Psychopath

Psychopath

2000, Psychology  -   219 Comments
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Ratings: 7.78/10 from 198 users.

There are many psychopaths in society, that actually, we virtually know nothing about. These are the psychopaths who don't necessarily commit homicide, commit serious violence, or even come to the attention of the police. They may be successful businessmen. They may be successful politicians. They may be successful academics. They may be successful priests. They exist in all areas of society. There is a growing awareness that psychopathic behavior is around us in all walks of life.

According to popular wisdom, psychopaths are crazed and bloodthirsty serial killers. The reality is not so simple. While many psychopaths do commit violent crimes, not all psychopaths are criminals and not all criminals are psychopathic. Psychopaths are found in many walks of life and are often successful in competitive professions. However they are also ruthless, manipulative and destructive. Equinox reports on techniques developed by psychologists to work out whether a person is psychopathic and shows how brain scientists are coming close to mapping the malfunctions in the brain that cause a person to be a psychopath. In Britain one person in 200 is likely to be a psychopath. However psychopaths are thought to be responsible for half of all reported crimes and to make up between 15% and 20% of the prison population.

The programme looks at the most recent research into the brains and behaviour of psychopaths and assesses the prospects for the treatment or containment of this antisocial group of people who create such a disproportionate amount of destruction. Psychopaths who have been convicted of appalling crimes explain with disturbing clarity what motivated them in their violent and destructive behaviour. They speak without shame, guilt, remorse or empathy with their victims.

Though they are articulate and, at times, plausible and charming, they lack the range of emotions experienced by the rest of society. They know the difference between right and wrong but they do not feel it. Robert Hare, Professor of Psychology at the University of Vancouver, has devised a system of assessment called the Psychopathy Checklist. In specialized interviews, psychologists assess individuals on a scale of 0 to 40 for a series of character traits, including callousness, superficial charm, lack of empathy and many others (for more detail look at How to recognize a psychopath). Anyone whose score is greater than 26 is diagnosed as psychopathic.

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Triveni
Triveni
3 years ago

How can we say that the person is psychopath ,if he or she score more than 26

hank franz
hank franz
4 years ago

It must be obvious to most critical thinkers, that 'power' is a magnet for the psychopath. Under the guise of 'good works', altruism, or the like; these apex psychopaths largely go unrecognized by the majority, due to the many layers of obedient minions separating them from the actual mischief.
None, (psychopaths) , are more blatant, arrogant, and recognizable than those in the USA, whose actions are leading to Fascism or revolt. The near future portends an horrific scenario.

Antz
Antz
5 years ago

I have heard men in their 40's or 50's tell of being recruited into an assassination unit of a special quasi-military intelligence outfit and convinced... well rather believed the propaganda that they were doing "God's work" and/or "protecting the nation". Later, these few that came forward to mention it, had discovered over time that they had been fooled. No doubt they did some evil things at the instruction of their superiors. Not all that different than muslim's, the jewish leadership, and some Christian groups are fooled into believing they are the righteous heirs of earth and the rest are infidels, goyim, unworthy, etc. Suicide bombers, etc. How many SEAL and DELTA, etc missions were for corporate purposes rather than to "protect those at home"?

To put a finer point on it, is a jihadi who only kills one person worse than those involved in an abortion? Along with those wanting the stream of baby parts from Planned Parenthood for research.

How did such a sicko society come to be where so many refuse to step into the other person's shoes to see how things are, before doing what they do to them?

It is not that hard to see that one way or another, a lot of people make the choice to become psychopaths. Over an amount of time of shutting down or overriding their conscience, to justify their selfish thoughts and actions, they are able to extinguish guilt and empathy as well. It is just an ego trip to a particular destination to justify the power hungry, the greedy, the arrogant, who believe they are entitled to direct or affect your life.

