jefferson County CO, n.d.). Between 11:13 and 11:23 the first shots are heard and the two boys enter the high school. The killing wouldn’t end until approximately 12:08 when both boys would end their own live. To better understand what happened at Columbine and why two seemingly “normal” teenage boys, weeks away from graduating from high school, would want to kill everyone at their high school we need to know what was going on in these boys lives This paper will look at a theory on one of the boys, Eric Harris. A theory considered by Agent Fueslier while analyzing the killers was that Eric Harris was a full-blown psychopath. The had shown almost all the traits of psychopath expect for starting with killing animals. The traits for a psychopath, from Dr. Hare’s PCL-R score are: glib, narcissism, pathological lying, manipulative, lack of empathy, lack of remorse, poor behavioral...
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...been many serial killers. There are many throughout the country and even many that have killed in West Virginia. Many psychologists have tried to study serial killers and answer why serial killers kill and also if serial killers suffer from some type of psychological disorder. Doing my research I find that this is a task that is very hard to do. It is difficult to determine possibly because many serial killers turn out to be the people who you would least likely suspect. In this paper I will take a look as to whether serial killers may suffer from psychopathy. I will also attempt to focus on one particular serial killer – Dennis Rader – BTK. Psychology Of A Killer Many psychologists believe that psychological disorders are the only reason for the killings while other psychologists believe that the reason is the environment that they are raised in and/or are currently in. Seeking help when a person is young, if sadistic or animal cruelty behavior is caught early by their caregiver, can reduce the factors of becoming a serial killer. There also may be factors with nature and nurture and how that may have affected them in the creation of a future serial killer. According to my research, the most successful serial killers are people who blend into society who possibly could be a neighbor or a trusted friend. The psychology of a kill and the method of the kill may be a factor also. Psychopathy is not only about the bad things that people do, but have their own set of personality...
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...among Genders: The Sociopath and Psychopath by Evelyn J. Dotson MS, University of Phoenix, 2015 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Psychology University of Phoenix March, 2015 Abstract Psychopathic and sociopathic general characteristic traits are found in both genders in various populations. More research on the general characteristic traits of females is needed. Research for the female populations will give professionals information about the differences displayed between genders. Different applied sciences will also further their knowledge in treatment options for either tendency. The study used explored if any differences existed between genders with intensified levels of psychopathic traits in regard to psychopathy factor scores. The sample consisted of 2,500 people of both genders (52.6% women) (M=22.15; SD=1.38) from the generalized population, aged 20-24. Results displayed women with psychopathic personality traits had significantly higher levels of behavioral tendencies than men of the same. The genders did display a difference in aggressive behavior. The men showed a significant amount of aggressive behaviors compared to the women. The gender differences displayed in the seven psychopathic features show the variations needed for treatment options. Differences and Similarities in Generalized Characteristic Traits among Genders: The Sociopath and Psychopath by Evelyn J. Dotson MS, University...
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...James Raley PSY 101 Research Paper Psychopaths (Antisocial personality disorder) Psychopathy was one of the first personality disorders to be recognized by psychiatry. Today this disorder is known as antisocial personality disorder. Those diagnosed with the disorder often share a multitude of similar yet non-universal characteristics. These characteristics may include: superficial charm; egocentricity; need for stimulation; irresponsibility; impulsiveness; shallow emotions, lack of empathy, guilt, or remorse; pathological lying; and above average intelligence like serial-killers Dennis Radar and Ted Bundy. When encountered, the typical psychopath will blend in and seem some-what normal. They will have the tendency to be smooth, inviting, interesting, and educated. "More than the average person, he is likely to seem free of social or emotional impediments, from the minor distortions, peculiarities, and awkwardness so common even among the successful" (1). Despite their apparently smooth and attractive exteriors, Psychopaths are riddled with complex and often terrifying behavioral abnormalities. For instance, Psychopaths rarely fulfill or honor obligations and commitments. Their irresponsibility stems into various stages of their life, including work and finances. They frequently fail to pay off loans and bills and have a tendency to perform assignments in a carefree demeanor. Psychopaths have difficulty developing...
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...also called APD, is popularly known as a psychopath...
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...Criminal Behavior Lorenzo Reid Virginia College Online Abstract The following paper will address the different areas of the Psychological and Psychiatric Foundations of Criminal Behavior. Within this paper, every aspect from theories to what the law states when it comes to this state will be addressed. Criminal Behavior Doctor Leon Eisenberg once stated, "...persons who are seriously mentally ill are far more likely to be the victims of violence than its initiators." (Campbell) Yet how true is that? When it comes to mental illness, there have been several violent crimes that have been committed, and been blamed on mental illness. There are several shows for entertainment such as the show “Criminal Minds”, that attempts to bring a reality and understanding to mental illness and criminal behavior. This show gives a reality to the fact that people can be simply mentally ill and not simply criminals. In early society times, people simply did not take mental illness into account. It was thought that people, regardless of their mental state, should be accountable for their actions. Yet, in today’s society, this is not the case. Due to research and a better developed country, citizens are given an opportunity to show that their mental state was not steady when they committed a crime. So, what is it then, which motivated a person to kill or maim another? How can a person kill someone else, or a numerous amount of people, with no remorse? These questions and several...
