Table of contentsIntroductionCategorization of psychopathsThe nativist approach (nature)The empiricist approach (education)Interactionist approachConclusionReferencesIntroductionIntroduction: A psychopath is a kind of individual suffering from mental disorders narcissistic and antisocial personality who is easy to manipulate and harm others because he does not sympathize much with them. » (Mark Dombeck, nd). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this essay is to delve deeper into the various arguments against nature. Fuel the debate over whether criminal psychopaths are born or are in fact products of their environments. This essay will contain research on the categorization and diagnosis of psychopaths, prevalence statistics, and cases of criminal psychopathy such as the crimes of Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacey, and Aileen Wuornos as evidence for the various arguments. It will also focus on whether there are viable treatment options for psychopathy and the ethical dilemmas and implications that humanity may face due to the labeling of psychopaths. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayBackground: The nativism versus empiricism debate (also known as the nature versus nurture debate) over the etiology of psychopathy is one that has been discussed by many. The nativist argument suggests that psychopathy is present in an individual from birth and is caused by innate biological factors such as genetics, abnormalities in brain structure, and hormones (McLeod, 2018). The empiricist side of the debate holds that psychopathy is a disorder that develops as a result of experiences during the individual's upbringing, for example social factors in their environment such as abuse and trauma. Another theory is that nature and nurture interact with each other, following the "diathesis-stress model." This suggests that the true cause of psychopathy is, realistically, a combination of biological factors and environmental factors. Categorizing Psychopaths Topic Sentence: Some research on diagnosing psychopaths has shown that there is no formal psychiatric disorder of psychopathy. Instead, psychopathy in ICD-10 is classified under the general category of “dissociative personality disorder.” According to Robert Hare, psychopathy is a spectrum disorder that can be diagnosed using his 20-item checklist called the “Psychopathy Checklist – Revised” or “PCL-R.” Comment: Items include those related to emotional/interpersonal traits such as lack of remorse and guilt or being deceptive and manipulative. The checklist also includes traits linked to social deviance, such as impulsivity and need for stimulation. The checklist is currently used by professionals as a way to clinically diagnose psychopaths based on their symptoms and characteristics. Topic sentence: The “PCL: Screening Version” was used in a survey of the prevalence of psychopathic traits in 638 people aged 16 to 16. 74 in the UK population. Evidence and Citations: With a PCL: Screening Version cutoff score of 13, the study found that 0.6% of the population exhibited significant psychopathic traits. This indicates that psychopathy is a rare disorder in the UK affecting less than 1% of the general population. Topic Sentence: It has been proposed that psychopathy falls into two distinct categories; psychopathyprimary (factor 1) and secondary psychopathy (factor 2) which is located on a continuous scale. Evidence and Citations: Primary psychopaths are characterized by their manipulative, callous, and unemotional personality traits and are thought to lack anxiety and guilt due to an emotional deficit. It has also been hypothesized that these attributes are inherent at birth and are therefore likely the result of biological factors (Hicks et al., 2012). Secondary psychopaths, on the other hand, are markedly different in that they experience high levels of anxiety and appear to be more emotional despite being very hostile and aggressive people. Secondary psychopathy is thought to arise from an emotional disorder such as childhood abuse or neglect, showing the impact of environmental factors (Glaser, 2013). Another notable difference between these types of psychopaths is that primary psychopaths are better at correctly identifying the emotions that others display compared to secondary psychopaths. Topic sentence: Although it should be noted that not all psychopaths are criminals and not all criminals are psychopaths. , psychopaths make up a considerable proportion of the prison population in the United States. Evidence and Citations: It has been found that on average, about 20% of men and women serving prison sentences are psychopaths. Furthermore, for more than 50% of serious crimes committed, those responsible are psychopaths. The Nativist Approach (Nature) Topic Sentence: The argument that criminal psychopathy has its true roots in biology is supported by ample evidence. Evidence and Citations: A theory of the emergence of psychopathy is impaired and abnormal brain structures such as the amygdala which is responsible for fear processing and emotion processing, and the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision-making, social skills, moral reasoning and judgment as well as that, the prefrontal cortex is also vital for the ability to control impulsive, obsessive and antisocial behaviors (Fallon, 2014). Comment: This would explain many behaviors and characteristics that many psychopaths exhibit. Evidence and Citations: Studies using fMRI scans show that many psychopathic individuals exhibit reduced amygdalar functioning during aversive conditioning. The amygdala is also involved in fear responses triggered when people are told that a certain stimulus is associated with negative shock. However, studies of psychopaths have shown that these individuals display a reduced autonomic response to fear cues compared to the control group of individuals (Blair, 2008). Comment: This may demonstrate why many psychopaths do not fear being punished by the prospect of prison or capital punishment, because they do not respond normally to fear cues regarding stimuli (i.e. prison). Evidence and Citation: In a study conducted using MRIs on 124 inmates with significant psychopathic tendencies, it was found that individuals with these psychopathic traits were associated with larger than normal gray matter volumes in their prefrontal cortex. It was also found that in subregions of the prefrontal cortex such as the left middle between the