Anti God "progressive" World leaders go to places like Bohemia Grove to learn to or re-invigorate their ability to shut down their conscience with methods like "the cremation of care" ceremonies. Then they pretend to care by going to Veterans Hospitals. If they truly cared they wouldn't gin up wars in the first place; or go along with their bankster benefactors. Other's do it through their religion. For the anti God anti religious zealots, your group leaders are no better. You have just bought into another line of BS which is even worse, if you could only see their mission is to make you an ant in an ant colony while they are the queens.

Jimbo
Jimbo
5 years ago

The unacknowledged assumption of the makers of this documentary, and of the experts that were interviewed, is that human beings are “meat machines” and any problems, physical or mental/emotional/psychological, must be caused by some sort of dysfunction of the brain (or more generally, the body).

There is a tremendous amount of experimental and anecdotal evidence that supports the theory that consciousness has existence independent of the physical body, regardless of what establishment mouthpieces like James Randi and Richard Dawkins claim. Some researchers, and many spiritual adepts, believe that consciousness is the ultimate reality.

It seems to me, while brain dysfunction may in large measure explain psychopathic behavior, that dysfunction may (or may not) have a deeper, non-physical source.

Anyhow, it shouldn’t be an automatic assumption that the root cause of psychopathy lies within the physical body.

Also, there is a disturbing endorsement in this film of drastic, invasive measures to deal with psychopathy. It seems to me, there may be a hidden agenda here, of let’s get the public to accept mass microchipping by starting with a special case involving people for whom the masses have little sympathy. Once microchipping is mainstreamed, the ruling authorities will have unprecedented power over the people, and be able not just to surveil us (destroying any privacy) throughout our lives, but to manipulate our thoughts, feelings and perceptions to an extraordinary degree.

Finally, it occurs to me that these small-time criminals, while dangerous, are nothing in terms of destructive power compared to the psychopaths that run the planet - the ones controlling economies, governments, militaries, intelligence agencies, the science establishment, the media, etc. Why do you think we’re always at war, the vast majority of humanity are barely eking out a living, and human health is deteriorating? Is it because of the convicts highlighted in this film? No, it’s people like George Bush senior, the Clintons, the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, George Soros, Henry Kissinger, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, the creeps that run the CIA, MI6 and the Mossad, the entitled cretins that comprise “royalty,” and other elitist monsters. There was brief mention in the film of psychopaths on Wall Street, but that topic was quickly dropped.

Overall, an interesting but flawed film.

Surething
Surething
7 years ago

I'll just add my two cents in here. This 'documentary' is a piece of sh*t. More bullsh*t from the 'psychopaths, the evil monsters who feel no emotion!' crowd. It's a lie of course. There's no such thing as a psychopath.

mike m
mike m
7 years ago

Man! This comment list is almost as long as the religion-atheist ones.

Craig Childers
Craig Childers
7 years ago

Since the achievement of empathy requires accessing intermediate and long term memory from the temporal lobe, what if we helped individuals to practice exercising the brain to go there. Put them into situations in which they need to access intermediate and long term memory. Tolerance and perseverance require accessing these regions as well. We have politicians running for office with these problems, frequently.

Wayne
Wayne
8 years ago

Prof. David Cook in this doco looks a bit like the psychopath who moved into our building in 2010. Acts of aggression included loading the bins with bricks so our elderly caretaker would struggle and perhaps have a heart attack. I took over that chore, so the psychopath filled the bins with rubbish and lay rubbish bags full of broken glass on top, hoping I would attempt to push the pile down into the bin. I did and cut my hands to shreds. Other atrocities included breaking into the apartment of a 95 year old while she was in hospital, then naming and blaming kids in the neighbourhood. His pet dog - poor thing - was never walked but was fed all manner of rubbish so it became grossly obese. It would be made to sit in a space no bigger than an armchair in the corner of the room and not allowed to move from it. No one dared complain about it because the psychopaths seething, screaming rage would sometimes erupt and it was frightening. His lies were flabbergasting - he spread terrible slanders about various targets around the neighbourhood and made numerous vexatious complaints to police. At the age of sixty he had both legs amputated because of diabetes and smoking. He died in late 2012 aged 61, lonely and helpless. It was a good day, and I often think of the deliberate chaos, pain and suffering he loved to inflict on those around him throughout his miserable life. I don't care if psychopaths process things/emotions differently. They know full well what they are doing and relish all the suffering they can create.

