Psychopathic Personality: The Mask of Sanity
This article is about an explanation of "Psychopathic Personality" in the middle of 90's and also describe about the following characteristics of psychopathic personalities:
One of the most interesting of the so-called "personality disorders" is the psychopathic personality. It is often hard to recognize the psychopath at first because he wears, as Cleckley once said, "the mask of sanity." But if you follow his exploits for just a little while, it becomes more apparent that his emotions, motivations, and actions are very different from the ones most of us share.
The psychopath carries into adult life the characteristics we usually attribute to a spoiled child. He is impulsive, undisciplined, and will take immediate gratification rather than wait for later gratification of a superior sort. He does what pleases him now and lets the future care for itself. His escapades are often excused because of his intelligence, charm, and promises to reform, and because he is more interesting than most people. But it soon becomes apparent that the psychopath feels no remorse for his wrongdoing and has no intention of changing his ways. He is an emotionally blunted human being, indifferent to the feelings of others, and without the capability of feeling things like anxiety, guilt, love, or loyalty. However, the psychopath has learned to imitate the emotions others are expressing so that he can "use" people for his own purposes.
Based on the observations of a number of theorists and clinical workers, Coleman (1964) assembled the following characteristics of psychopathic personalities:
The particular antisocial behavior the psychopath choose may vary considerably, but the quality of his dealings with other people remains the same. Thus a psychopathic personality may become an unprincipled businessman, a dishonest lawyer, a crooked politician, a quack doctor, a prostitute, or an imposter of some other sort. Quite notorious people, such as the Nazi Field Marshal Goering, are known to have been psychopaths.
The peculiar set of characteristics that makes up the psychopath has generated a number of theories about how an individual gets to be that way. Some investigators have suggested that the behavior is related to abnormalities in the brain, but EEG studies fail to bear this out. Hans Eysenck suggested that the physiological problem is that the psychopath has a slower rate of conditioning than the ordinary individual. He fails to learn the associations between wrongdoing and punishment and does not acquire the conditioned responses necessary for socialization.
The childhood environment of the psychopath has often been citied as a major force in the development of antisocial personalities. In 1945, Greenacre wrote the classic description of the ingredients that might lead to the psychopathic pattern: a successful father who, although a community leader, is distant and frightening to the son, and a pleasure-loving, self-centered mother who indulges her child. Parent-child relationships in such a family might amount to "buying-off" the child rather than expressing true affection or concern. There parents are worried about how things appear, and the may teach the child to pretend, protect the family reputation, and appear to be meeting the expectations of others. Charm is an acceptable substitute for achievement, and failure is dismissed as unimportant or blamed on others.
Another developmental theory was formulated by Lykken (1957) and suggests that the psychopath's inability to learn social lessons might be due to an absence of anxiety in childhood. Comparing psychopaths with non-psychopathic controls, Lykken concluded that psychopaths were less anxious than others. The findings of many other researchers have confirmed these observations. Without anxiety we do not learn. With a limited amount of anxiety we learn a little. With adequate anxiety we learn what is necessary to survive the emotional give-and-take of society.
The psychopath is an extreme example of one kind of possible personality development. Yet like all other forms of personality, its various characteristics may be partially present in all of us. At certain times, places, and social situations, any one of us may behave in psychopathic ways. The difference is that what most of us do rarely and usually feel guilty about afterwards is a way of life for the psychopath.
One of the most interesting of the so-called "personality disorders" is the psychopathic personality. It is often hard to recognize the psychopath at first because he wears, as Cleckley once said, "the mask of sanity." But if you follow his exploits for just a little while, it becomes more apparent that his emotions, motivations, and actions are very different from the ones most of us share.
The psychopath carries into adult life the characteristics we usually attribute to a spoiled child. He is impulsive, undisciplined, and will take immediate gratification rather than wait for later gratification of a superior sort. He does what pleases him now and lets the future care for itself. His escapades are often excused because of his intelligence, charm, and promises to reform, and because he is more interesting than most people. But it soon becomes apparent that the psychopath feels no remorse for his wrongdoing and has no intention of changing his ways. He is an emotionally blunted human being, indifferent to the feelings of others, and without the capability of feeling things like anxiety, guilt, love, or loyalty. However, the psychopath has learned to imitate the emotions others are expressing so that he can "use" people for his own purposes.
Based on the observations of a number of theorists and clinical workers, Coleman (1964) assembled the following characteristics of psychopathic personalities:
- Inadequate development of a conscience.
- Low frustration tolerance, poor judgment, egocentricity, impulsivity, and irresponsibility.
- The search for immediate gratification and an absence of long-range goals.
- An absence of sufficient anxiety or guilt for self-control.
- An inability to learn from previous impulsive actions.
- Charm and a sense of humor used to exploit others.
- Hostility toward, and rejection of, authority.
- Lack of insight into his behavior.
The particular antisocial behavior the psychopath choose may vary considerably, but the quality of his dealings with other people remains the same. Thus a psychopathic personality may become an unprincipled businessman, a dishonest lawyer, a crooked politician, a quack doctor, a prostitute, or an imposter of some other sort. Quite notorious people, such as the Nazi Field Marshal Goering, are known to have been psychopaths.
The peculiar set of characteristics that makes up the psychopath has generated a number of theories about how an individual gets to be that way. Some investigators have suggested that the behavior is related to abnormalities in the brain, but EEG studies fail to bear this out. Hans Eysenck suggested that the physiological problem is that the psychopath has a slower rate of conditioning than the ordinary individual. He fails to learn the associations between wrongdoing and punishment and does not acquire the conditioned responses necessary for socialization.
The childhood environment of the psychopath has often been citied as a major force in the development of antisocial personalities. In 1945, Greenacre wrote the classic description of the ingredients that might lead to the psychopathic pattern: a successful father who, although a community leader, is distant and frightening to the son, and a pleasure-loving, self-centered mother who indulges her child. Parent-child relationships in such a family might amount to "buying-off" the child rather than expressing true affection or concern. There parents are worried about how things appear, and the may teach the child to pretend, protect the family reputation, and appear to be meeting the expectations of others. Charm is an acceptable substitute for achievement, and failure is dismissed as unimportant or blamed on others.
Another developmental theory was formulated by Lykken (1957) and suggests that the psychopath's inability to learn social lessons might be due to an absence of anxiety in childhood. Comparing psychopaths with non-psychopathic controls, Lykken concluded that psychopaths were less anxious than others. The findings of many other researchers have confirmed these observations. Without anxiety we do not learn. With a limited amount of anxiety we learn a little. With adequate anxiety we learn what is necessary to survive the emotional give-and-take of society.
The psychopath is an extreme example of one kind of possible personality development. Yet like all other forms of personality, its various characteristics may be partially present in all of us. At certain times, places, and social situations, any one of us may behave in psychopathic ways. The difference is that what most of us do rarely and usually feel guilty about afterwards is a way of life for the psychopath.
(Source : McNeil, E. B. The Psychology of Human Being. New York: Canfield Press, 1974.)
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