#1 What exactly is a Psychopath?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know if a person was born a Psychopath?  I often wonder if they are born or made that way over time.  With the specifics of what defines a Psychopath maybe the fate of a person’s life can be altered and we could be a society free of the tragedy caused by Psychopaths.  Is society responsible for turning a seemingly normal individual into a Psychopath?  I firmly believe that knowledge is power and I think there is tremendous power in numbers.  Society needs to be educated on what a Psychopath is so we can arm ourselves, with knowledge.  A fair way to start talking about this incredibly important title would be to accurately define Psychopath and what the characteristics associated with that term are.

According to Psychology Today, Psychopathy is among the most difficult disorders to spot. The psychopath can appear normal, even charming. Underneath, he lacks conscience and empathy, making him manipulative, volatile and often (but by no means always) criminal. She is an object of popular fascination and clinical anguish: adult psychopathy is largely impervious to treatment, though programs are in place to treat callous, unemotional youth in hopes of preventing them from maturing into psychopaths. Psychopathy is a spectrum disorder and can be diagnosed only using the 20-item Hare Psychopathy Checklist. (The bar for clinical psychopathy is a score of 30 or more). Brain anatomy, genetics, and a person’s environment may all contribute to the development of psychopathic traits. (www.psychologytoday.com/basics/psychopathy)

Please take a minute to watch the following video: 

My initial thinking on this question is that one is truly born with the genetic makeup of a Psychopath.  Society, time and circumstance decides whether a person becomes violent or not.  One important topic while researching is the emphasis on Nature vs. Nurture.  I have never explored that topic so I am very interested to see if it can apply to my initial question, Are Psychopaths born?

Work Cited

Psychology Today 1991-2016 Sussex Publishers, LLC | HealthProfs.com 2002-2016 Sussex  Directories, Inc

Where does a Psychopath come from?

Hi there,

My name is Amanda and 1 question I really would like to answer is Are Psychopaths born or made?