Brian Richard Allen
Brian Richard Allen
8 years ago

Chris Dillon: .... Well said. Thank you.

Beer Patzer
Beer Patzer
8 years ago

After reading all the comments, I can safely say that most of the critics of this excellent documentary are themselves psychopaths.

NWLefty
NWLefty
9 years ago

The protagonist, Finch, in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is an industrial pyschopath.

pieter
pieter
9 years ago

What this video seems to forget is that we all behave like psychopaths. But what we call psychopaths are people where we see a more distinct cause-effect relationship in their crimes. And the majority of people dont understand why they do that. But on a global scale we all cause murder, theft etc. We just dont see it that clearly with ourselves, because the relation is less direct. And because we all do it, we tend to think that it is ok.
But i know that for the laptop i am typing this on, child slaves in Congo were used for the coltan. I know that the people that make this jump off the roof to commit suicide, because the working conditions in the capitalistic forced labour camps are that hard. I know that for the oil that is needed for the transport and energy, countries are invaded. I didnt really feel any empathy for those people when i bought this. I just didnt think about it and turned my empathy off and it looks like so called psychopaths basically do the same and rationalise their behaviour.
I have never been actually convicted of a crime, but by this standards i am definetely a psychopath, but it looks like we all are. The only difference is the more accepted and more indirect the relationship is, the less chance you will be labeled as one.

gwhosubex
gwhosubex
9 years ago

What this video seems to forget or assume is that sociopaths could be in police, medicine as well. People just assume police are good, when in fact police crimes are extremely rampant, and only now are the numbers rising because we can finally document them, and share them online. But psychopaths are drawn towards power. Who has monopoly of force in society? Government and police. Gangs have a far lesser degree of power. If you want to go for the big pond, you go into government.

Let's say we make some ethical decision through law (which is pretty ridiculous imo, since we're imposing it at the point of a gun, but that's the present reality so lets go with that for now). Psychopaths are drawn towards government, politicians, and the financial/business/influential spheres. If we made a department, or a ruling, or if there was some legislation making a big decision about how we treat psychopaths, THE PSYCHOPATHS ALREADY IN POWER would kind of do something about it.

Such gaps in comprehensive coverage of the logic in this documentary is pretty disappointing. Here is another example of what I mean.

I think the focus on brain chip implants is rather narrow, and too dismissing of other solutions, facts, and understanding. Epigenetics is established now. Genes turn on and off. The lines between nature and nurture are blurred. And I don't like how they use "biological cause" to imply immutable. Biology encompasses genetics. Environment affects biology. Genetics isn't a decree of fate either. More spectra here.

gwhosubex
gwhosubex
9 years ago

It wasn't all that illuminating. quite superficial... like many documentaries are.

I'm quite interested in this topic.
But much disappoints.

Dank Raven
Dank Raven
9 years ago

The quality of this particular video is quite bad, but am continuing to watch despite this setback. However, one question, is there no way to date these docs? I can tell that its old, but even a estimated date at the top would be quite nice (so that you know if the information in the doc may be outdated).....now on to these psychopaths....

cyberfrank
cyberfrank
9 years ago

psychopaths are the signs of a sick society, it tells us that our system is wrong, are nt we all psychopaths the way we treat animals and nature in general? most people don t give a damn about what damages we cause, putting chips in their heads? is nt this a lack of empathy? fill them with medication? erasing their personality? it seems so me those people have deep wounds that they could not deal with, did nt the guy said his brother would kill him if he took his motorcycle? I think we have a long way to go before we can asses the real solution to this reaction to society, and it will take more than just scan their brains to find it, maybe they should ask them what are their dreams and goals in life, what makes them happy, we could then find out more how they could contribute to make our society better.

