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Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, along with a number of other infamous American serial killers were truly dark men encapsulated in a plastic shell. From the exterior, these men appeared mild mannered, friendly, even charming. But on the inside lurked true monsters whose insatiable thirst for excitement could only be quenched by inflicting misery on other people. These men typified the quintessential psychopath.

Frighteningly, about one percent of the general population are psychopaths, yet not surprisingly this group comprises about a quarter of the population of prison inmates. Psychopathy is defined by a personality disorder marked by an abnormal disregard for the feelings of others; an blatant lack of empathy. This fact, combined with the fact that psychopaths engage in strongly amoral conduct is made dangerous because of the psychopath’s ability to appear outwardly normal.

As of now, psychopathy is considered incurable and untreatable by many psychologists because a psychopathic’s inability to connect with humans and lack of morals permits them to lie and manipulate with ease. In fact, traditional methods of therapy have only served to permit psychopaths to perform more efficiently. All of the practice in manipulation and the tools that therapy provides to feign emotion come in handy for this group. Psychopathy and lying come hand in hand. Because of a seemingly normal exterior that encases their dark nature, studies indicate that psychopathic convicts are 2.5 times more likely to be released from jail than a normal convict despite the fact that statistically, they are more likely to commit crime again. Like therapy, a jail sentence and a psychopath can be a dangerous combination. One can assume that after serving time, a person like this with no regard for human life or repercussions will only be better at committing acts of violence or crime.

Psychopaths are frequently referred to as predators by psychologists who specialize in the field. Your typical psychopath will get bored easily, requires more stimulation to get excited, and gets a sick pleasure from grabbing control over other people. They will stop at nothing to get what they want, utilizing manipulation, charisma, intimidation, sexual intercourse and violence to satisfy their needs, without any feelings of guilt or remorse. Studies have shown that the threat of repercussions or punishment for acting amorally has no effect on these people either.

What is truly scary is the psychopath’s inherent ability to be a chameleon. Many are experts at mimicking normal human emotions, can be charming on the surface, and have the ability to blend in anywhere, in a variety of situations. Maybe the cunning ability of psychopaths to lie without concern for accuracy and to feign emotions are the reason why many people find them so charming, but really they are egocentric and possess a cold demeanor. Again, the psychopath’s tendency to get bored easily combined with an increased need for stimulation, a disregard for other people and no fear of consequences can often create a deadly situation.

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The fact that in the wild, animals have the capacity to be impulsively aggressive and antisocial leads one to believe that the cause of psychopathy may be genetic. If it were, the amygdala would most likely play an imperative role, considering that it is responsible for responding to emotional expressions and is critical for stimulus-reinforcement learning. Additionally, the amygdala is involved in the act of associating stimuli with punishment and rewards.

A large amount of abnormalities have been found in the brains of psychopathic people, like impairment of the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s gray matter, the brain’s white mater, and the limbic system. However, there have not been any homogeneous abnormalities that have occurred enough to be spotted as a trend. As of now, psychopathic characteristics are chalked off to neurobiological and genetic factors, as well a specific person’s role in society.

This brings us to the debate of nature verses nurture. Are all psychopaths inherently amoral people? Is it possible for a psychopath to lead an honest productive life? If someone is at risk to be a psychopath can it be more probable that they will grow into one if they suffer from an abusive childhood? Due to the fact that psychopathy is not normally diagnosed in children, there are no clear answers to these questions. Experts have been able to point out psychopathic tendencies in children, but it seems as though no one is sure what to do with these children. More conclusive research or perhaps a long term study involving early intervention could clear up some issues. It is believed that there are two similar personality disorders, psychopath and sociopath. Psychopaths are born with impulsivity, fearlessness and are harder to arouse. Sociopaths, on the other hand have normal temperaments and it is believed that their antisocial behavior stems from the environment. Psychopathy leans towards the hereditary.

If psychopathic tendencies are recognized in childhood they will be diagnosed as conduct disorder. However, not all children with conduct disorder necessarily grow up to be psychopaths. Regardless, childhood diagnoses of conduct disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder are highly correlated with adult psychopathy. As one might guess, children that exhibit psychopathic precursors have little regard for punishment, and nothing can seem to fix their undesirable behavior. Having three of the following indicators are sufficient proof that a child may grow up to be a psychopath: animal abuse or violence towards smaller children, pathological fire starting, lying for seemingly no reason, theft and truancy, and aggression to peers that can extend to psychological torment for their victim.

From an uneducated outsider’s viewpoint, it might appear to make sense that a psychopath may have an additional mental illness. However, any reasonable psychologist will point out that most people suffering from mental illness are hyper aware of their own emotions and the emotions of the people around them. Therefore, comorbitity among psychopaths is generally found to be low. However, as with many other issues that concern psychopaths, the data collected here is inconclusive due to their tendency to lie and manipulate therapists and researchers, their lack of motivation to participate in studies, and the hesitation that potential researchers might feel about working with them, considering the danger.

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