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Introduction: Factors of a Psychopath

What really causes people to become deviant? What does it mean to be deviant? Could

you have a deviant mind? Deviance includes untypical behavior, usually social and/or sexual.

Psychopaths are classified as having a personality disorder from antisocial behavior, a lack of

empathy, and bold behavior. Psychopaths are deviants because they tend to act out in social

situations as well as behaving in a way that may be unusual to others.

A psychopath does not choose a day when and where their minds will become deviant.

There are three main aspects of a psychopath: genetics, brain development, and a traumatic event

(Fallon). A family could have a long line of psychopaths but it does not mean the child will also

become a psychopath but the genetics could carry on to the offspring. It is the matter of noticing

a personality disorder in the child at a young age.

Brain scans are used as a detection to see the child’s personality development. They can

show dark spots in the brain where a child may lack in development, the detection will help train

the brain how to respond. Adolescents are more at risk to become a psychopath because their

brain is already developed and it would be hard to redirect their thinking (Cepeda).

A traumatic event could easily destroy a child’s brain development. The first few years of

the child’s life are crucial to the rest of their lives. An event in their early years could carry on

with them for the rest of their lives and build them to continue what has happened to them.

From a young age, the detection of a small personality disorder could save a child from a

horrible childhood experience. A child is not at risk of becoming a psychopath without the three

factors. Having one less of these factors could mitigate the possibility of becoming/having

psychopathic personality/behaviors. Recognizing, diagnosing and treating the early symptoms of

psychopathic behavior is important because it can prevent further damage in the brain, train the

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brain to positively respond to other people’s words and actions, strengthen family relationships,

and finding treatments that could work for the individual who is experiencing these symptoms.

What is a psychopath?

Psychopaths are usually defined as having a personality disorder combined with

antisocial behavior. Psychopaths do not know from right or wrong and can be perceived as

charming people. Psychopathic behavior starts at any age but it is a matter of time that one may

notice it. There have been mental health professionals that have said a child could be diagnosed

as early as three years old. It also has been said that it could be easier to treat if found at an early

stage. (Cepeda)Some parents may look at the situation and think that it may just be a stage that

the child will outgrow. Symptoms of psychosis are the same for both children and adolescents

which include mood disorders. There are two different classifications, primary and secondary.

The primary group includes schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or psychotic disorder NOS (Not

otherwise specified). The secondary group is more of a severe diagnosis that includes PTSD,

bipolar disorder, mood disorder, and other psychotic conditions. The most depressive disorder

usually turns out to be schizophrenias. Schizophrenias is a disorder where it is hard to think

clearly or normal emotional responses. There are cases where these disorders are not detected at

an early age and it may not have an emotional responses, or act normal in a social situation. It is

hard to actually classify the group that they are in.

When assessing a child who may have psychosis, there is a process with six steps.

According to Claudio Cepeda, the first step of diagnosing is gathering their history as well as the

family history and the development background. Next is the psychiatric interview to classify

what disorder they may have and any further questions as to what the child may have. After the

interview, there must be a physical and neurological evaluation. The neurological evaluation is

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necessary to rule out anything medically similar to schizophrenia-like reactions. Once that is

done the psychiatrist evaluates what they have observed. Throughout the interviews the examiner

goes over how the child had reacted to certain questions, the language used, and how they act

physically. It is difficult to examine a child under ten because of developmental and language

challenges and that is when a parent becomes an active participant. For parents a way to find the

diagnosis is by participating in the child’s life and any noticeable or unusual changes could be a

hint to a diagnosis. After it is diagnosed by an examiner, there would be treatment plans put in

place.

A person does not become a complete psychopath. Symptoms show there are

possibilities of becoming one if the symptoms continue to worsen. There are different stages of

of a psychopathy. The early stage is known as a mild/semi psychopath and there is the high risk

psychopath. From the Center For Early Detection, Assessment and Response to Risk (CEDAR):

“Between four to seventeen percent of young people report experiencing subclinical (mild)

psychotic-like symptoms.” Jon Ronson who is a writer as well as a documentary filmmaker

encountered a semi psychopath, Tony. Tony had all the factors of a psychopath or what is the

“checklist” of the psychopath test. The psychopath test includes cunning and manipulative acts,

charm, a sense of self worth, the lack of empathy. Ronson explains how Tony seemed to be a

“normal” guy because he had normal conversations with people, he was a social person, a

charismatic man but his actions were what made Ronson see him differently. Ronson says “he's a

gray area in a world that doesn't like gray areas. But the gray areas are where you find the

complexity, it's where you find the humanity and it's where you find the truth.” What seems to be

a bit abnormal to other people is a threat to others (Ronson). Although psychopaths may sound

scary, they are not. It is scary to know that there are other people who are different from what is

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conceived as normal. They all were born the same as every other person but had something

drastically change them which could have been noticed but was not and now they are portrayed

as psychos.