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...Ted Bundy Derrick Stogner CJS/231 April 6, 2015 Corry Powers Ted Bundy Who is Ted Bundy, what makes him do things he does or has done? The questions not just posed at Mr. Bundy but to anyone that commits crimes of this nature or serious crimes in general. How can a college educated man with aspirations of being the Governor of Washington State, a man who by those that knew him believed that he could be the Governor, a man by those same people who saw him as a loyal friend and charming. This is man who study psychology and was very well liked by his professors. This is a man that by any right is no different than the well liked neighbor down the street or the middle school teacher your children love or just another young republican looking at their future in politics down the road after graduation. But this man is different, this man suffers not on the outside but on the inside. He mental can separate what is right and wrong but can’t control is urges as a child nor can he control the urges he has a young adult or even when he is a grown man. No, this man is not a man at all, no he is not the role model to look up to or strive to be, no he is the monster that does not hide in the shadows he is the monster that stands face to face with you smiles and shakes yours hand then as you look into his eyes you believe him and then before you know it you are trapped and helpless and without any hope of survival, the monster has you. The monster in...
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...WR-123 Research Paper NOT ALL MONSTERS ARE MAKE BELIEVE - A CASE STUDY ON THEODORE R. BUNDY What causes someone to become a serial killer? Is there something inherently evil about them that emerge as they age, or are they born that way? Do they become that way because of their upbringing? Most Psychologists feel that it is a combination of all these things that determine the psychosis exhibited by serial killers. (www.psychology.org/links) Psychologists have looked into the darkest recesses of human behavior, to try to figure out how and why people commit such gruesome and brutal atrocities against their fellow human beings. One of the best cases of documented psychopathic behavior is that of Theodore R. Bundy. On November 24, 1946 Theodore Robert Cowell (aka Ted Bundy) was born. His mother was a single young woman who decided the best course of action was to move back home to have her parents help her raise her son; as in the 40’s it was not acceptable for a young single woman to have a child out of wedlock. Until the age of four, Ted believed that his mother was his older sister, and grandparents were his mother and father. (Rule, A: The Stranger Beside Me) The signs that something was dreadfully wrong with Ted began to show themselves very early in his childhood. When Ted was barely three years old, one of his Aunt’s stayed the night with the family. The Aunt woke up in the early morning hours to find her young nephew Ted, lifting her blankets...
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...CASE STUDY PAPER 1 Kid Killers: Delinquency Theories Arache Lotfalian UMUC CCJS 350 Professor Donovan 11/29/2012 CASE STUDY PAPER 2 In the middle class suburban town of Littleton, near Denver Colorado, a 17 year old murderous fantasy is beginning to take shape. Eric Harris and a friend known as “Vulcan” or “V” intend to commit an act so violent that it will secure their place in history. The following is an expert from Harris’s Journal, mastermind behind the Columbine Shooting: “Sometime in April next year, me and “V” will get revenge, kick natural selection up a few notches. If we’ve learned anything about the art of making pipe bombs, we’ll set hundreds of them around roads, bridges, buildings, and gas stations; anything that will cause damage and chaos. It will be like the L.A. riots, Oklahoma City bombings, WWII, Vietnam, Duke and Doom all mixed together. I want to leave a lasting impression on the world.” One year later on April the 20th 1999, Eric Harris and another Columbine student, Dylan Klebold, committed the worst High School massacre in American history. They killed twelve students and one teacher; injured twenty three others and then turned the guns on themselves (Avila, 2000). Immediately following the mass shootings, media, sociologists and criminologists set about the difficult task of discovering the motives of the killers and answering the question of whether or not problems within society allowed this to happen....
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...Association 0022-3514/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0033485 Subcomponents of Psychopathy Have Opposing Correlations With Punishment Judgments Jana Schaich Borg Stanford University and Duke University Rachel E. Kahn University of New Orleans Walter Sinnott-Armstrong Duke University This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Robert Kurzban University of Pennsylvania Paul H. Robinson University of Pennsylvania Law School Kent A. Kiehl University of New Mexico and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico Psychopathy research is plagued by an enigma: Psychopaths reliably act immorally, but they also accurately report whether an action is morally wrong. The current study revealed that cooperative suppressor effects and conflicting subsets of personality traits within the construct of psychopathy might help explain this conundrum. Among a sample of adult male offenders (N 100) who ranked deserved punishment of crimes, Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL–R) total scores were not linearly correlated with deserved punishment task performance. However, these null results masked significant opposing associations between task performance and factors of psychopathy: the PCL–R Interpersonal/Affective (i.e., manipulative and callous) factor was positively associated...
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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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...written by Dr. Lorna Rhodes. Her study explores, examines, and recognizes what life is like inside confined walls of solitary units inside prisons. Her study provides not only the image of solitary confinement- but the sense of loss and liberty of humanity when an offender is faced with long periods of extensive isolation from all; but those who feed you (correctional officers). Dr. Rhodes- explores and discusses the challenges that are faced both by the front-line-staff and offenders. Such as, psychological, emotional, and physiological changes- and provides her academic perspective with a scientific response. Rationale for Selection There are a lot of research currently available in-regards to isolation of offenders, and the biological effects on human body, mind, and perceptions. This study is valuable to my research even though the findings are not as scientific as I would have hoped; nevertheless, it provides circumstantial evidence that supports the harmful and toxic effects of segregation on offenders, health care providers, and the front-line-staff. Her portrayal and descriptive encounters with all that are involved in her ethnographic study holds true- as I am presently integrated in the life of incarceration, and segregation. It did, however,...
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