Hierophant888
Hierophant888
10 years ago

Medicine is now socialized, the financial system is an oligarchical elite monopoly. Police state ,martial law; suspension of civil rights, internal terrorist profiling internment camps, sexual predator gelding and penectomies, no short bullsh*t rehabilitation for rapists and killers; here lie the answers. Death penalty or forced labor. You want a socialist society, go all the way. There is no moral center; we need to make one; and enforce it. Smoke all the weed you granolas want; but for violence meet it head on with militant draconian measures.

efeuvete
efeuvete
10 years ago

Almost 90% of the damage psychopaths can do is because victims does not know how to identify them. (They are perfect liars, they do not talk, they only lie). So, this is what society can do with psychopaths:

1) Identify them.
2) When identified, chip-mark them.
3) Design a cheap gadget so anybody can identify the chip in anybody.

So, it is crucial to solve 1) way beyond any doubt. But I think we are getting near to a solution; My opinion is that brain-scanning while following an image test is the way.

fu
fu
10 years ago

who ever made this video. is a psychopath. it's all bull s*it. if you no the mind of the psychopath you are one so that means your all psychopath's this just looks like some scam to me what better way to make money then to go and tell people they are psychopaths and they need pill's all the doctors care about is the money not you and they are willing to tell you anything to get it even tell you your crazy when you have done nothing crazy but say crazy stuff and think crazy stuff but that's what I would call a imagination not a psychopaths

scottyladdy
scottyladdy
11 years ago

another video that doesn't play....

Angry_Alumni
Angry_Alumni
11 years ago

doc description mentions professor Hare at the "University of Vancouver" which does not exist- it's the University of British Columbia. come on

Josef Walkure
Josef Walkure
11 years ago

I couldn't tell who the psychopaths were... the patients or the doctors. The FBI guys, Dr. Clarke, and the last guy were all easily 35's on the check list. Labeling the business guy as an 'Industrial' psychopath was just childish and unprofessional--Hare should have his license revoked for not putting this guy in his place. Extremely unprofessional. OJ Simpson was a psychopath?! He showed "a lack of emotion"--would you cry if someone killed your whoring ex-wife? He has "grandiose fantasies"... The man was a Heisman Trophy winner, No.1 Draft Pick, and is in the NFL Hall of Fame. He was a national Laureate of sports, an athletic god. ******' grandiose fantasies! Yeah, because killing two white people is the obvious next step in stroking one's ego after being recognized as one of the greatest football players of our time. Those guys are insane.

madscirat
madscirat
11 years ago

One thing we should keep in mind, and it is something this documentary fails to realize, is that nonpsychopathic people, brainwashed by little strips colored cloth, have been responsible for more death and destruction than psychopaths could ever hope to cause. You really want to stop the most violence, find out how regular people can come to value ideas, like nationality and religion, more highly than human life. Find out how propaganda can shut off empathy in a human being sure as any amygdala abnormality resulting in actions which would make even a psychopath's prefrontal cortex light up. That far more common and far more destructive disorder should be a greater concern than psychopathy. Psychopathy, after all, does not have the potential to undermine and destroy human civilization while this mainstream disorder has brought us to the brink of self annihilation on at least one, possibly several, occasions.