Family duty

There has been a controversy whether the child is born with the disorder or they have

been raised poorly by the parent. Children are born with the disorder and family history plays a

huge part in a child’s life. This is why the psychiatrist does a full family history to have a better

understanding of the patient. A child can be born with it but it is a matter of how the parents treat

it. The parent could give a child full attention and may notice the symptoms at an early stage and

avoid any other cost. On the other hand, the parents may neglect the child only later to find the

child frustrated and acting upon it. As the child grows the parents may notice their child slowly

become less active in things they once liked to do. An example of this may be having a great

relationship with others or things such as toys and slowly withdraw from them and become shy

to it. As they grow older they show the traits of aggression and sensation seeking and all

contributes to an antisocial disorder. A family’s role in a child’s life will affect the way the child

will respond with an antisocial disorder (Cepeda).

Dr. Ken Magid treated a young six year old girl (Beth Thomas) in 1992 who was

diagnosed as a psychopath. She calmly explained to Dr. Magid of how she would kill her parents

as well as her younger brother, John. He recorded their sessions that then became a

documentary. By the time Beth was one, her mother had died and she was left with her father

who sexually abused her. She and her brother were adopted by Tim and Julie who did not know

about the children’s past. As Beth started to do more sessions with Dr. Magid she revealed her

rage against the pets they owned, her brother, and herself as well. She would stick pins into her

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dog and brother, choke the birds they had owned and became so violent with her brother that he

needed stitches for his forehead. Beth not only tried killing her brother and abusing her pets but

also hurt herself. Julie (her adoptive mother) found her masturbating and in one case hurt herself

to the point where she started to bleed. Through therapy sessions with Dr. Magid Beth was

rehabilitated. It was over a course of years that Beth started to make improvements. As an adult

now, Beth is now a successful RN. It is important to get help at a young age because it could

redirect the child’s life. Beth was a child who was left with an abusive father which traumatized

her and with a new family she was able to start treatment. The treatment changed her life and

now she is in a better place than how she started.

The role of the family is important because they are around the child all day. Dr. Bill

McFarlane, a psychiatrist in Maine, believes in low-tech interventions which mostly include

cutting the stress within the families. McFarlane has created programs in which he brings in

families to have group sessions to come to an understanding of what the child is going through.

These sessions brought the families together to plan a way to make the homes more fitting of the

situation for the child/young adult. It was in hopes of catching the schizophrenia (mental disorder

that makes it difficult to tell the difference of right and wrong) before it worsens. Joseph

Edwards who is an assistant program director of a program Kickstart in San Diego promotes

teenagers to participate with friends in and outside of school. He says just being outside with

friends could be a type of therapy for those who are developing schizophrenia. Although they

may try to isolate everyone and everything, it is better for them to keep their minds engaged.

Families can not let them become isolated because it does not help them at all but to become

more at risk of completely developing schizophrenia. The family should help the child/young

adult participate in therapy as soon as they can (Standen). Therapy does not only help the child

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but the family to be able to come to an understanding of why this is happening and play an active

part in the child’s life. It would help the families interact with each other and build stronger

relationships.

Families will or might find this time difficult, especially when the child becomes distant

or would not respond to the parents. Although the parents may become frustrated they should not

ignore what is happening but the parents should stay active in conversations with the child.

Patience and support is also necessary when dealing with a situation like this.

Brains & genetics

History is an important aspect to know about to understand a psychopath. Jim Fallon is a

neurologist who studied the brain scans and genetic analysis of psychopathic killers. According

to Jim’s findings, genetics plays a role in what makes a psychopath. Not only does genetics play

a role but as well as biological epigenetic, brain damage, the environment and the timing

(development age). Jim has done multiple brain scans of those who are prisoners and diagnosed

as psychopaths. From his findings, there is a pattern among the prisoners and that is the High

Risk Gene MAO-A (monoamine oxidase A). This gene regulates serotonin which is a chemical

that is responsible for sustaining mood balance (Hagerty). Scientist have said that if a person has

a certain version of this gene the brain will not respond to the calming effects which is the

problem that most psychopaths face.