frontal gyrus and the right inferior frontal gyrus, there was greater connectivity (Dolan, 2017). Comment: These studies of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex show how psychopathic individuals exhibit abnormalities in brain structures that may be directly linked to antisocial behaviorthat they manifest, thus providing evidence of the role of nature in the emergence of psychopathy in an individual. Topic Sentence: Heart rate may be another mechanism involved in the development of a psychopath. Evidence and Citation: In a meta-analysis conducted by Adrian Raine and colleagues involving a total of 5,868 children, the relationship between heart rate and antisocial personality/behavior was tested. A significant difference was found between the heart rates of antisocial children and non-antisocial children, with the heart rates of antisocial children being significantly slower (Raine, 2014). Heart rate was also measured during a stressful time, such as waiting for a medical exam or counting down from 1000 in intervals of seven. Although it was found that young men with a heart rate higher were less antisocial than boys with lower heart rates, and the same was true for young women, it was also found that boys on average had a heart rate 6.1 beats slower than young.females. This may explain why there are more convicted male criminal psychopaths than convicted female criminal psychopaths (Raine, 2014). Twin studies have also been conducted and have shown that resting heart rate may be hereditary. Comment: It has been found that children of criminal parents often have low resting heart rates, suggesting that heart rate is truly a mechanism involved in the development of psychopathy, since it has also been shown to There is a hereditary factor in antisocial behavior around the world. generations. Topic sentence: There are a few possible explanations for the link between low resting heart rate and antisocial behavior. Evidence and Citations: The first explanation is the stimulation-seeking theory, a low resting heart rate will in turn produce a low arousal state which forms a negative physiological state in the body. Comment: Therefore, those who behave antisocially seek to increase stimulation levels due to unpleasant feelings of boredom and restlessness. This is supported by the fact that during adolescence, when antisocial and stimulation-seeking behaviors are most common, resting heart rates are actually the slowest in life, which may explain why violent behaviors are at their highest level in late adolescence. Evidence and Citation: The following explanation involves the attribute of empathy. Comment: It has been found that children with lower resting heart rates show less empathy and this may be because they cannot relate to other people's situations, and therefore may be more aggressive due to the fact that they cannot empathize with others. negative feelings of abuse and violence. This is supported by the finding that less empathetic children display more antisocial behaviors and tend to be more aggressive. Evidence and Citation: The final explanation is the theory of fearlessness. Comment: A low heart rate is said to represent a lack of fear, because it indicates that we are not experiencing a sympathetic response in reaction to our innate fight or flight response, because the heart rate automatically increases when our fear factor fear. comes into play (add reference). The threat of punishment such as incarceration would naturally frighten most people, so the risk of this threat occurring as a result of antisocial behavior andviolence is usually enough to deter people from committing crimes such as murder. However, for those who do not feel fear due to a naturally slow heart rate, the threat of punishment does not deter them from committing such crimes, as they do not feel fear or anxiety at the thought of be punished (Raine, 2014). This is supported by research that shows that "a low heart rate provides the foundation for a fearless and uninhibited temperament during infancy and childhood." » Finally, the role of candidate genes such as MAOA also appears to play an important role in the development of psychopathy. .The Empiricist Approach (Nurture) Topic Sentence: Although there is ample evidence supporting the role of nature in the development of psychopathy, there is also research evidence suggesting that psychopathic behavior emerges due to of external social factors in a person's environment, mainly during childhood. This evidence reflects the empiricist view of the debate which suggests that the influence of upbringing is more important than the role of nature in whether a person becomes a criminal psychopath. Early empiricists such as John Locke theorized that every child is born Tabula Rasa (like a "clean slate") and that his development is entirely influenced by his environment and how it conditions him. Evidence and Citation: In 2005, neuroscientist James Fallon discovered that he was a psychopath after analyzing a number of brain scans and realizing that his own brain scan matched those of psychopathic murderers. His PET scan revealed reduced functioning of the orbital cortex and frontal lobe, areas of the brain involved in moral reasoning and aggression, as discussed in Chapter 2. Additionally, he was found to have the MAO variant gene -A, also known as the warrior gene, which is believed to be associated with psychopathy. Eight of his ancestors were also found to be potential murderers (Fallon, 2014). In his book, Fallon explains why he is not a violent offender, even though all biological indicators suggest a great similarity between psychopathic murderers and himself. He came to the conclusion that most of the violent psychopaths he analyzed had been abused as children, and this was not the case, suggesting that upbringing and environmental factors are likely to play a role. important role in criminal psychopathy. Comment: Studies have shown that antisocial behavior is associated with childhood maltreatment, as well as parental rejection and neglect. Although he has the brain of a psychopath, he did not become a violent offender, suggesting that his upbringing had more to do with becoming a violent offender than his biology. to serotonin, parental substance abuse during childhood Poor parental bondingEvidence and citation: Some research indicates how childhood maltreatment is an important risk factor in the emergence of psychopathy in adults. The timing of this abuse is also very