Chapter 7: Criminal Psychopathy

Recidivism

(criminal reoffending) ~ psychopaths tend to reoffend faster ~ psychopaths tend to violate parole sooner ~ psychopaths tend to commit more violent acts while incarcerated

2. Secondary

---Commits antisocial/violent acts because of severe emotional problems. ---Emotional instability ---More aggressive and violent ---Acting-out neurotics --- emotionally disturbed offenders

3. Dyssocial

---Display aggressive, antisocial behaviors they have learned from their subcultures (e.g., gangs, families, etc.)

Juvenile Psychopathy

. Are diagnostic tools built for use on adults suitable for juveniles? 2. Are features of adult psychopathy found in children? 3. Is it damaging to apply the psychopath label to children? • Consequences of labeling at young age • More likely to be transferred to adult court system • Self-fulfilling prophecy with providers

Behavioral Descriptions - Cleckley (1955)

1. Superficial Charm 2. Above average scores on IQ tests 3. Usually no other psychological disorder present 4. No overt display of worry, anger, anxiety, or depression 5. Egocentricity (flat emotional tone) 6. Pathological Lying 7. Unreliable, irresponsible, unpredictable 8. Irritable 9. Intolerance for alcohol 10. Impulsivity 11. No remorse felt; semantic aphasia 12. Physiological need for stimulation

Hemisphere Asymmetry and Deficiency

2. Hemisphere Asymmetry and Deficiency ~ Right vs. left hemisphere differences RH key to understanding and communicating emotion; is more spontaneous and impulsive LH key to self-inhibition, control and judgment ~Psychopaths seem to be deficient in linguistic processing and can be very inconsistent in their thoughts, feelings and intentions ~They are less accurate at reading emotional facial expressions supporting deficits in tasks that require LH activation ~Language centers in the LH may not be supplying self-talk necessary for behavioral inhibition

Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) Hare (1980)

> PCL- R (1991) > PCL-R 2nd Ed. (2000) > PCL:SV (1993) > PCL:YV > P-Scan: Research Version All of these are designed to identify psychopaths in male prison, forensic, or psychiatric populations

Hare's PCL Checklist

Glibness/ superficial charm Grandiose sense of self-worth Pathological lying Conning/manipulative Lack of remorse/guilt Shallow affect Callous, lack of empathy Failure to accept responsibility for actions Promiscuous sexual behavior Lack of realistic, long-term goals Poor behavioral controls High need for stimulation/prone to boredom Irresponsibility A score above 30+ . . . primary psychopath label 21 - 29 . . . . . "middle", do not fit all criteria < 21 . . . . . nonpsychopaths

Autonomic Nervous System Research

Lyken (1957) found that psychopaths did not learn CERs in response to classical conditioning. Their SCR did not change as a result of conditioning. ==After conditioning the TONE alone should have produced a substantial increase in skin conductance response. This may be why psychopaths do not seem to associate negative events with avoidance behaviors - they have an underresponsive autonomic nervous system

Offending Patterns of Criminal Psychopaths

Offending Patterns of Criminal Psychopaths: ~Typically the persistent offending is extremely violent ~ approx 50% of officers killed "in the line" were killed by people matching the psychopathic profile ~Psychopathic sex offenders tend to be more brutal, sadistic, violent; appear to be motivated by thrill seeking and excitement ~As a group, psychopaths are more likely to derive pleasure from both the sexual and nonsexual suffering of others ~Their violence is often precipitated by sense of revenge, retribution, or while intoxicated ~Most violence directed against male strangers

The Female Psychopath

The Female Psychopath 9-10% vs. 25-30% Female inmates Male inmates ~less aggressive & violent than males ~ Significantly fewer than males ~ Low levels of empathy ~lower rates of recidivism ~lack of realistic long-term goals ~greater tendency for sexual promiscuity

What is a Psychopath?

This is a multi-dimensional condition ---Term describes a person who demonstrates a discernable cluster of psychological, interpersonal, and neurophysiological features that distinguish him/her from the general population. ~ Not the same as Antisocial personality disorder ~Some researchers and people in general use the terms "psychopath" and "sociopath" interchangeably

1. Primary

True Psychopath

Criminal Psychopath

demonstrates a wide range of persistent antisocial behavior. As a group, they are manipulative, impulsive, risk-taking, whose greatest thrills come from diverse sexual gratification and target diverse victims over time. Prevalence: ~ approx. 1% in general population ~ approx 15-25% of adult prison population

Psychopath

may or may not be a criminal, displays specific types of behaviors and has a biological predisposition for those behaviors

Sociopath

refers to a habitual criminal offender who has not been properly socialized - does not respond appropriately to treatment, rehabilitation, or incarceration

Hare (1970)

suggests there are 3 different categories of psychopaths

PCL-R

uses information from self-reports, behavioral observations, as well as outside observations (e.g., parents, family, friends), arrest and court records, etc. to assess the credibility of self-reports.

