“Personality Faceaurus”

A short post – Research of interest by Nicholas S. Holtzman, Ph.D., Facing a psychopath: Detecting the dark triad from emotionally-neutral faces, using prototypes from the Personality Faceaurus. Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 45, Issue 6, December 2011, Pages 648-654.   Here and associated website,  Personality Faceaurus   Here

Can you tell a psychopath by just looking at him/her?

Psychopathy and emotions

Two studies that apparently aim to manipulate and confuse. First out is the following study, The Empathy Ceiling: The Rich Are Different — And Not In a Good Way, Studies Suggest – The ‘Haves’ show less empathy than ‘Have-nots’  Here   which has gained attention in the “old media” as well,  Here  So, do “rich” people have less empathy?  In view of the fact that we find many of them sitting in high-power positions which they most likely, aggressivly have “bullied” their way to,  in order to gain power and control over others as well as for personal gain, probably so.  Power and control over others are by the way, core traits of psychopathy. 

Some research of interest concerning empathy;

Responding to the emotions of others: Dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. R.J.R. Blair (2005)  Here
The amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in morality and psychopathy. R.J.R. Blair   Here
The amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex: functional contributions and dysfunction in psychopathy. R.J.R. Blair (2008)   Here
Fine cuts of empathy and the amygdala: dissociable deficits in psychopathy and autism. Blair (2008)  Here  
Neurobiology of Empathy and Callousness: Implications for the Development of Antisocial Behavior (2009)   Here

Furthermore concerning the study, “Unlike the rich, lower class people have to depend on others for survival, Keltner argued. So they learn “prosocial behaviors.” They read people better, empathize more with others, and they give more to those in need.” Hmmm, a rather odd statement considering the fact that the “rich people” would not be “rich” without the “lower class people”. (please note the put down here used by the author, by referring to a group of people by calling them “lower class people”). People with empathy don’t have to “learn prosocial behaviors”, it comes with having empathy. Individuals with diminished empathy, like the psychopath, does however have to “learn prosocial behaviors” and does so in order to be able to manipulate, dupe and use others for personal gain, something these “bullies” also take pleasure in doing,   Bullies may enjoy seeing others in pain: Brain scans show disruption in natural empathetic  response  (2008)   Here   (The word “may” is of course an understatement)

Concerning the video recordings of “rich people”, “In video recordings of conversations, rich people are more likely to appear distracted, checking cell phones, doodling, avoiding eye contact, while low-income people make eye contact and nod their heads more frequently signaling engagement.”  Now isn’t that interesting, the now unfortunately deceased Tim Field, founder of bullyonline noted the following about “bullies” and eyecontact, the “bully” “makes inappropriate eye contact, either too little (or none at all) or too much (staring)”, The serial bully   Here    Below some studies of interest in regard to eye contact and psychopathic traits;

Love, eye contact and the developmental origins of empathy v. psychopathy. MR Dadds (2011)   Here
Commentary: Are callous unemotional traits all in the eyes? Examining eye contact in youth with conduct problems and callous unemotional traits – reflections on Dadds et al. R.J.R. (March 2011)   Here
Bullying at school as a predictor of delinquency, violence and other anti-social behaviour in adulthood. Bender et al. 2011   Here
Impaired attention to the eyes of attachment figures and the developmental origins of psychopathy. Dadds (2010)   Here  
Early maternal and paternal bonding, childhood physical abuse and adult psychopathic personality. Raine, Gao et al. (2010)   Here  
Learning to ‘talk the talk: the relationship of psychopathic traits to deficits in empathy across childhood. Dadds (2009)   Here  
The relationship between psychopathic traits and attachment behavior in a non-clinical population. Tawny D. Mack et al. (June 2011)   Here   Also of interest; 
Structural Brain Abnormalities in Psychopaths—a Review (2008)   Here   and
“Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often a precursor of psychopathy”. “However, the disorder of ADHD likely increases the probability, not the certainity, of psychopathic behavior.”   Here
Furthermore, an interesting post by neurologicalcorrelates concerning psychopaths and eye contact,  The Reptilian Stare: Psychopath’s pupil dilation when you are the target   Here

The second studie, On the Tyranny of Professional Labelling (June 2011)   Here  where you can read the following statement, “The specific construct of psychopathy is used to demonstrate some of the unpleasant albeit unintended effects of professional labelling.”   Considering the damage these gravely personality disordered individuals, sooner or later, always do, and moreover, enjoy doing,  they need to be labelled and removed ASAP.   Book of interest,  Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work  By, Hare and Babiak   Here  and Classification of Corporate Psychopaths  Here