important, because the earlier it occurs, the more likely antisocial personality traits are to develop in adulthood (Capsi, 2002). For example, in a survey of 35 psychopathic offenders, it was revealed that 70% of the juvenile offenders had suffered serious abuse during their childhood. James Fallon argued that "because the onset of reliable memory for childhood events in adults can be traced back to the age of three or four, this implied that a higher percentage of adult criminal psychopaths had actually suffered abuseimportant before that. It is therefore possible that more than 90% of them were mistreated. »Witness to AbuseComment: However, some conflicting research suggests that childhood abuse may not be as important in the development of psychopathy as some empiricists had previously thought. Evidence and Citations: In a study of 615 male offenders, it was found that although there was a positive correlation between child maltreatment and psychopathy, it was weak (Poythress, et al., 2006). Similarly, research has shown that childhood abuse increases the risk of developing antisocial personality and violent crime by approximately 50%. Yet most abused children do not become violent criminals, suggesting that there must be other explanations for the cause(s) of psychopathy (Capsi, 2002). Robert D. Hare also addressed a flaw in the theory of childhood abuse causing psychopathy, as he and his colleagues found that there was no evidence that the childhood histories of psychopaths differed from those of other criminals and that most of them had suffered some sort of abuse. Interactionist Approach Topic Sentence: However, the interaction between nature and nurture also presents an equally valid position in the argument around the causes of psychopathy. This approach follows the “diathesis-stress model”. Evidence and Citations: The diathesis-stress model in relation to psychopathy suggests that there must be a biological predisposition ("diathesis") and an environmental stressor ("stress") for one to be vulnerable to a psychopathy disorder. personality. An example of diathesis-stress is the theory that certain individuals have a certain genetic predisposition to personality and behavioral traits that can potentially be triggered by environmental stressors is popular among scientists and psychologists. Comment: Changes to our DNA can affect the activity (expression) of our genes. Chemical compounds can be added to genes and thus regulate their activities. Although these chemical compounds are attached to our DNA, they are not part of our DNA genome. Instead, they make up the components of our epigenome that affect how our genes are expressed. Chemical compounds that change our genes are called epigenetic changes. These epigenetic changes can determine whether or not a gene is expressed and can also be inherited by offspring. Evidence and Citations: Epigenetic changes can explain how genes and environment interact with each other to cause psychopathy (Fallon, 2014), because our epigenome is influenced by our environment. Environmental stimuli can add or remove chemical compounds such as acetyl or methyl groups into or out of our genes (Fallon, 2014), and these epigenetic changes can in turn alter the function of these genes. Stress is one of the main environmental stimuli that can add these acetyl/methyl groups to our DNA because stress causes the release of the hormone cortisol which facilitates the transfer of these chemical groups from different donor molecules to specific genes. These epigenetic interactions between our genes and our environment are relevant to the etiology of psychopathy. Comment: For example, environmental stressors such as emotional or physical abuse as well as in utero stressors such as alcohol/drug use during pregnancy can trigger these epigenetic changes in geneshigh-risk candidates such as MAOA, and therefore completely change the way a person develops. The timing of these epigenetic changes during a child's development is critical, because the earlier they occur, the greater effect they have on how a person develops and what personality traits they will have. accordingly. Evidence and Citations: Caspi's Longitudinal Study of Over 1,000 Men Children born in Christchurch, New Zealand serve as evidence supporting this theory of epigenetic interactions. He studied the degree of association between antisocial behavior, childhood maltreatment, and whether or not participants had the MAOA (warrior gene) variant gene. Although abused men who also possessed the warrior gene made up only 12% of the cohort, they accounted for 44% of the antisocial behaviors displayed in the entire cohort. it was found that 85% of the male cohort who suffered severe childhood abuse and carried the MAOA gene became antisocial. Comment: This study is important because it shows the interaction between MAOA and childhood maltreatment in creating a psychopath. and suggests that these two factors are significantly related.Keep in mind: This is just a sample.Get a custom paper from our expert writers now.Get a custom essayConclusionConclusion paragraph: After reviewing the strengths and the weaknesses of each argument in the nature vs. nurture debate, it would seem that the most valid approach to take towards the creation of delinquent psychopaths is that it is due to a mixture of biological and environmental factors present throughout the an individual's life, particularly during childhood. This follows the concept of the diathesis-stress model which takes into consideration a multitude of different factors in the context of a psychopath's life and is therefore a less reductionist and seemingly more reliable and holistic view. Although arguments for the independent roles of nature and nurture in the development of a psychopath were both supported by empirical evidence, they also provided incomplete conclusions and ignored the risk of potential risk factors in opposite perspective. It should be noted that the diathesis-stress model would predict high vulnerability to psychopathy, but this does not mean that an individual who experiences high-risk environmental factors (such as child abuse), as well as a genetic predisposition (MAOA variant) gene) will inevitably become a psychopath. This concept is less deterministic than the other two views of the argument which suggest that such elements are biological/environmental. ReferencesBiography.com Editors, nd Biography.com. 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