Peripheral Nervous System Research

~ There may be a sympathetic-parasympathetic nervous system imbalance ~ Either sympathetic system does not react sufficiently to stress or the parasympathetic system cuts off the arousal too soon ~Skin conductance response/Galvanic skin response (SCR/GSR) measures sympathetic system emotional arousal ~Research consistently reveals low SCR/GSR arousal levels in psychopaths

Orienting Response

~ complex cortical and sensory response to unexpected changes in the environment. EX: head turns, pupil dilation, change in heart rate. ~it is automatic, reflexive and produces increase in analytical processing in the senses and the cortex >>Psychopaths exhibit smaller ORs than normals (Hare, 1976). They appear less sensitive, alert, and responsive to their environment. >> Because of this low autonomic activity polygraphs may not work well in detecting their lies vs. truth

Is there a connection between ADHD and criminal psychopathy?

~ADHD is linked to poor cognitive and academic functioning ~ADHD linked to oppositional (antisocial) behavior ~Linked to early development of aggression, conduct disorder, and drug use ~It appears that some childhood ADHD is a precursor to some adult psychopathy ~This may be the history of the Life course-persistent (LCP) offender. Person who displays antisocial behavior across situations from childhood through adulthood

The Childhood of the Psychopath

~Does not appear to be a strong genetic influence on psychopathy, but rather tied to nervous system differences - either neonatal, maturational lag, toxicity, etc. ~Psychopaths are more likely to have experienced family (abuse, neglect, indifference) and societal difficulties (negative school & social experiences) (Marshall & Cooke (1999) ~Some researchers claim there is early onset of behavior problems - as early as 5 yrs. old ~95% of adult psychopaths showed psychopathic behaviors in childhood usually labeled as "conduct disorders"

Maturation Retardation Hypothesis

~Immature, slow wave EEG patterns ~ EEGs change with age. Delta and Theta predominate in childhood changing over to adult patterns by age 16 (approx) ~ Hare suggests that some psychopaths develop mature wave patterns later in life

Optimal Arousal of the Cerebral Cortex

~People seek their optimal level of cortical arousal which creates corresponding amounts of stimulation received by the cerebral cortex ~We regulate our level of arousal by adjusting our environment, activities, thoughts, etc. In short, our behaviors reflect our attempts to maintain optimal arousal that is comfortable and pleasurable ~RAS generates nonspecific cortical arousal. It reflects our attentiveness to the world and when necessary activates the cortex to keep it alert, or decreases arousal. ~Habituation to repetitive or unimportant stimuli helps to regulate overall arousal

Stimulation Seeking

~Quay (1965) suggests that psychopath's behavior is an extreme form of stimulation seeking ~chronically underaroused cerebral cortex requires they engage in behaviors that generate excitement more frequently than "normals" ~Research shows that psychopaths will exert more effort to gain access to visual and auditory stimulation (colored lights, music, etc.), do more poorly on boring tasks, and get bored more quickly than normal controls...

Frontal Lobe Neuropsychological Studies

~Responsible for higher-level cognitive functions (abstraction, decision-making, cognitive flexibility, planning, impulse control, etc.) ~Meta-analysis shows some evidence that psychopaths show these same executive function deficits (Morgan & Lilienfeld, 2000)

Can psychopathy labeling stigmatize offenders in the criminal justice system?

• Evidence that this Diagnosis has been used against minority inmates in U.S., Canada, and the U.K. In the sentencing phase this has been used to characterize defendants as "continuuing threat to society." • It has also been used during the sentencing phase of U.S. death penalty cases.

The Criminal Psychopath

• Many psychopaths have no history of serious anti-social behavior • Not all serious offenders are psychopaths

Racial and Ethnic Differences Kosson et al. (1990)

• Most measures of psychopathy used white, male inmates as subjects • Minimal differences between tested African-American and Caucasian psychopaths • A-A are less impulsive • No differences in PCL scores between female African-American and Caucasion psychopaths

Mental Disorder

• Usually no symptoms of mental disorder • Schizophrenia and psychopathy