So what does the psychopath feel?  Claudia Moscovici, psychopathyawareness, did an excellent post on the subject, The Psychopath’s Emotions: What Does He Feel?  To read the post, click  Here

Studies of interest in connection with above post on the psychopath’s emotions;
Psychopathy, frustration, and reactive aggression: The role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex (2010)   Here  
Mesolimbic dopamine reward system hypersensitivity in individuals with psychopathic traits (2010)   Here    and related article,
Psychopaths’ Brains Wired to Seek Rewards, No Matter the Consequences (2010)   Here   as well as Dr. Simon’s post,  Having to Win: The Combative Thinking of the Disturbed Character   Here

Last but not least, Claudia Moscovici’s book, Dangerous Liaisons: How to Identify and Escape from Psychopathic Seduction,  is now also available online, for more information, click  Here 

* On callous disregard for others and all living organisms,  Geoengineering: Destroying the Atmosphere – Rosalind Peterson, video   Here

Children at risk – Callous disregard for the feelings of others

Due mostly to lack of information about individuals with psychopathy, women and men have ended up in relationships with psychopaths. However, even people with knowledge of this particular personalitydisorder have been fooled which makes it even more important to spread information about the disorder.   Having a child and/or children with a psychopath means a lifetime of, if nothing else, continuous emotional pain. Research point to that psychopathy is a genetically inherited personalitydisorder. Study;   Evidence for substantial genetic risk for psychopathy in 7-year-olds (2005)   Here   Furthermore, “Genetic effects explain the stability of psychopathic personality from mid- to late adolescence.” (2008)   Here   and, “A longitudinal twin study of the direction of effects between psychopathic personality and antisocial behaviour (2010)  Here which came to the conclusion that; “This study provides evidence that genetically influenced psychopathic personality is a robust predictor of adult antisocial behaviour, but also that persistent antisocial behaviour has an impact on adult psychopathic personality via genetic effects.”    A more recent study, Psychopathic personality traits in relational aggression among young adults. (March-April 2011)  Here   concluded that, “psychopathic traits were not differentially predictive of RA by gender or level of physical aggressiveness”

Related: Trait correlates of relational aggression in a nonclinical sample: DSM-IV Personality Disorders and Psychopathy (2008)   Here     Also of interest,   Mean girls and bad boys: Recent research on gender differences in conduct disorder (June 2011)  Here  and  The Genetic and Environmental Covariation Among Psychopathic Personality Traits, and Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Childhood (July 2011)   Here   which demonstrated, “a significant genetic and non-shared environmental correlation among psychopathic personality traits and reactive and proactive aggressive behaviors in children using both caregiver reports and child self-reports.”

This brings us to Mark Dadds latest research and the following article (September, 2011), Bad to the bone  Here  
Impaired attention to the eyes of attachment figures and the developmental origins of psychopathy. Mark R. Dadds et al. (March 2011)  Here    and   Do callous-unemotional traits moderate the relative importance of parental coercion versus warmth in child conduct problems? An observational study. By Dadds et al. (July 2011)   Here

Seeing that psychopathy most likely is a genetic disorder it is of course of great importance that as many people as possible get as much information as possible about the personality disorder, especially – BEFORE a relationship produces children with a genetic risk of developing a psychopathic personality disorder.   Children with psychopathic trais do not only put themselves at risk (ie. fearless, impulsive) but also pose a risk for parents, siblings, classmates and others who may come in contact with them.  Add to this, that these children also, unlikely as it may sound, actually enjoy hurting/killing others,  Bullies may enjoy seeing others in pain: Brain scans show disruption in natural empathetic response.(2008)   Here   Also see earlier post, “Bullies” and why they keep “bullying” regardless of age   (2009)   Here

Also of interest,  
Psychopathy, Brain Damage And Empathy (2011)   Here  
‘Wasn’t me!’ A field study of the relationship between deceptive motivations and psychopathic traits in young offenders (September 2011)   Here
Special Issue: Child and Adolescent Trauma across the Spectrum of Experience: Underserved Populations and Emotional Abuse.   Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, Volume 4, Issue 2, 2011   Here

As is often the case concerning psychopaths, harm is usually done before the “victim” is aware of the damage done.   Dr. Liane J. Leedoms site  can be of great help for those who find themselves raising a child at risk, see;  Parenting the At Risk Child   Here