Jim also says that they also have to experience something in their life that is traumatic. It

also makes them become traumatized by this event. Jim’s mother had informed him that his

father’s side of the family came from a long line of murderers. He then decided to run a MRI on

his family as well as drawing blood to see if his family might have the MAO-A gene. It became a

shock to James when he found that his family’s MRI came to be clean except for one, himself.

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Soon after he went through his brain scan and received his results from the blood work he found

that he was born a killer. Although it may be genetics and brain scans might classify him as a

psychopath he is not one. He may have the brain scans and genetics of a psychopath but he did

not have a history of abuse or violence during his own childhood. Jim differs from others

because he did not have any history in his childhood. He did not have all three factors of a

psychopath and because of that James is not a psychopath (Fallon).

Studies that were published by the General Psychiatry, have shown that the brain scans of

people who have psychosis have a significant difference than those who are considered

“normal.” The frontal lobe of someone with psychosis has a smaller frontal lobe than what a

normal brain would have. The main function of the frontal lobe is recognizing the consequences

from current actions. This part of the brain is what makes a person have a clear view of what is

right or wrong. The main reason why psychopaths tend to do things that the rest of us may think

is inhumane is because the frontal lobe is smaller making it less clear to them as to why what

they are doing is wrong. Brain scans have also detected a thin layer around the region of the

cortex. The cerebral cortex contains three parts: sensory, motor, and association areas. The

sensory areas of the brain receive vision, audition, and touch, the motor function is the control of

the voluntary movement, and the association areas hold the information stored in memories. In

this part of the brain there is a reduction of eighteen percent volume reduction for antisocial

people compared to individuals without a mental disorder . ‘"We're not suggesting that some

children are psychopaths, but CU traits can be used to identify a subgroup of children who are at

risk," Fontaine said.’(Moskowitz). James Fallon’s studies of brain scans also show a significant

difference between a normal person’s brain scan and a psychopath. He also explains the function

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of the orbital cortex which is in control of ethical behavior, moral decisions, and impulse control

(Hagerty). James explains that this part of the brain is what a lot of psychopaths lack.

The picture below shows the different parts of the brain lighting up. The bright blue parts

of the brain is where there is activity currently happening in the brain. This is a way that scientist

are able to study the way psychopaths think. They simply run tests looking into certain parts of

the brain to see if there is any sort of activity.

CT of brain scans (Moskowitz)

Jim Fallon did a brain scan of himself as well as his son which he gave a copy to NPR

where he shared his findings. They came out significantly different. Fallon’s scans show a

darkened area in the orbital cortex which controls the decision making and emotions. His son’s

brain has color in those areas which means his son is able to recognize emotions and make clear

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decisions. Fallon’s wife explains that Fallon says things that hurt them but he never noticed how

it made them feel.

James Fallon’s brain scans (the right) and the left is his son’s normal brain scans.

(Monterey)

Psychopaths do not recognize pain, there is not activity in the brain when it comes to pain

to others. The anterior insula, anterior midcingulate cortex, somatosensory cortex, and the right

amygdala are areas in the brain that are associated with empathy. When it was asked of inmates

to picture accidents happening to themselves, all parts of the brain lit up but when it was asked to

picture it happening to someone else it did not light up. Instead, the ventral striatum which is an

area that includes pleasure lit up (Lewis). Those who are highly psychopathic individuals do not

feel any empathy when it comes to other people. Jon Ronson gave a quote, “I heard a story about

her once,” said James. “She was interviewing a psychopath. She showed him a picture of a

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frightened face and asked him to identify the emotion. He said he didn’t know what the emotion

was but it was the face people pulled just before he killed them.”

In Madagascar, researchers put 1, 795 three year old children in a room. They then put on

headphones and played a tone and then another tone of jangling metal. The researchers repeated

this process to see when the children would react and take off the headphones. The purpose of

this study was another version of Pavlovian conditioning which is respondent conditioning.

Instead of electrical shock, it used the tones to sense their emotion. The first tone is much like a

warning sound and that is when children usually start to act nervous and those children who can

bare the second tone lack of a fear response. These children don’t have a connection between

behavior and punishment. This reaction is also is the function of the amygdala, according to

Adrian Raine (Professor at University of Pennsylvania's Department of Criminology)

psychopaths show eighteen percent reduction from those who are considered normal.

