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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...
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Can you make a sociopath—either through brain injury or other types of trauma?
— Chris Daly
Jeannine Stamatakis, an instructor at various colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area, explains:
Psychologist John Watson, the founder of behaviorism, once said, “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in, and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select.”
If we take Watson's logic one step further, it may be possible to mold someone into a psychopath. Psychopathy, also called sociopathy, is defined by a lack of empathy, deceitfulness and complete selfishness. Current thinking is that although certain genes may predispose people toward psychopathy, their environment seems to provide the ultimate catalyst. Thus, a person who possesses the particular genes associated with this malady and is brought up in an abusive or neglectful household will be at a higher risk of exhibiting the traits associated with this disorder.
Severe trauma to specific regions of the brain can cause a person to undergo marked personality changes, such as in the famous case of Phineas Gage. While working as a railroad construction foreman in Vermont in 1848, he survived an accident in which a large iron rod was driven through his head, damaging much of his brain's left frontal lobe. Although he did not become a sociopath, the reported effects on his personality and behavior were so profound that friends saw him as “no longer Gage.”
An incident two decades ago supports the idea that brain trauma can lead to psychopathic behaviors. In 1991 convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido kidnapped 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard and kept her as a prisoner in his home for 18 years. Experts believe that Garrido experienced severe brain damage after a serious motorcycle accident as a teenager, which was compounded by intense drug use. Garrido's father said that his son had been a “good boy” as a child but that he had changed radically after the accident and had become unstable.
Recently neuroscientists have identified areas of the brain related to psychopathic behaviors. Subtle damage to the amygdala, a brain region that helps us process our emotions, may explain why psychopaths act so cruelly and cannot express emotions properly. Psychopathic behaviors are also associated with injury to the cerebral cortex, which regulates memory and self-awareness, and the frontal lobe, which is responsible for self-control and judgment.
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This article was originally published with the title Can you make a sociopath—either through brain injury or other types of trauma?.
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21 Comments
Add CommentThis "theory" that sociopathy is a learned behavior was amply demonstrated in the 1980 movie "Saturn 3".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCan someone explain to me what the difference is between a "personality disorder" (or at least some of them) and sociopathy. It seems to me to be merely a matter of degree.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm pretty sure the CIA was experimenting with this as a weapon, using LSD and whatnot.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, definitely. I saw it happen in Viet Nam. It is happening with some returning vets from the middle east and I am sure I have seen literature referenced from ww11.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA judge in Winnipeg ruled that a homicide was a result of a properly taken Prozac prescription. Way to go pharma freaks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPlease excuse the following quote from Wikipedia on the function of the Human Brain:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions (or better and best), override and suppress unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events.
The frontal lobes also play an important part in retaining longer term memories which are not task-based. These are often memories associated with emotions derived from input from the brain's limbic system. The frontal lobe modifies those emotions to generally fit socially acceptable norms."
Thus, internal (for example Organic Brain Syndrome) or external (physical trauma) damage to this area of the brain may manifest itself in behavior exemplary of sociopathy.
The original article delineates this area of the brain,the frontal lobe (especially the cerebral cortex in the same), as responsible for sociopathy, if malfunctioning for one reason or the other, along with the amygdala.
An important reference in this subject is the book by Allan Schore: "Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self". He has since written a few more, that was his first book on the subject, and it is central to the theme that needs to be reviewed in reference to this subject. There are on-line references as well.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe need to understand that learned behavior isn't necessarily intellectual in its form, it can be emotional. Learned behavior isn't necessarily conscious, it can be unconscious. Learned behavior in the unconscious mind isn't necessarily pre-conscious either.
The neurophysiological components of learning are just being more clearly understood. It isn't the black-and-white dualistic area of knowledge it was once thought to be. There are not only greys, there are colors. Multidimensional phenomena with many layers and elemental components.
Although the Phineas Gage accident is still the most cited case, there are new articles and information with much better identification of this problem in view of the fact that now we can use fairly complex methodology, like fMRI, in order to see and identify what goes on inside one's brain after any kind of trauma, damage, accident and so on. A case in point is a very cited article published in 2000 by RJR Blair & L Cipolotti where they pointed out a fairly clear case of a person who had damaged to the right frontal cortex (including the orbitofrontal) which resulted into a "profundly aberrant behaviour". The title is "Impaired social response reversal A case of `acquired sociopathy'" and it's free to download from Brain, Vol123(6), pags 1122-1141.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA "sociopath" has a distinct set of anti-people/society characteristics, most notable of them being their ability to shut off their emotions such as empathy or sympathy towards others, and are (in a set of associated character disorders) poised to carry out unthinkable acts on society or it's members.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOne can have "character disorders" within the definition of Sociopath, yet not be one, if they maintain the ability to empathize, and/or do not have intent to cause harm to others. This is to say: a person may have some of the problems (character disorder) a sociopath does, but not the most detached and repulsive, to the point of causing harm or disassociating themselves beyond the mainstream of society, as found in the sociopath.