Help for parents whose child is beeing “bullied” (psychologically/emotionally abused at school)  by either a classmate or teacher, 
Child bullying, school bullying, bullycide   Here  and  Bullycide in America – Moms Speak Out!   Here

Books:

High Risk: Children Without A Conscience, by Dr. Ken Magid and Carole A.McKelvey – For a book review click  Here
The Abusive Personality by Dr. Dutton   Here    Book review  Here
Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychopathy (2010)   Here

Write-ups/Articles (older)

The Origins of Antisocial Behaviour, Twin Study   Here
Genes help determine which kids thrive despite abuse (2006)  Here
Development and Psychopathology (2006)  Here

Some research of interest ;

Brain differences in adolescents, psychopaths, lend to their impulsive, risk-taking behavior (2004)   Here
Nature X nurture: genetic vulnerabilities interact with physical maltreatment to promote conduct problems. (2005)   Here
Genes for susceptibility to violence lurk in the brain (2006)   Here
Cognition to genes via the brain in the study of conduct disorder. (2008)   Here
Relationships between a parental negativity and childhood antisocial behavior over time: A Bidirectional effect model in a longitudinal genetically informative design. (2008)   Here
Quantitative genetic studies of antisocial behaviour. (2008)   Here
Psychopathic personality in adolescence: Genetic and environmental overlap with externalizing and internalizing problems. (2009)   Here
Amygdala Hypoactivity to Fearful Faces in Boys With Conduct Problems and Callous-Unemotional Traits (2009)   Here
The contribution of Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems to bullying in early adolescence. (2009)   Here
Psychopathic Personality in Adolescence – Genetic and Environmental Influences (2009)   Here
Predictors and Outcomes of Joint Trajectories of Callous–Unemotional Traits and Conduct Problems in Childhood.  (2011)   Here 
‘Wasn’t me!’ A field study of the relationship between deceptive motivations and psychopathic traits in young offenders.  (2011)   Here   
More recent reserach concerning children/youth with psychopathic traits can be found at;   It Affects Us All, top of the page   Here

Last but not least, some quotes;

“First of all, it is found among all social classes. Such character disordered people are not only the charming con men and dangerous gold diggers that Dr. Hare warns us about, not only are they the lower-class, drunken, drug abusing “sociopaths” which Dr. Black writes about, they are also people who hold high positions in society, as Jungian author Guggenbuhl-Craig has said, because those who cannot love want power.”  Here

and

“Callous, deceitful, reckless, guiltless . . . The psychopath understands the wishes and concerns of others; he simply does not care . . . The psychopath believes that rules and morals are for other, weaker people who obey because they fear punishment . . .  Lying, evasiveness, feigned forgetfulness, vague and inconsistent answers about his past . . .”
Dr. David B. Adams   Here

“Lying is like breathing to the psychopath. When caught in a lie and challenged, they make up new lies, and don’t care if they’re found out. As Hare states, “Lying, deceiving, and manipulation are natural talents for psychopaths…When caught in a lie or challenged with the truth, they are seldom perplexed or embarrassed — they simply change their stories or attempt to rework the facts so that they appear to be consistent with the lie. The results are a series of contradictory statements and a thoroughly confused listener.”   Here

Red flags and cerebral correlates

“The most important self-defense against psychopathic seducers consists of recognizing the initial warning signals so that you can escape the relationship early on, hopefully before you’re seriously harmed.” Further reading;  Red Flags: How to Identify a Psychopathic Bond   Here

Not only do psychopaths cause great a deal of damage in personal relationships but they also cause a great deal of damage in the workplace;  The serial bully  Here   ;  When the Boss Feels Inadequate  Here   and  Role of Incompetence of Aggressive Bully Bosses Confirmed   Here  as well as at school,  Here   and  Here  and, Research examines callous-unemotional traits, conduct problems in children (Feb. 21, 2011)  Here ;  Mean girls and bad boys: Recent research on gender differences in conduct disorder (2011)  Here   and “Cool” Inferior Frontostriatal Dysfunction in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Versus “Hot” Ventromedial Orbitofrontal-Limbic Dysfunction in Conduct Disorder: A Review. (June 2011) Here

Some recent research of interest;

Cortex and amygdala morphology in psychopathy (Aug. 2011)  Here

White matter microstructural abnormalities in the frontal lobe of adults with antisocial personality disorder (July 2011)   Here   Add to that an excellent post by swivelchair,  Psychopath white matter: Abnormal mostly on the right hand side (July 25, 2011)   Here

