Flannery Kuhn Ashlyn Williams English 1102 13 March 2014 Literature Review Terms: Psychopathy: Psychopathy is a disorder found

in a person and is hard to detect. A psychopath may appear normal but they have very manipulative features that can often lead to criminal-like actions. It is extremely resistant to treatment. Psychopaths and Sociopaths are related terms, and in the 1800s doctors working with mental patients noticed a abnormality about them which deemed them morally insane changing the name to sociopath because of the damage they could have on society. Psychopath: A psychopath is a term used to describe a person with the disorder of psychopathy. It is someone that is affected by the personality disorder marked by aggression, violence, antisocial thought and behavior and a lack of remorse or empathy Sociopath: A sociopath is another term used to describe someone with the personality disorder. Morally Insane: A state of madness consisting in a morbid perversion of the natural feelings, affections, inclinations, temper, habits, moral dispositions, and delusions. Pathology: Pathology is the science of the causes and effects of diseases. Childhood Trauma: Allen, Rosse, and Osofsky speak about the affects that childhood trauma has on the future of the child. Because of the violence that children in the world are introduced to at a young age, this triggers something in their minds they can cause a defect on the child and change their perception on situations. Osofsky states that the

homicide rate among young people ages 15 to 24 has doubled since 1950 to the rate of 37 homicides per 100,000 people in 1991. Of course these traumas are across the board and include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in young children and adults. Children exposed to the use of guns, knives, drugs, and random acts of violence are more likely to incorporate these same items and actions in their lives growing up. With children they learn most of what they know by seeing how it is used or recognizing the reputation of the item or action. Also, Allen and Rosse clearly explain that the vulnerability of children to the effects of trauma may lead that child to have specialized interventions during there recovery, or very exhaustive counseling for years following the traumatic event. These children develop a higher risk for both short-term and long-term negative emotional reactions. Studies have shown after events such as Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, parental stress levels have affects childrens stress levels and have become more noticeable variables when studying childrens stress levels to these events. Each article delves into the idea of a child potentially having lifetime affects even after months or years of therapy. Essentially, the parents reaction plays a major role on the childs reaction to what ever trauma they have been around.

Psychopathy: Ells, Harris, Bower, Killing and Rice all speak about the hardwiring of the common psychopath. In Harriss article he claims that the psychological construct of the mind has gone through many changes over the decades to get to where we are in modern day. It has existence in woman, men, children, and all racial and ethnic groups. Since its manifestation in todays world has increased, these so-called psychopaths or mentally disturbed and morally insane folk have comprised a natural class of individuals. Ells

makes a claim that psychopaths are often hard to point out from ordinarily normal people. They also easily harm those that they are closest with because they have made connections with them throughout their lives. Of those men, women, children, and racial groups, only a small population actually fit the psychopathic personality profile of the population of those in prison. Each article explains the difficulties in curing this disorder. Some have deemed it incurable and permanent. Their emotions are so strong and so wide-ranging that they need extra care when placed in hospitals. In Bowers article he states that there are two varieties of psychopaths. They are manipulative and quite charming, however in their manipulative and charming ways they take what they want do as they please. Due to their actions, some psychopaths are put in jail, which seems fair to those that harm is done upon. But, in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology researchers have made reports that a separate breed of psychopaths has developed from imprisonment. This so-called breed has been said to express little emotion when interviewed for research. Also in recent studies on psychopaths or sociopaths, they have difficulties in planning ahead, thinking flexibly, and controlling their impulses, which had an overall affect on each person. Not to mention the beginning stages of psychopathy in young children. Nature vs. Nurture: In Santaularia, Esterman, and Geniuss articles they seek the nature vs. nurture aspect in a psychopaths life and how DNA plays a role in peoples psychoses. Esterman shares in his article that the idea of Nature vs Nurture was not only popular when the Greek philosopher, Plato stated that our morality and capability of intelligence was inherited but is also a common idea today. Being aware of the saying the apple doesnt fall far from the tree demonstrates to us the idea that in a psychopaths

mind, something occurred for them to become who they are today. In other words, our DNA plays a role in the way we are, so essentially, the way we are raised and what is in our genetic code give reasons to be sane and insane. In Santaularias article he shares that in the show Dexter, Dexter this psychopath, claims he does not know what made him the way he is. There are plenty of reasons that back up his psychotic state of mind, some relation to the trauma he witnessed in his childhood, some from his genetic makeup and then some from the way he was raised. Supporting the Nature vs. Nurture aspect once more.

Entering the Conversation: If I asked you to tell me what you know about the pathology of a psychopath based on what television and the media has displayed for you, what would you say? Most of us have gathered our information on what we know about psychopaths based on numerous television shows such as the classic CSI, NCIS, Dexter, Sherlock, and many more crime scene investigation shows. You would probably tell me that psychopaths are insane, mentally ill, manipulative, dangerous, unstable and you shouldnt associate yourself with them. I would have to agree with all of these descriptions that go along with your general psychopath. Over the past few decades, television shows with violence have increased and managed to gain the fascination of teenagers and young adults. But how far will they continue to go until it becomes excessive? In popular shows on television these days main characters have been given pathological illnesses because it strays away from the normal protagonist of a series, which grasps the viewers attention and creates an interest in that specific character. We

begin to ask ourselves, what will they do next? Will they harm someone they love? Will they harm themselves? These characters leaves us questioning their every move in anticipation that some twist will occur in the next five minutes of watching. I believe that the increase of all of these shows and movies about people with psychopathic issues will soon have a higher demand of a large population of viewers. Excessiveness of this portrayal will become an issue. I believe