My Boss at a university was a psychopath, great manipulator (great functioning frontal lobe) and no guilt or shame for causing pain to people he did not like( low activity in amygdala and limbic system). He was graduated from one of the greatest university (great CV) and he knew how to manipulate the system so well! He schmoozed those who would help him go up to the ladder, consult his boss on how to get ride of bad reputations by destroying other people's reputation, stealing other people's idea under his name (he is now editor of a scientific magazine!!!). Through his powerful connection (manipulation)he was sure, he would not face any legal consequences of his actions. So, psychopaths are not necessary only those behind bars, but also can be find at the top of organizations , including academia!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIsn't the established method of turning young people into selective sociopaths called 'basic training'? Doesn't it involve learning to suppress normative values and empathy? Isn't 'reflexive fire' training an important part of the acquired/trained sociopathy we call 'military discipline'?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThese are just some questions, not to be taken as a philosophical assertion.
Isn't the established method of turning young people into selective sociopaths called 'basic training'? Doesn't it involve learning to suppress normative values and empathy? Isn't 'reflexive fire' training an important part of the acquired/trained sociopathy we call 'military discipline'?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThese are just some questions, not to be taken as a philosophical assertion.
Being able to predict future psychopathy would be a valuable too. But I notice the muddying of the terms "psychopath" and "sociopath" and that makes me nervous. Is a psychopath laterally the same as a sociopath? I don't think so and the distinction needs to be made if anyone is going to discuss the causal factors involved - for several reasons.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso, once we're able to predict the after effects of the causal factor: what can be done to handle the resultant psychopath or sociopath? The article leads us to think about the current handling of the mentally ill (which amounts to control through disabling drugs or confinement or both). Should every brain-injured patient be shuttled off to the asylum? Should every a-social or anti-social behavior pattern be grounds for forcing such "treatments" on people??
When we can explain what happened to James Holmes that led to him killing & wounding over 60 people, the question of what should have been done with him is still a matter of controversy. Finding the answers is vital to an unknown number of people, not just to the individual who "goes nuts."
I'm pretty sure that they wern't.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYa. Whoever is over the M.D.'s too. A 10 minuts of a 15 minute appointment isn't enough time to determine the difference between things like clical depression or bi-polar &/or whatever else that often is found out after much time, trial and error. Now this is a major area that needed and never got reform in healthcare. Why do they take the hypocratic oath to "do no harm"? Are they semi-psychopaths? Or just fear disapproval from rheir second hand bosses (ie: government medicare system)?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisArchimedes included definition of the frontal lobe was very good at explaining how damage in this part of the brain is instamental in affecting bahavior change and sometime sociopathy. It's a good elaboration on explaining the roles that these areas of the brain plays. The simplicity of just mentioning these areas are involved wasn't enough for me. It really does try to mention it though in the end of the last paragraph up there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm not sure about that. Although he does sound like one of my ex-bosses who was strinkenly similar. His problem though, was because of his parents who were impossible to please (and possible Alcoholic) as well as his cultures pressure that was put on him to succeed. Which in the end pushed him into evening drinking and escaping as well. People like that can be tought more empathy. But if their "in a mania" frame of mind or were tought "enti-tlement" like last decades "too big to fail" C.E.O.'s, it can be much more difficult. But not impossible.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSounds true. Selective socialpathy. In a milder form overly strict parents and teachers, creating predudice and social discords. The "win at any cost" adage of pure capitalism or "the strongest survive" assumptions of present countries and individuals success, even when more often cooperation and certainly effective persuation is better than "tearing down to lift me up" mind sets. What's up with some polititions way of doing things in the recent years? Is this ineffective (for change) or what?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisToo bad the expert doesn't actually define pyschopathy. Perhaps the editors can make a note: generally, have your writers define the thing they are talking about.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMany sociopaths can be highly functioning members of society where people who can manipulate the system with no regard to reprecussions are incouraged, not frowned upon. Some might say that they are not true psychopaths, because they are able to function. But I believe the very way that society ie business models, function, incourages these types of behaviours.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI believe that through a traumatic enough of an experience, one can be pushed into psychopathy. The emotional and physical damage done to different parts of one's brain can completely change the person into someone almost unrecognizable due to alterations in everything from personality to mental processing. In John Watson's book called Behaviorism, he describes consciousness as "neither a definite nor a usable concept." So, in the mind of someone with a behaviorist point of view, they would look into why the behavior was acquired and how it was modified in a response due to environmental influences. Therefore, making it a little more difficult to show that one can be pushed into psychopathy.
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