The children that managed to listen to the second tone without taking off the headphones

were looked up twenty years later to find that those children had some type of criminal record.

Those criminal records included drug arrests, driving offenses, and violent attacks. The children

who also were a part of the research and had the same background as the ones with a criminal

record were looked up only. The other children did not have any criminal records but when they

looked at records back to the groups of the kiddie tests, they were the ones who became anxious

with the first unpleasant tone. Those who continued with the second tone were the criminals by

the age of twenty. By the age of three those children had already lacked of anticipation. The lack

of emotion that these children had meant they could not experience what others may have. A

small detection of lack of anticipation and emotion could mean the lack of activity within in the

child’s amygdala. While at young age the child’s brain is still developing and there could still be

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a chance to train their brain to recognize the emotions and behaviors of others and know how to

respond to it.

Psychopaths lack empathy as they become more involved in criminal activity. They

cannot grow out of this but they may become better at what they do but if it is caught at an early

stage things may turn out different. Neurocriminology is a field in which they look at the cause

of psychopathy with brain scans. It looks for the abnormalities within the criminals mind and

looks at where they may lack. It is a new way to actually understand the mind of a psychopath by

looking at their mind and their tendencies as they think or do something. As they find that the

brain lacks activities in certain areas they would be prepared for younger cases that are able to be

treated.

Trauma

A person could have the brain scans and genetics of being a psychopath but it does not

conclude that the person will actually become a psychopath without an event that is traumatic.

Research from the National Alliance on Mental Issues (NAMI) has demonstrated that it is

biological and psychological that traumatic events affects the impact of the body, spirit, and

brain. The trauma affects people differently depending on the developmental stage of the person

and as well as their development of the brain. The event could define the experience of a person

and influence their actions (NAMI).

Serious trauma affects all of the developments of the child which includes their cognitive,

social, emotional, physical, psychological and moral development. The negative events of the

child’s life could result in behavior and emotional problems in the near future. Children who

experience trauma because of an abuse or neglect tend to lack in cognitive abilities and develop

health problems or mental health disorders in the near future. Children who experience trauma

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may have problems in thinking clearly, reasoning, or problem solving.The way the children has

been raised affects their thinking in a sense of surviving the way they had been used to. The

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) said, “when children grow up under

conditions of constant threat, all their internal resources go toward survival.” Children they may

not think through problems clearly or would come up with their own alternatives to fixing the

problems (NCTSN). The solution may not be as reasonable because their thinking is not clear.

There are also emotional aspects of the experiences of the traumatic event. The child will

not be able to express their emotions or even managing them. Their emotional responses could

be unpredictable because they could suddenly remember that event which would make them

react in the moment. It could result in the child trembling, becoming angry, sad, or avoidance. A

child who has gone through multiple experience would likely have more reactions and as time

progresses it will become much more difficult to calm down the child. The child would find

themselves easily overwhelmed because they have not yet to learn how to calm themselves in

certain situations. Over time the event will be a constant reminder and there would be more

problems as it progresses.

Finding it before it begins

The early realization of an abnormal change to one’s daily routine could change the

outcome of becoming a psychopath. In California, a new program has been created to prevent

schizophrenia before it actually begins. This first stage of the program is what psychiatrists call

prodromal which is when one starts to hear faint whispers, flashes of lights, or seeing shadows.

Those who experience small things such as a whisper might suspect something going on but may

not be quite sure as to what is happening to them. These small symptoms could lead into

something bigger.

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Although it is much more difficult to work with older children such as teenagers, it is not

too late to catch these early symptoms if they are just experiencing things such as hallucinations

and/or hearing faint whispers. Meghan who is nine-teen years old had yet to have a psychotic

breakdown but she was aware of what she had been experiencing. She started to feel depressed,

her mother did not know how to respond or what to even say to this. Meghan also found a

fascination of headlights as she was driving, she thought that they had looked like eyes. She

knew that it was not eyes but could not stop herself to be drawn to them while driving. She then

knew that there was something wrong. Meghan then got a screening and which she had

prodromal stage of psychosis. She then was referred to a clinic that specializes in treating the

early cases of psychosis. This clinic was also modeled after the Portland Identification and Early

Referral program (PIER).

