Intro to Psychology Areas and Applications - Psychopathy & Serial Killers

Flashcards covering the definitions, legal categories, ethical dilemmas, and neurobiological aspects of psychopathy based on official lecture notes.

Psychopathy

A personality disorder defined by:

• Lack of empathy

• Lack of guilt or remorse

• Irresponsibility

• Impulsivity

• Poor planning and decision making

Prevalence of psychopathy

• About 1.2% of U.S. adult men and 0.3% to 0.7% of U.S. adult women

• 15% to 25% of inmates

Prevalence of psychopathy (con’t)

30% of the population displays some degree of reduced empathy, risk-taking, and overly high self-regard

Scope of psychopathy

It spans

• Socioeconomic status

• Race, gender, and culture

• High-functioning executives to prison inmates to people whose psychopathic symptoms may reflect difficult life circumstances

People eligible for diagnosing psychopathy

• People in criminal or forensic settings

• People in inpatient or community mental health settings

Psychopathy and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V)

Psychopathy was replaced by antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) in the third edition

Psychopathy and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) [con’t]

Focuses mainly on the behavioral aspects of psychopathy, but only minimally on personality characteristics

e.g. Aggression, impulsivity, and violations of others’ rights,

Psychopathy and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) [III]

Only about a third of those diagnosed with ASPD also meet the criteria for psychopathy, according to research using validated scales, which often leads to confusion over how and if the two conditions are related

Callous unemotional (CU) traits

Proposed by Paul Frick,

• Manifests as a lack of guilt and remorse

• A callous lack of empathy

• A lack of concern about one’s performance on important activities

• A general lack of emotional expression

Triarchic model

Three separable trait constructs underlying psychopathic symptoms which consist of:

• Disinhibition

• Meanness

• Boldness

Triarchic model (con’t)

Opens the door to understanding psychopathic symptoms in more flexible and nuanced ways and to a framework for integrating research that employs different theories and assessment instruments

Disinhibition

Includes tendencies toward impulsiveness, irresponsibility, difficulty regulating one’s emotions and behavior, and mistrust of others

Meanness

Involves deficits in empathy, contempt toward and inability to bond with others

Boldness

Includes dominance, social assurance, emotional resilience, and adventurousness

Psychopathy red flags

• Warning signs such as deficient emotional responding to fear and distress in others

• More severe and planned aggression

• Reduced amygdala activity

• Genetic factors such as parental behaviours

Secondary psychopathy

Proposed by Abigail Marsh, when have truly terrible life experiences caused their development to go awry

Thinking and ASPD

Information-processing difficulties emanate from problems in executive functioning or planning ahead, especially when these individuals are responding to situations that involve rewards or emotional information

I.e. Inhibition, planning, abstract reasoning, and working memory

Exaggerated attention bottleneck

When people with psychopathy become so myopically focused on one small part of their attention, their brain processes the rest of the information too slowly to inform the next step

Treatment for psychopathy

• Therapy involving video games centred around facial cues,

• Caregivers and children working together on positive reinforcement [Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)]

• Treatment camps such as Boys Town in Nebraska

Modus Operandi (MO)

The specific method used by the UNSUB (unknown subject) to commit a crime, which may be modified over time as the criminal gains experience.

e.g. Stabbing, beheading

Determination of modus operandi (MO)

• The type of restraints used on the victim, wound patterns

• Type of weapon used: knife, blunt object, or gun.

• Tools used to gain entry to victim’s home.

• Time of day when the crime was committed

Signature

Stable and unique behaviours that serve a criminal’s emotional and psychological needs

I.e. A personal 'calling card' for gratification.

Examples of signature

• Level of injury to the victim: minimal or excessive.

• Specific location or sequence to the criminal act (e.g., always under a bridge)

• Personal items taken from the victim (e.g., a necklace or a finger)

• Criterion for why the victim was targeted (e.g. College women)

First-Degree Murder

A killing that is intentional, planned (scheme in advance), and deliberate (not impulsive).