Greed is good? Student disciplinary choice and self-reported psychopathy. (August 2011, In Press) Here    Also of interest;  via sott.net, Psychopaths and big money – it all adds up (Aug. 20, 2011)   Here 

Psychopaths are among other things, emotionally immature, greedy fraudsters who affect us all.   So called “global warming” is apparently a hoax created to steal more of your money (carbon taxes etc.);  Climate Gate  Here  ;   Satellite-gate  Here  and  Here   As the lies were discovered, now apparently a new approach;
Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists (18 August, 2011)  Here
Insane! Report For NASA Claims Aliens May Attack Earth If We Do Not Stop Global Warming (Aug. 19, 2011)   Here  which feeds right into, “psychopath’s must win no matter the cost”   Here 

Psychopath’s are also irresponsible, greedy sadists who lack a conscience, besides toxic “vaccines”, GMO is causing great damage not only to the public, (Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation (2008) Here   and Seeds of Deception  Here  GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies  Here , High levels of GMO agrochemicals found in breast milk of Brazilian mothers (April 21, 2011)  Here ) to the animals who are fed the toxins (Deadly new disease linked to recent crop failures and animal miscarriages caused by GM crops, pesticides (July 19, 2011)  Here )  but GMO is also damaging the soil, USDA Scientist: Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide Damages Soil (Aug. 19, 2011)  Here 

Considering the damage psychopaths do, emotional, psychological, physical, economic etc., the public should start by demanding that anyone holding or seeking a public/political office should be tested, to weed out these gravely personalitydisordered individuals.   It is not about rightwing, leftwing or any other “wing”, it is about people with a conscience v.s., people without a conscience (psychopaths).   Once identified psychopaths should also be held accountable for the damage they have caused.   Psychopaths Know Right from Wrong but Don’t care (2010)  Here  as well as enjoy hurting/killing others  Here    Also of interest; Do sociopaths see everyone as though in the uncanny valley?  Here

The more you know, the better you can protect yourself, those near and dear as well as your fellow human beings.

Psychopathy and Sadism

Systematically one “victim” at the time unless they are sitting on a major powerposition where they can take “delight” in manipulating, duping and destroying the lives of many.  That’s right, taking pleasure in destroying someones life - meet the psychopath, an individual filled with such unimaginable jealousy, hate and contempt for others that unless you have had a run in with such an individual it can be hard to understand or even believe that someone would actually enjoy hurting, drive someone to kill themselves (murder by suicide Here) or kill someone.

So, are psychopath’s sadists?  Short answer, yes.  Besides the fact that anyone who has had a run in with such an individual will tell you that, we now even have “picture proof” that they enjoy hurting others   Here    Dr Liane Leedom wrote an excellent post on psychopathy and sadism back in 2008, Sadism and warped empathy in sociopaths, in which she wrote in regard to psychopaths and sadism, “In fact they seem to enjoy inflicting all types pain (harm) on others.”  She further wrote, “The enjoyment of hurting another person is called sadism. Sadism usually refers to enjoying another’s physical pain. However, sociopaths enjoy inflicting all manner of pain on others including financial, emotional, psychological and social.” Dr. Leedom sums it up by saying, “sociopaths are in the business of reducing people to nothing and then taking glory in their accomplishment”. Read Dr. Leedoms post,  Here

It is all about power and control over others.  The “bully” ( in school or at work), takes for ex., power away from the “victim”/target by spreading vicious and untrue rumors behind his/her back.   Here follows an interesting post about the psychopathic boss; Traumatic Bonding with Corporate Psychopaths (Office Stockholm Syndrome)    Here  , a rerun of an earlier post (video),  Corporate Psychopaths (2005)  Here   The psychopathic partner take power away by for. ex., playing psychological mind games and/or inflict physical harm.  About harmful psychopathic relationships; When You Love Your Abuser: Stockholm Syndrome and Trauma Bonds (15 mars, 2011)   Here   In regard to psychopaths in power;  Truth to Power: Psychopaths Rule Our World   Here    Why Does the World Feel Wrong?   Here and  Alan Watt ‘Cutting Through The Matrix’   Here

“Collectively, these findings suggest that psychopaths may be more likely than other offenders to derive pleasure from the suffering of others”
Handbook of Psychopathy, p. 487

“there is an actual enjoyment of the others’ suffering”
Conceptualization of hostile psychopathy and sadism: Drive theory and object relations perspectives.   Here