Sommerrainstorm
Sommerrainstorm
11 years ago

There's no guideline specifics to meet for anyone to go by to be psychotic or sociopathic or any of it. I can't say I even believe anyone who says I admit I am psyco or the ones who say oh I'm nothing like that. My father being a preacher and very shy. I've never seen him do one thing wrong. Then the polar opposite psycho mom. I was doomed from birth. My brain blew a fuse many times and still does. I've got empathy. Enough to compensate 25 humans without it so please don't fool yourself into thinking anybody on earth is longing for the s*** you won't ever give. It's not like you were born with super powers. There's something bad wrong with your head and I feel sorry for you. I'll admit my good nature has and will always be a curse. It's probably even worse actually because of the hurt. The guilt. The burdens. How nice must that be to never have any? I wouldn't know but I'd chose reality either way. Pain or joy is neither here nor there. What's the truth? Even animals tend to care if one is hurt. It's not in a book or a list. It's humanity. Morals. Negatives cannot draw anything positive. It is not possible. Without ppl like me this world would have ceased long ago with an explosion of total disreguard. We're supposed to have feelings. That's what seperates humans from animals. I'm no genius but you just can't have much sense at all if you can't recognize this world was not created just for you. I know it cannot be fixed but it's disgusting how some of you say I've no empathy for mankind and proud of it. You're going to need it some day and I hope you don't get it. I mean geez move over pedaphilia. Reduce the sentencing for a simple murderer. Even you don't want your children in a world with ppl who are there to wreak havoc being selfish and ignorant. Lie to yourself. I'm sure you have to since there's no way to justify all the damage you've done to others. That's the devil and a curse to your own kin. Try to fake it at least. That's a genetic defect. I might shed alot of tears and have been s***id and toyed with most all of my life but the best thing in this life is the way it feels to know I made someone's life better for absolutely nothing to gain myself. What a pity nobody dares to try the other side. Same identical thing as a drug addict who never gave NA a chance or the child molestor who won't leave the playground. Being right ant always good and easy for any of us but we do it anyway. I'm so glad it's being studied more now and awareness raised. One person being Narcissist aka an adult who never got it's ass spanked as a child in my book..can and will do so much more than simply kill. It would be different if these types stayed at home but they seek out the innocent and good folks. That's their target because that will feed the psycho for years. Then the victims have to go on and have been so tormented they are actually the only ones who are more mentally unstable than anyone on the planet. So sorry to ramble but I aim to point them out. I ran out of sympathy for that type years ago. Zero tolerance for their selfish idiotic bull crap. Evolve as a race or go back to living in a cave too damn stupid to see you're miserable. Call them out. Seperate them from society the way we would a pack of coyotes or vermin. If they can't find empathy to hell with them. I've got 2 daughters who are nothing but self-less and giving. They're not going to be tricked or toyed with. It's time to end that ignorance.

Stp Rowland29
Stp Rowland29
11 years ago

I was raised by a psychopathic mother then 12yrs of marriage to one worse than her. I appreciate this documentary. It sums up alot of the bs left behind in my mind. I'm sure most ppl just can't really relate but I can and I thank you for this and please keep them coming. If you only help 3 or 4 ppl these documentaries are worth the trouble. It's such a worth cause.

alan b
alan b
11 years ago

i'm almost 67 years old. i have had problems since childhood because of my behaviour, i have only a junior school education. all my illegal activities i consider petty. my 36 year old son was diagnosed with adhd when he was a baby, it became apparrant i also has adhd, it sort of gave my insanity some sanity. i used to wonder why i never grieved, i came up with apathy, i have never mentioned my mentl health to my doctor. i could never hurt nobody, and i dont feel or think i have left victims in my wake. my wife has been saying for some time about my way of thinking, then the word psycopath starts to pop up, and now i am in no doubt about my condition. this realisation is quite new, i could say i dont know how i feel about it, but i do know dont i, nothing. i dont tick all the boxes, i had 2 x 0's and 2 x 1's.

Marlin Klatte Jr.
Marlin Klatte Jr.
11 years ago

i guess it all comes down to (what is normal)

Jack7223
Jack7223
12 years ago

In some ways I think "psychopath" is a relative term. On the broad spectrum of human consciousness and human behaviour, someone has to be in the lower orders. There can be no good guys, as it were, without the bad guys.

I'd be interested to see a documentary about those who might possess the opposite characteristics of the psychopath - the "saint", as it were.