First-Degree Murder (con’t)

Occurs during the commission of certain offences (e.g. Kidnapping, hijacking, terrorism) or, is the murder of a police officer or prison guard

Second-Degree Murder

An intentional killing that is neither planned nor deliberate and doesn’t occur during specified crimes.

e.g. Someone gets mad and stabs another person which results in death; there was intent to kill, but no plan

Manslaughter

Any culpable homicide that is unintentional and unplanned, and is caused by an unlawful act or criminal negligence without intent to kill.

e.g. While speeding, the driver unintentionally hits a pedestrian who suddenly walks in front of the car, which kills them

Other reasons why people kill

• Self-defence as a last resort

• Line of duty

• War and conflict

• Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID)

Utilitarian Ethical Decision

A moral framework focused on 'maximizing goodness' where the right action is the one that helps the greatest number of people.

e.g. The trolley problem where 1 person dies to save 5 people

Deontological Ethical Decision

A principles-based moral framework where certain actions, such as killing, are considered inherently wrong regardless of the outcome.

Psychopaths and the footbridge problem

They were more likely to push a stranger off a bridge to save others, whereas 80-90% of “normal” people refused.

Psychopathic Inferiority

A term introduced by Julius Koch in 1888 to describe mental dysfunctions resulting from organic brain disease in a morally non-judgemental way.

Psychopathic Inferiority (con’t)

Koch believed that such people had diminished responsibility and should be treated in separate institutions

The Mask of Sanity

A 1941 book by Hervey Cleckley that describes psychopathy as a deep-rooted pathology hidden by an outward appearance of sociability and good mental health.

The Mask of Sanity (con’t)

Psychopathic individuals appear to be confident, sociable, and well-adjusted. Over time, their psychopathic tendencies are revealed through their actions and attitudes

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

A DSM-5 Cluster B disorder defined by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since or before age 15.

e.g. Fighting, lying, stealing, repeated rule-breaking, etc

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

A clinical and forensic tool developed to identify the degree of a person’s psychopathic tendencies, with scores ranging from $0$ to $40$.

Core focus of ASPD

Behavioural patterns, especially criminal and antisocial acts with no remorse nor violence and high feelings of anger and frustration

Core focus of ASPD (con’t)

Affective/interpersonal traits are only minimally emphasized, with usage mostly in clinical and forensic settings within DSM framework

Core focus of psychopathy

• Affective & Interpersonal + Antisocial behaviour

• A lack of remorse and empathy, guilt, as well as emotional depth, all with calculated violence

• No specified age groups

Core focus of psychopathy (con’t)

• Superficial charm

• Shallow emotions

• Clinical usage in forensic settings, research and risk assessment tools

Key focus of ASPD

• Repeated unlawful behaviour

• Deceitfulness

• Impulsivity

• Irritability/aggressiveness

• Disregard for safety, irresponsibility

• Lack of remorse

Key focus of psychopathy

• Glibness/superficial charm

• Grandiosity

• Manipulativeness

• Shallow affect

• Lack of empathy

• Pathological lying

• Failure to accept responsibility

Impulsivity of ASPD vs. Psychopathy

• People with ASPD may be more likely to be impulsively aggressive

• People with psychopathy tend to plan out aggressive acts.

Severity of ASPD vs. Psychopathy

Psychopathy can cause a much larger disruption in someone's life than ASPD.

Predictability of ASPD vs. Psychopathy

People with ASPD are less predictable than psychopaths, and are more prone to spontaneous outbursts

Diagnosis of ASPD vs. Psychopathy

• ASPD is better assessed than psychopathy.

• Psychopathy is usually diagnosed in prison settings (using tools like the Psychopathy Checklist).

Comorbidity of ASPD vs. Psychopathy

ASPD and psychopathy are highly comorbid (co-occurring) with each other.

Causes of ASPD vs. Psychopathy

Both conditions can occur due to genetic or environmental factors, and psychopathy can also be causally related to Traumatic Brain Injuries

Treatment of ASPD vs. Psychopathy

There is no cure for either condition, but treatments can help manage and control symptoms.

Shallow Affect

A modern descriptive symptom of psychopathy characterized by a diminished ability to react emotionally.

Charles Manson

An American criminal and cult leader who was imprisoned for life in 1972 at California State Prison, and died in 2017

Charles Manson (con’t)

Though Manson never killed anyone himself (but wanted to start a race war), he and his followers were charged and convicted of committing nine murders at four locations in 1969

Charles Manson (III)

Victims were stabbed dozens of times and disemboweled. Messages scrawled in blood were left at the crime scene.

Charles Manson (IV)

Viewed others as maniacs because he saw himself as a reflection of society's own negative

e.g. He’s been “playing for his life” while the media works for money

Charles Manson’s views on women

Manson said he likes women and finds them "nice" and "soft and spicy," provided they "keep their mouths shut and do what they're supposed to do."