“Duping delight – getting one over on the victim with tricks and lies. The enjoyment of deception, covert scheming and betrayal . This links into being in ‘Control’”   Here

Concerning psychopathy and sadism Dr. J. Reid Meloy published the following, The Psychology of Wickedness: Psychopathy and Sadism  Here  back in 1997 where he stated, “Some of the psychodynamics of the psychopath bring us closer to what we see as their evil, or their wish to destroy goodness. Psychopaths are aggressively narcissistic, and this aspect of their character pathology is often expressed behaviorally by the repetitive devaluation of others, not predominantly in fantasy, as we see in narcissistic personality disorder but in reality. Psychopaths generally do this for two reasons: first, to maintain grandiosity, or their sense of being larger than life, and second, to repair perceived insults or emotional wounds by retaliating against those they hold responsible. This repetitive devaluation of others, which may range from verbal insults to serial homicide, also serves to diminish envy, an emotion highlighted by Klein13 and recently explored by Berke.14 Envy is the wish to possess the “goodness” perceived in others. If the “good object” cannot be possessed, it must be destroyed or damaged until it is not worth having.”

We know that the psychopath lacks a consience,  they lack shame and remorse for what they do (2 books of interest Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths among Us by Robert D. Hare  and The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout) but how about empathy? Below an article and a recent study of interest;
Psychopathy, Brain Damage And Empathy (26 jan., 2011)   Here   and Dr. Simone G. Shamay-Tsoory study points to two systems of empathy;
Two systems for empathy: a double dissociation between emotional and cognitive empathy in inferior frontal gyrus versus ventromedial prefrontal lesions   Here

Anyone who has had some type of interaction with a psychopath knows its all about power and control over others.   Why you may ask if you have never had an Encounters of the Psychopathic Kind   Here   Well, I’ll let Dr. Melton sum it up, “Integrity and conscientiousness remind Controllers of their most profound character flaw. They hate being reminded of what they do not have. They hate those qualities in others because Controllers cannot possess them. That is one reason that they are attracted to integrity. But their attraction is rooted in a desire to dominate or destroy. They must manipulate, rule or emotionally and psychologically annihilate anyone whose soundness of character reminds them of their own profoundly egotistical, selfish and empty natures.   Here

“Remember, a need for absolute power over others is a core trait of the psychopath.”   Here

So what can we do to make this world a better place for us all?   One thing is to educate yourself and others about psychopathy, learn the “red flags” and use your critical thinking.   Awareness will help limit their progress.

Reading of interest;

Red Flags: How to Identify a Psychopathic Bond    Here  

Must “win”, no matter the cost (earlier post)   Here

Unprovoked Aggression: Effects of Psychopathic Traits and Sadism.  (2011)   Here

Psychopathic Sexual Sadists – The Psychology and Psychodynamics of Serial Killers   Here

Conceptualization of hostile psychopathy and sadism: Drive theory and object relations perspectives By; Samuel Juni PhD   Here

Gas Lighting: Messin’ With Your Mind (2010)   Here

Characteristics of a Psychopath (sums it up in plain language)   Here

Victims of Psychopaths Sociopaths   Here

Aftermath: Surviving Psychopathy   Here

Emotional Abuse

A short but hopefully very informative and helpful post for those who are/have been targeted by a psychopath.    Like someone posted, ” These people basically plan your death.  It will start emotionally.  First they will build you up to bring you down.  They tell you your worth based on certain qualities about yourself.  Then, the minute they feel like they want power over you they will rip those compliments to shreds.”  PSYCHOPATHS AND PREMEDITATED MURDER   Here  

One by one they aggressivly pursue their victims in order to inflict damage, psychological, physical, economic and even drive  their victims to kill themselves/commit suicide and, if neccessary, kill their victim themselves or have someone else do it for them.   This is what psychopaths do, and enjoy doing because it makes them “feel good”/Allmighty.   They have no consience and they have no empathy and are thus capable to do just about anything.    Their abusive behavior does not only affect individuals on a personal level, but whole societies are affected as well as many ”bully” their way to the top where they, sooner or later, cause great damage.   Luring people to “vaccinate” themselves with dangerous “vaccines” (known and unknown heath hazzards) , the planting of GMO (known and unknown heath hazzards) continous wars etc., in other words inflict damage wherever possible to satisfy their “sadistic side” and ‘hopefully’ make money doing it, it is all about power and control over others.   Of interest; Tyranny at the Hand of Psychopaths (Jan 25, 2011)  Here

Emotional abuse is very sinister because there are no tell tale signs, like bruises, for others to see.   (If a loved one is being emotionally abused you will detect changes in behavior later on)   So called “bullying”,  regardless if  it occurs at school, in the workplace, at home or anywhere else it is all about power and control over others.   To give some insight into this type of abuse, I recommend the following posts and sites;  Understanding will, if you have been targeted, let you heal, eventhough it does take time. 

