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Never underestimate the propensity for someone to take any topic and turn it political. Usually these guys come from the P&C slum sub-forum of hysterics and partisanship. The obsession is almost - "psychophathic".
Regardless, we are throwing around the term "psychopath" too loosely in this thread (the humorous statement above excepted). Most have never met one, most likely have other people in there lives that likewise unfairly label each of us as a "psychopath" due to some slight that occurred in the past. Estranged family members, ex-friends and ex-lovers usually fall into that category.
Actually sociopaths do not fit in society well. It is psychopaths who are well able to hide their tendencies and blend into society, while sociopaths do not so easily. Sociopaths tend to be hot headed and people can see they're not right, while psychopaths can hide who they really are for their entire lives.
I'd like to correct a mistake I made. (Even though my arches are high and I have a preference for sneaky posts.)
I used the abbreviation SPD instead of APD - Antisocial Personality disorder. Oops.
Since I retired there has been a lot of work done regarding the Sociopath or Psychopath question. They were considered a matter of degree at the time I worked although many people were noticing distinctive differences. They do share an inability to empathize and self-centered motivation.
Some appear to have been born that way and others to have developed the disorder usually after brain trauma. Perhaps the real difference is in the degree of brain damage?
I'm resistant to accepting the statement that sociopaths do not fit into society well. Maybe I need a more complete explanation about what fitting in means. Or maybe it's what you are calling sociopaths. The diagnosed ones or the undiagnosed with the sociopathic tendencies. Because I can think of a number of subsets of society where they are accepted.
Oh lordy, high arches run in my exes family, both my kids inherited it. It has to do with with short tendons, not lying. The tiptoes is a result of the tightening of the tendons, not lies. AND if caught soon enough the tendons can be stretched and the tiptoeing alleviated. Medical, Not because they 'quit' lying... mind-boggled.
Genes are not a "yes" or "No" thing. Multiple genes usually drive one visible trait, and some genes are linked - meaning they have a greater chance of being co-inherited. Since we are talking about a somatic trait that may be linked to a psychological trait - it's a long shot. I'll admit that much.
But ignoring stuff that goes on around you and lacking the "observant" gene plays into "natural selection." Watch Forensic Files some time and note that certain types seem to be more vulnerable to criminals than others - although in order to ascertain that, you have to wade past the initial 8 - 12 minutes where you'd think crime just affects the sharpest, the prettiest, the most poplar, the most sober, etc., then they finally spill the beans.
Maybe short foot tendons are linked with dishonesty? Don't know. I still go with the tiptoeing thing. I know whenever I wanted to "get away with something" I tended to tiptoe. And then, my experiences with those I was able to observe barefoot and my knowledge of muscle physiology, and what people I've hung out with have done. I couldn't help connecting the dots..
It's been noted anecdotally and empirically that women raise the pitch of their voice when interacting with a man they find attractive. What I find interesting and maybe a bit troubling from the study was that women tended to respond this way to men who exhibited affective symptoms of psychopathy, such as being emotionally shallow, callous, and unconcerned with the welfare of others. So those are qualities at least some women seem drawn to? WTF?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
Which of the studies showed that the men exhibited those traits in the experiments? Every one that I looked at only referenced the 2-minute videos, where 50 men were asked benign questions such as what they liked to do on a date. How would the women know from a 2 minute video of a normal conversation whether any of the men were unconcerned about the welfare of others? Not doubting you, I just didn't see anything in the links that said any of the men displayed any of the above traits in the videos, and curious which one had that info.
None of the 50 men were actually diagnosed psychopaths or had criminal records, btw. They were all Canadian university students, and all were given a psychopathy questionnaire before the videos, and it turned out that the men who scored higher in the questionnaire were also the ones ranked most attractive.
From the second link, quoting the study author Dr. Brazil.
"....Women tended to increase the pitch of their voices when recording a message for a man higher in the affective component of psychopathy (shallow emotions, callousness, lack of concern for others) and to lower their pitch in response to men higher in the antisocial component (disregard for authority, poor anger controls)."
You are missing the point, the term "Psychopath" is used so frequently as to have no meaning. Yes there is are clinical test used as assessment tools in the criminal justice system. And now of course we have idiots on the internet that adapted into into a checklist ("click on this site, check this box to see if you or someone you know is a psychopath"). Nonsense.
The Hare test and similar tests are usually given to someone that already is incarcerated (i.e. already has a history of violent and criminal behavior) and should be given only, obviously, by a professional in the field and in a controlled environment. What's the purpose? To see if a criminal can be rehabilitated or not.
It's not really intended for the general public as some measure of psychopathy.
There really is such thing as a psychopath. It has a real meaning. Using fmri imaging neuroscientist James Fallon is able to spot them and identify them including in himself. His book was really interesting. We have done a fair amount of research on psychopaths and Jon Ronson wrote an outstanding book summarizing that research. The material about about surgeons and professions involving blood like emergency room nurses being more likely to be psychopaths came from research cited in that book. Same for the material about sex workers.
We are not using the exclusively to see if a criminal can be rehabilitated. This research is also being used to mitigate the harm caused by psychopaths Psychopathy is a financial fraud risk. Which is why we are now trying to train auditors how to spot the signs of psychopathy and the professional publications write articles trying to convey this risk.
Lastly psychopathy is a dating risk. Look at the number of women who have been raped, sexually assaulted, stalked or experienced domestic violence. I am not saying that this happens exclusively because psychopathy, but its a risk factor and for women who can correctly spots the signs, that lowers this risk.
There really is such thing as a psychopath. It has a real meaning.
I think we have a misunderstanding here. Of course it's real. But, again the point, and this isn't even directed at you, but once you start using the term so freely it loses it's meaning.
I think we have a misunderstanding here. Of course it's real. But, again the point, and this isn't even directed at you, but once you start using the term so freely it loses it's meaning.
You are welcome to make a thread about people saying psychopath too freely or to complain about posters talking about personality disorders too much.
Your posts are off topic for this thread.
If you cant contribute to the thread other than complain about the thread, then you are derailing.
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