I'm sure people exist who are considered far more benevolent, kind, generous, altruistic and empathetic than the general population.

So where would that leave the rest of us?

Considering so many of us kill animals to eat meat, go to war, cheat and steal, believe that some "god" has our own personal interests at heart (let alone takes responsibility for everything in the universe) - and that's only in what we call the "civilized" world, I'd say we need to apply that old saying that we shouldn't judge lest we be judged.

Any one of us that eats meat is a psychopath, if truth be told, just as sure as we're psychopaths for using products that are produced from slave or near slave labor.

The fact that we allow others to do our psychopathy for us is really no excuse. In some ways it's even worse.

beentothatschool
beentothatschool
12 years ago

One further comment, to steal a quote from Albert Einstein; "The world is a dangerous place, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Knowledge is power, to all you "good Psychopaths....keep on being "good"....the rest of you, we're on to you and we'll protect ourselves and our loved ones. Doesn't really matter why you're trying to hurt other people, only matters that you are.

beentothatschool
beentothatschool
12 years ago

I have seen (and felt) the damage these people do to anyone who is unfortunate enough to get targeted. It's like an Atom Bomb going off, and believe me the blast is only the start of it! The collateral destruction just keeps widening. If there was a way to restrain and confine these "people" (I use that loosely) to prevent them from doing any more harm...then I'm all for it. Until then, I have no problem with getting the word out there to as many of us "prey" as possible to start honing that long forgotten instinct to sense when you're about to become prey.

robbo-roberts
robbo-roberts
12 years ago

I am a diagnosed Psychopath (i was diagnosed at the age of 14) and the only thing i have ever done wrong in my life that comes to mind was i stole a packet of skittles while in high school.
One thing that is really well annoying to see is people of a lower intelligence ridicule me and generalize me with others who share a similar way of thinking who seem to be close to Nazi's.
"the most recent research into the brains and behaviour of psychopaths and assesses the prospects for the treatment or containment of this antisocial group of people who create such a disproportionate amount of destruction."
I am an antisocial person who does nothing but causes destruction and because my way of thinking is different than yours i need "treatment or containment"
Seriously this is bull****, How do you know it is not you who has the faulty way of thinking and my way is evolution breaking through?
I am self taught from the age of 7 on pretty much all topics of the world and at 18 when tested possessed an IQ of 163, Far above average.
Imagine what my mind could be capable of if i had proper teaching from someone who understands how to teach a "Psychopath" instead of saying no **** you and sending me to a special school where the most i learnt was how to get a great score on crash nitro cart on play station 2.
There is a reason who Psychopaths hate the world, look at the way we are treated.

Philosophical_logic
Philosophical_logic
12 years ago

After looking at Hares Checklist which supposedly states whether someone is phsycopathic its obvious that they and moronic and relates to one branch of phsycotic which is the ones that lash out and have no control. No wonder they are having trouble controlling, understanding and helping them...

Philosophical_logic
Philosophical_logic
12 years ago

To be perfectly honest you will never, and i repeat never be able to understand the mind of a phsycopath. Its stupid to even believe that its possible to forcefully change their mind or how it works. The researchers here are obviously stupid as their biased and limited research do not add up to a real logical reason. You should know each person is different and i personally find it extremelly offencive and cruel when they label phsycopaths as monsters, cruel or evil. And as for dangerous goes every person is capable of killing and i personally believe that most of the murderous phsycopaths are able to see beyond the fake innocence of everyone.

Laura Makem
Laura Makem
12 years ago

I have PHD in psychology, and although the psychological information you are providing is somewhat true, the way in which you are presenting it and the language you are using is incredibly immature and (sorry but) uneducated.
Using terms like " the brains and behaviour of psychopaths" and your clear misunderstanding of human nature and how "brain malfunctions" work and occur, demonstrate how it is inappropriate for you to comment on this topic.

Presenting information with limited knowledge to support it can be dangerous, as important, objective and relevant research like this can be wrongly tied to false understanding about a topic such as this.