When You Love Your Abuser: Stockholm Syndrome and Trauma Bonds (15 mars, 2011)   Here

Gaslighting  (August 3, 2009)   Here

Abusive Brainwashing Techniques: How abusers get what they want…   (2010)   Here

How to help yourself and get support;

Getting Over the Psychopath: Cultivating Indifference    Here

Dealing with a sociopath – Have absolutely No Contact    Here

Aftermath: Surviving Psychopathy    Here

Abuso Emocional (Spanish)    Here

Women Who Love Psychopaths – 2nd. Ed. – e-book    Here

Last but not least, You Are Not Alone!    Countless of people have been smeared and abused in countless of and unimaginable different ways and even lost their lives because of these gravely disordered individuals who seemingly undetected, walk among us (that is untill you have been targeted by one).   They start “bullying” at school and continue til the day they die.   There is, as of today, no “cure” as it involves a great deal of neurobiological damage, see ‘Reserach’   Here   Spreading information about these disordered individuals is thus of great importance!

Research on psychopathy – Highlights 2010 – Part II

To continue . . . .  , part II,  some more “highlights” from 2010 in regard to psychopathy;

Psychopathic personality traits and cortisol response to stress: The role of sex, type of stressor, and menstrual phase. (July 2010) Here

The other allele: Exploring the long allele of the serotonin transporter gene as a potential risk factor for psychopathy: A review of the parallels in findings (July 2010)   Here

Psychopathic personality traits and risky sexual behavior in college students.   Here

Antisocial personality disorder is on a continuum with psychopathy. (July-Aug. 2010)   Here

No volumetric differences in the anterior cingulate of psychopathic individuals. (Aug. 2010)   Here

Morphological Alterations in the Prefrontal Cortex and the Amygdala in Unsuccessful Psychopaths.   Here

Psychopathy, frustration, and reactive aggression: The role of ventromedial prefrontal cortex.   Here

Reactive aggression in psychopathy and the role of frustration: Susceptibility, experience, and control   Here  Also, see comments Here

Neurodevelopmental marker for limbic maldevelopment in antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. (September 2010)   Here

Do Core Interpersonal and Affective Traits of PCL-R Psychopathy Interact With Antisocial Behavior and Disinhibition to Predict Violence? (September 2010)   Here

Understanding Psychopathy Through an Evaluation of Interpersonal Behavior: Testing the Factor Structure of the Interpersonal Measure of Psychopathy in a Large Sample of Jail Detainees. (September 2010)   Here

Unprovoked Aggression: Effects of Psychopathic Traits and Sadism. (September 2010)   Here

Facets on the psychopathy checklist screening version and instrumental violence in forensic psychiatric patients   Here

Psychopaths Are Impaired in Social Exchange and Precautionary Reasoning. (October 2010)   Here

Clarifying the Factors that Undermine Behavioral Inhibition System Functioning in Psychopathy.   Here

Guilty, free, and wise: Determinism and psychopathy diminish learning from negative emotions.    (Nov. 2010)    Here

Aberrant neural processing of moral violations in criminal psychopaths. (Nov. 2010)  Here

Increased testosterone-cortisol ratio in psychopathy. (Dec. 2010)   Here

Investigating the neural correlates of psychopathy: a critical review   Here

Assessing the basic traits associated with psychopathy: Development and validation of the elemental psychopathy assessment.    Here

Moral identity in psychopathy. (December 2010)   Here
(* Also see; Psychopaths know right from wrong but don’t care,  Jan, 2010, previous post)

Article of interest; Inside the mind of a psychopath    Here

* For more recent research (2011) please see my other site, the “English section”;    Here´

Last but not least, for those involved with/having had an interaction with, a psychopath;

Three more sites have been added;

Encounters of the Psychopathic Kind    Here   Please read read the great article,  Gaslighting at this site as well, found  Here

Psychopathy Awareness   Here     Lots of great information!

Two Legged Snakes  (blog)   Here      also get more info. about the book    Here      

And . . . . .