Charles Manson’s views on death

He noted that dying makes him nervous, but said dying is easier and that living scares him

Charles Manson’s views on the world

He compares his love for his prison world to then-President Reagan loving his world.

Charles Manson’s views on the world (con’t)

He claimed to be a "reflection of your negative," suggesting that society sees its own darker aspects in him

Charles Manson’s views on pain

Manson claimed he had no depth of pain or suffering, nor knowledge of ridicule

Charles Manson’s views on pain (con’t)

Manson said pain can teach lessons

e.g. The resulting pain from putting a hand in a fire teaches the individual not to perform that action again

Charles Manson’s education

Manson performed poorly in traditional school but claims he did very well in reform school and prison.

Robert “Willy” Picton

Was charged with murdering 26 women but was convicted of only 6 of them

Robert “Willy” Picton (con’t)

Confessed his actions to an undercover cop who was posing as his cellmate

Robert “Willy” Picton (III)

Said he was sloppy in his kills because he wanted to accumulate 50 victims, and called it his downfall

Victims for which Robert Picton was convicted for

• Georgina Papin

• Serena Abotsway

• Mona Wilson

• Andrea Joesbury

• Brenda Wolfe

• Marine Frey

Psychosis

A mental disorder involving delusions and hallucinations, which is distinct from the personality traits of psychopathy.

e.g. Schizophrenia

Prison population and psychopathy

In the U.S., about 1% of the general male population over 18 are psychopaths

Criminality and psychopathy (con’t)

15 – 20% of the adult males who are in prison, jail, parole, or probation are psychopaths

Psychopath methods

• They can be very charming and personable (snakes in suits)

• They divide the world into other predators or prey and may use the internet to find targets

• They crave power, and will do whatever they want to get it

Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC)

The brain region located at the bottom of the frontal cortex responsible for:

• Processing risk

• Inhibiting emotional responses

• Cognitive evaluation of morality

• Decision making and self-control

Brain Differences in Psychopaths

Functional connectivity between the right amygdala and anterior Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC) is reduced in psychopaths

MAO-A Gene

A gene located on the X chromosome that, when combined with specific brain damage and environmental factors, is associated with violence in males.

MAO-A Gene and psychopathy

Psychopathy can be genetically passed down from parents; is more common in males, as they only get one X chromosome

Glibness

A core interpersonal trait of psychopathy characterized by superficial charm.

Comorbidity

The simultaneous presence of two conditions in a patient, such as the high co-occurrence of ASPD and psychopathy.

Functional Connectivity

The communication link between the right amygdala and the vmPFC, which is found to be reduced in those with psychopathy.

Instrumental Aggression

A type of calculated aggression often associated with psychopathy, as opposed to the impulsive aggression frequently seen in ASPD.

Social Predator

A term used to describe psychopaths who divide the world into predators and prey, often targeting vulnerable or marginalized individuals.

Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R)

Is used for diagnosing psychopathy in individuals for clinical, legal or research purposes.

Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) [con’t]

Developed in the early 1990s, the test was originally designed to identify the degree of a person's psychopathic tendencies.

Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) method

Three possible scores for each question:

• 0 = item does not apply

• 1 = item applies somewhat

• 2 = item definitely applies

Scores range from 0 – 40.

Who’s qualified to use the PCL-R?

Only experienced individuals and professionals should administer the PCL-R

e.g. Advanced degrees (M.D., Ph.D., or D.Ed.) in a medical, behavioural, or social science field, or working with convicted or accused criminals or several years of related on-the-job training.

Psychopathy and the workplace

A certain degree of nonconformity and unconventionality is needed to drive innovation and entrepreneurship, but leaders need to have a minimum level of etiquette with their employees and everyone around them

Edmund Kemper

A serial killer who had immense internal conflict and turned himself in after killing his mother due to a cathartic effect

Edmund Kemper (con’t)

Had fantasies of killing "dozens more people" and leaving a "trail of bodies across the country," before stopping

Edmund Kemper (III)

Says he would’ve lived a normal life and started a family had he not given in to the impulse of murder

How can hypnotherapy help with overcoming phobias

• Can help shift beliefs about the object(s) in question

• Can help one prepare for an encounter with the phobia through role-play scenarios with neutral objects