I'm not trying to be mean or hurtful or say your stupid, but the comments you have made about this documentary are inaccurate and offensive to those with mental health issues.

Chas Bowles
Chas Bowles
12 years ago

psychopath seems like a very broad diagnosis, there must be deeper subclasses of this psychological disorder

BeardHero420
BeardHero420
12 years ago

This makes me afraid to get an MRI. I have a serious problem with right and wrong, and a general lack of morality. It gets me in trouble from time to time. I even killed my neighbors dog when I was a kid (I'm more of a cat person). It's not something I'm proud of - I've been dealing with my own head since I was a boy. It's not fun living every day in social settings where you have to double-check everything before it comes out of your mouth. If I were to always say what was on my mind, I'd probably have no friends. I can't help (really can't help) but to be fascinated by others' pain. I just enjoy it on a very dark level.

That being said, I have a great relationship with my parents, a good group of friends, I've only ever been in two fights, I'd NEVER hit a woman or child, and I genuinely feel bad for people of great disadvantage (third world, diseased, etc.) Still, I can't escape my twisted self. My own brain keeps me far from being happy. It's particularly hard to hold down a relationship when the last thing you'd ever want is for someone to know what you're thinking.

Ah well. Such is life, and such are the intricacies of the human brain. I bet we'll put a man on Mars before we've figured out each an every complexity it has inside.

Star
Star
12 years ago

So is there any psychopaths that are no killer ? Maybe they just don't have no feelings but think more logic? This vid is going to make me look at the people around me very weirdly ....:)

george smith
george smith
12 years ago

I don't feel bad for the women that claim to have been tormented their psychopathic "lovers". I feel bad for their children.
Also we wouldn't have anymore of these sick individuals if women stopped mating and having kids with them.
What the hell is wrong with you women?

Ellie497Grey
Ellie497Grey
12 years ago

A very fascinating documentary. It comes to mind that an intelligent psychopath, and many of them are, could use the scanning criteria to engineer responses capable of fooling the test, and perhaps even learn to stimulate parts of the brain to fool MRI. A psychopath who becomes self aware of their condition is likely to go to extraordinary levels to disguise the fact. It is also likely they may point out the psychopathy of others they recognize to draw attention away from themselves. Certainly I would put forward that the individuals who lack compassion and understanding towards psychopaths are themselves psychopathic or borderline personalities, and this includes some of the people treating the disorder, and some of the commentors here. The tricky thing here is that the lines blur. Psychopaths may actually be capable of feeling and exhibiting emotional responses, but not consistently. For example, some may be capable of most normal reactions but be cruel to animals, or have great compassion for animals but total disregard for other life. We live in a society that rewards and encourages various psychopathic tendencies; stoicism, warfare, vicarious behavior, competitive behavior, emotional disconnection and distance, humor based on cruelty or injury to others, ego worship. Most religious doctrines are handbooks of psychopathic development, and I would go so far as to say even the Buddhist tenants of unattachment fit this statement. This leaves us with a chicken and egg problem, for it infers that while some psychopaths are born, others may be conditioned by society itself to be desensitized to emotional stimuli and ethical values to point of psychopathic behavior traits.
I cannot discount the possibility that I may display some of these traits myself. I am aware that have encountered and recognized psychopaths of dangerous potential, indeed have been attracted to and formed relationships with some of them. I am capable of emotional responses that fit within the palette of "normal" human behavior, but also capable of overriding or even simulating these responses if required. I am a sensitive and highly intelligent person who does not condone violent solutions to problems, loves animals and has a genuine love of some people in my life, including some the psychopaths I have met. I am capable of remorse and of change of behaviors that cause problems or discomfort to others. Yet I am also aware that if required by circumstance I could behave in the exact opposite without remorse, and that this capacity lies hidden inside everyone.
Dangerous psychopaths are generally those without the means to recognize personal danger or process the consequences of their actions. A psychopath who recognizes that certain behaviors will lead to incarceration or execution will act of self preservation and self interest, and be a model citizen in most regards, perhaps even more consistently so than most ordinary people.
These are the ones who are intelligent and self controlled enough to realize their best survival chance is to remain unnoticed, not stand out in the crowd and draw attention, not cause chaos.
Deep within their private thoughts however they may well entertain fantasies of harm to others and society, and have narcissistic tendencies masked by their protective introversion. But then, so do many "normal" people.