The book,  Women Who Love Psychopaths is now also availabe as an e-book, for more info click  Here

Dr. Simon (In Sheep’s Clothing) has released a new book; Character Disturbance:the phenomenon of our age    More info.    Here

Research on psychopathy – Highlights 2010 – Part I

Previous post covered the highlights concerning children/youth.   This post, “Part I”, will cover some of the ‘highlights’, when it comes to reserach concerning adults,  from January 2010 to June, 2010, starting with;

 Psychopaths know right from wrong but don’t care. (Jan. 2010)   Here    A write-up at Deric Bownd’s Mindblog; Here

Increased Volume of the Striatum in Psychopathic Individuals. (Jan. 2010)   pdf.  Here

Association of Poor Childhood Fear Conditioning and Adult Crime. (Jan. 2010)    Here

The dark side of love and life satisfaction: Associations with intimate relationships, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. (Jan. 2010) pdf.  Here

The intergenerational cycle of criminality–association with psychopathy. (Jan. 2010)    Here

Attention Moderates the Fearlessness of Psychopathic Offenders. pdf. (January 2010)    Here    Interview with professor Joseph Newman (Video)   Here   also see  comments found at Love Fraud   Here     (Follow-up Feb. 2011, Specifying the attentional selection that moderates the fearlessness of psychopathic offenders. Here  ) 

Adolescent Antisocial Behavior as Predictor of Adverse Outcomes to Age 50: A Follow-Up Study of 1,947 Individuals. (Feb. 2010)    Here

Neuroimaging of Psychopathy and Antisocial Behavior: A Targeted Review. (Feb. 2010)   Here

The D2 dopamine receptor gene variant C957T affects human fear conditioning and aversive priming. (Feb. 2010)    Here

Attribution of blame for criminal acts and its relationship with psychopathy as measured by the Hare Psychopathic Checklist (PCL-SV)  Feb. 2010.    Here

Abnormal hippocampal shape in offenders with psychopathy. (March 2010)    Here

Mesolimbic dopamine reward system hypersensitivity in individuals with psychopathic traits.  (March 2010)    Here        Related article, Psychopaths’ Brains Wired to Seek Rewards, No Matter the Consequences (March 15, 2010)    Here

Psychopathic personality traits and cortisol response to stress: The role of sex, type of stressor, and menstrual phase. (March 2010)   Here

The psychoticism–psychopathy continuum: A neuropsychological model of core deficits. (April 2010)  pdf.   Here

Disruption of the right temporoparietal junction with transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces the role of beliefs in moral judgments. (Of interest, March 2010)    Here

Damage to Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Judgment of Harmful Intent.  (March 2010)  pdf.   Here

Monoamine oxidase A genotype is associated with gang membership and weapon use.  (March-April 2010)   pdf.   Here

Paraphilias with co-morbid psychopathy: the clinical and legal significance to sex offender assessments. (March-April 2010)    Here

Successful and unsuccessful psychopaths: A neurobiological model. (March-April 2010)    Here

Corporate psychopathy: Talking the walk. (March-April 2010)    Here

Psychopathy and Risk Taking Among Jailed Inmates. (April 2010)    Here

Economic decision-making in psychopathy: A comparison with ventromedial prefrontal lesion patients. (April 2010)    Here

Emotional intelligence and psychopathy: Painting different paths for primary and secondary psychopaths. (April 2010)    Here

Identifying Subtypes Among Offenders With Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Cluster-Analytic Study. (May, 2010)    Here

Effects of age and MAOA genotype on the neural processing of social rejection. (May, 2010, of intr.)   Here

In psychopathic patients emotion attribution modulates activity in outcome-related brain areas. (May, 2010)    Here

Early maternal and paternal bonding, childhood physical abuse and adult psychopathicpersonality. (June, 2010)    Here

Increased Serotonin 2A Receptor Availability in the Orbitofrontal Cortex of Physically Aggressive Personality Disordered Patients. (June, 2010)    Here

Professional response and attitudes toward female-perpetrated child sexual abuse: a study of psychologists, psychiatrists, probationary psychologists and child protection workers. (June, 2010)    Here

The Hannibal Lecter Myth: Psychopathy and Verbal Intelligence in the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study.  (June 2010) pdf.   Here 

***  Swivelchair from  Neurological Correlates reports that the site “wuz hacked” and probable cause, “some kind of cyberbot”  More info   Here
Wishing you all the best and looking forward to your new site!  In the meanwhile the latest post can be viewed   Here

