In forensic psychology, professionals may be asked to perform neurological or psychological evaluations. Much of what a psychologist can discover could lead one to believe that someone suffers from a psychopathic personality. A psychopath is a person who suffers from a disorder that includes interpersonal and behavioral discrepancies. These discrepancies can lead to criminalized behavior and violence in communities (Douglas & Gatner, 2016). Psychopaths lack the ability to show remorse and guilt for their actions. Furthermore, these individuals have egocentric and impulsive thinking. They are experts at lying and emotionally manipulating people. Characteristics of this personality also include: short-tempered, arrogant, and unable to form emotional bonds with the people around them (Douglas & Gatner, 2016). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay May and Beaver (2014) described psychopaths as living a parasitic lifestyle, meaning they use everyone around them for their own benefit and view people as objects. Psychopaths continually break social norms causing concern for the safety of themselves and those around them (May & Beaver, 2014). Many studies have shown that psychopathic personality is influenced by biological and genetic factors. Susceptibility to environmental factors such as abuse, parental rejection, and maltreatment during childhood also play a role in the development of a psychopath (May & Beaver, 2014). Psychopathic personality can be considered a serious mental illness. A psychopath cannot be cured but the symptoms can be managed. However, many psychopaths are less compliant because they are not afraid of consequences. That said, psychopaths do not feel obligated to seek treatment (May & Beaver, 2014). Family members would not be able to convince their potential loved ones to ask for help because they struggle with superficial emotions. It is a serious mental illness because these people pose a serious harm to society and participate in many other high-risk behaviors. Furthermore, the development of a psychopath is a continuum (May & Beaver, 2014). Without early recognition, a child will get progressively worse without adequate care from a professional. As the child gets worse, it becomes increasingly difficult to help him and he will likely engage in criminal activity during adolescence and in the years to come. According to brain topographies, a psychopath has a reduction in gray matter in the prefrontal cortex (Douglas & Gather, 2016). This is a biological factor that cannot necessarily be prevented, making it even more difficult to treat. An example of a psychopath is Gary M. Heidnik. Heidnik dropped out of high school and eventually joined the Army. He worked as a doctor for 14 years but was fired when he was diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder (Blanco, 2017). His mother committed suicide when Heidnik was 27 years old. It is clear that Heidnik had a family history of mental illness. Heidnik got married but his marriage was not healthy. He cheated on his wife and forced his wife to have sex with the women he brought back (Blanco, 2017). For three months Heidnik beat and raped his wife until she left. Heidnik's first criminal charge was aggravated assault and the crimes grew over time to include charges of “kidnapping, rape, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and interference with the custody of a committed person” (Blanco, 2017). mind: this is just an example. Get a document now.
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