Evening Ransom
Evening Ransom
12 years ago

The fact is we have to deal with them because they are our bosses, neighbors, parents, siblings, and worst of all they may be your child's other parent. You won't get help by the system. It is like dancing on eggshells when these people have access to your kids. It is terrifying when your child's other parent cannot love them. They tell you that you should try to get along, but they don't understand that what that would take is neglecting your own children. Wouldn't you step in if you saw any child getting abused? In this case, when you do, you are cast as equally harmful. They see themselves as the victims also, so it takes a miracle to ever uncover the reality esp. as the real victims deny it themselves eventually because they receive no validation or help. It is lonesome and terrifying. it has nothing to do with you. Pray that people start to see who they are. That is almost all you can do. They won't ever see themselves and they won't ever care about anyone else, except to the extent they reinforce their narcissistic belief about themselves. If you threaten to expose them to themselves they will hate you and that is a terrifying place to be -- hated by someone who has no conscience. They can ruin your life without ever getting arrested, and usually they will do it and look like you did it to yourself.

Stephanie1098
Stephanie1098
12 years ago

I think that they should be shot. Who cares in "healing" them or trying to make them see what have done or to feel somewhat kind of remorse for their actions. They are born predators the world is one big obstacle for them and "somewhat normal people" are their prey. I say kill them.

Angela Allen
Angela Allen
12 years ago

Having been in love with, and victimized by a true psychopath, I found this to be fascinating.

Tessa Bell
Tessa Bell
12 years ago

We used to have personality and characteristics, now we have mental and social 'problems', and a ton of anxiety. Science is the study of how magic works. The difference between a scientist and a mage is, simply, that a scientist wants to figure out how and why magic works... A mage just accepts it and utilizes it.

michael morrissey
michael morrissey
12 years ago

Having just watched this documentary I am amazed, it would seem that some people think that our brain has evolved a body in which it exists, whilst other people think that our body has evolved a brain with which to think. How about a our thoughts and feelings interactively evolving together so that if you as an individual create a "perceptual" balance of thoughts and feelings that is useless, unacceptable or inappropriate your genetic evolution will effectively cease over time. I of course could be totally incorrect on this issue but then if I am wouldn't it be likely that my genetic type will also disappear over time as well?

desperad0oo7
desperad0oo7
12 years ago

Has anyone considered the turmoil you'd be putting a psycopath in if you cure them? You would be turning them into conscientious people who now have to deal with all the guilt, remorse and dissonance brought about by their history and past actions. To me it seems too highly unethical to even attempt pulling something like that off. not on humans, we should never let such a mad idea tarnish science.

desperad0oo7
desperad0oo7
12 years ago

This is absurd, people please lay off the "psychotics". These can be gentle, empathic, and often brilliant people. One has won a noble prize. Just because someone embraces irrational thought doesn't make him an enemy of the state WTF!

desperad0oo7
desperad0oo7
12 years ago

This is absurd, people please lay off the "psychotics". These can be gentle, empathic, and often brilliant people. One has even won a noble prize. Just because someone embraces irrational thought doesn't make him an enemy of the state

Alexander Svenson
Alexander Svenson
12 years ago

It would be nice if you could list some info about the documentaries. Congrats on the webpage, really good :)

mia39
mia39
12 years ago

Does anybody know how I can cite this documentary? I need to know the director and such things.

mia39
mia39
12 years ago

does anybody know how I can cite this documentary? I need to know the director and such things but I don't know where I can find it