Year in review – children/youth 2010

During past year, 2010 we have gained even more insight into the personality disorder, psychopathy. Some of the highlights, but far from all, are listed below. Starting with research concerning Children/Youth at risk;    (Next post will take up research concerning adults, 2010)

The development of skin conductance fear conditioning in children from ages 3 to 8 years    Here

Association of Poor Childhood Fear Conditioning and Adult Crime   Here

Sexual sadism, psychopathy, and recidivism in juvenile sexual murderers    Here

The Intersection of Genes and Neuropsychological Deficits in the Prediction of Adolescent Delinquency and Low Self-Control   Here

Sex-specific association between psychopathic traits and electrodermal reactivity in children    Here

Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Adolescent Males: Examining Differential Outcomes 10 Years Later in Early Adulthood    Here

Variation in the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Val158Met Polymorphism associated with Conduct Disorder and ADHD symptoms among adolescent male delinquents    Here

A longitudinal twin study of the direction of effects between psychopathic personality and antisocial behaviour    Here

Heritable Variations in Gray Matter Concentration as a Potential Endophenotype for Psychopathic Traits     Here

Emotional Intelligence: Painting Different Paths for Low-Anxious and High-Anxious Psychopathic Variants    Here

Reduced electrodermal fear conditioning from ages 3 to 8 years is associated with aggressive behavior at age 8 years    Here

In search of genes associated with risk for psychopathic tendencies in children: a two-stage genome-wide association study of pooled DNA  Here

Etiology of Different Developmental Trajectories of Callous-Unemotional Traits    Here

Impaired Decision Making in Oppositional Defiant Disorder Related to Altered Psychophysiological Responses to Reinforcement    Here

Juvenile psychopathic personality traits are associated with poor reading achievement    Here   and related write-up,  LARGE-SCALE STUDY INDICATES THAT CHILDREN WITH PSYCHOPATHIC TRAITS ARE POOR READERS     Here

Evidence for deficits in reward responsivity in antisocial youth with callous-unemotional traits   Here

Psychopathic personality traits and delinquent and risky sexual behaviors in Croatian sample of non-referred boys and girls    Here

and last but not least,

Prosocial/hostile roles and emotion comprehension in preschoolers   “Bullying occurs at approximately the same rate in kindergarten as in elementary school”    Here

A book of interest  that came out in May, 2010 and which is highly recommended is the,  Handbook of Child and Adolescent Psychopathy    Here

* Swivelchair from  Neurological Correlates reports that the site “wuz hacked” and probable cause, “some kind of cyberbot”  More info   Here
Wishing you all the best and looking forward to your new site!  In the meanwhile the latest post can be viewed   Here

Processes in the development of psychopathy

An interesting research paper from 2009, Early Temperamental and Psychophysiological Precursors of Adult Psychopathic Personality. By; Andrea L. Glenn, Adrian Raine, Peter H. Venables and Sarnoff A. Mednick, which came to the conclusion that, “some indicators of adult psychopathic personality may originate and be observable very early in life. Individuals who were higher in psychopathy at age 28 were characterized by a less fearful and inhibited temperament at age 3, and they were also more sociable.”

The study states among other things,  ”The more psychopathic adults were characterized as being noticeably less fearful and inhibited at age 3. Kochanska (1993) suggested that children’s fearfulness contributes to the development of moral emotions such as guilt, shame, and empathy; children who are more fearful tend to feel remorse after wrongdoing, are concerned with consequences related to their actions, and are generally deterred from future wrongdoings by feelings of discomfort compared with nonfearful children. This study provides initial prospective, longitudinal evidence that young children with low levels of fearfulness and inhibition are at risk for the subsequent development of a psychopathic personality in adulthood.”  A link to the study;  Here

More of interest, a more recent ‘piece of the puzzle’ to be noted is the following research study;  Neurodevelopmental marker for limbic maldevelopment in antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. (Sep. 2010)  which came to the conclusion that, “Those with CSP had significantly higher levels of antisocial personality, psychopathy, arrests and convictions compared with controls. The pervasiveness of this association was indicated by the fact that those lacking a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, but who were charged or convicted for an offence, had a more extensive CSP than non-antisocial controls. Results could not be attributed to prior trauma exposure, head injury, demographic factors or comorbid psychiatric conditions.”   Study found Here  and  Swivelchair at Neurological Correlates did a wonderful write-up which can be found by clicking,   Here

Last but not least,  Personality Predicts Cheating More Than Academic Struggles, Study Shows (Sep. 8, 2010)   Here