Another case in which Tiffany Martinez had also been experiencing usual sights and

hearing things that weren’t actually there. She had been seeing a black shadow of a man and

hearing someone talking to her but not a faint whisper, she said the voice was so clear that it had

felt like it was in her ear. Tiffany knew there could be a possibly that she might have

schizophrenia because her father has had it for years now, it was a matter of time when she

would. She was referred to the PIER which gave her psychiatric medications. Tiffany believes

that the program saved her life from a life such as her father’s. She is now symptoms free and on

her own without medications. Tiffany explains that it is not the medications or the diagnosis that

has helped her but it is the people who are helping her on a personal basis. It made her feel that

she was not on her own and there was always someone who devoted to the work (Standen). As

people start to go through these symptoms the first thing to happen is withdrawl from from

families and any of their normal activity. With this program they are not alone and stops them

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from withdrawing from their family but instead help the families come together and help one

another through what each of them are experiencing.

“Psychosis may be transient, intermittent, short-term or part of a longer- term psychiatric

condition” (NAMI). It is important that people understand the possibilities of the diagnosis and

the recovery from the diagnosis. Psychosis is treatable, especially when it is during the first

experience of a psychotic episode. A psychotic episode is able to tell the doctor how far the

patient may be in, in terms of symptoms and where they symptoms may lead. When a child

experiences things such as hallucinations in school performances and/or act in odd behaviors

they would have to go through a diagnostics test. The test includes lab tests for a developmental

and psychological testing. This will determine where the patient will go as of treatment, it will

narrow the factors such as a neurological problems, bipolar disorder, and child schizophrenia

which is rare but a possibility. It is more effective to treat the children before it progress into the

early ages of young adulthood. Psychosis impacts young adults more than children because they

are in a developmental stage in their life which is a vulnerable time for them. It is a problem for

young adults at this time because they are learning how to become independent and as they are

learning how to do things on their own they could also be distracted by voices that they are

hearing. It is a concern for young adults to carry these symptoms because it could affect their

actions with the help of voices that are not actually real. It is much more difficult to treat one

with psychosis at the ages over forty years old. As the symptoms of psychosis increases there is

more at risk. It includes the increase of medications and/or medical illness/surgical procedures.

For more neurological reasons as wells as medical conditions could be presence of psychosis in

ones life but it could be reversed if it is caught and treated.

Treatment

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The symptoms of becoming a psychopath could be treated at an early onset. There are

multiple programs that are in place to for those who are at risk of becoming a psychopath. It is

much harder to work with those who are older or have progressed the symptoms over a course of

years. Programs such as National Alliances of Mental Illness (NAMI) dedicate their work to help

people who have a mental illnesses with support and further research. They have programs set in

place for young adults and their parents, it is a way to have the parent involve with the child’s

changes. It includes what families can do when they child has unexplained changes in their

behavior and/or mood, educating on the treatments, and ways to interact with the child at home.

The NAMI reaches out to the youth and young adults who are experiencing the stage of recovery

as well as educating others on the mental illness and their treatment work (NAMI).

It is not completely impossible to treat psychosis within teenagers, there are multiple

programs that help with the treatment of early stages of psychosis. Center for Early Detection,

Assessment & Response to Risk (CEDAR) is program that helps the youth who are at risk for

psychosis. It works with young adults ages fourteen to thirty who are experiencing new or even

worsening symptoms that could possibly lead into psychosis. The symptoms that the CEDAR

program seems to focus on is having a difficulty to think clearly or concentrating, uneasiness

with others, sensitivity to sound or sights, and a withdrawal from family. Support during this

time for someone who is experiencing a psychotic episode is crucial. The NAMI and CEDAR

are programs that help the families come to an understanding of what is needed and how to help

the child/young adult in their situation. One of the most important treatments include the family

being active in the child’s home life as well as therapy sessions.

The NAMI, CEDAR, as well as the Kickstart programs also use medications as a

treatment plan. The Kickstart program uses the medications as a treatment plan and continues to

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use the medications until the patient is well off without it (Standen). The patients are taken off of

the medications once a doctor evaluates their progress. The patient also takes therapy sessions to

keep them involved with other people and not to withdraw.

Most treatments are therapy sessions because it avoids the first steps of psychopathy

which is withdrawal or antisocial behavior. The sessions keep the patients active in a

conversation and avoid social interactions.

Conclusion

Psychopaths are people who have developed a personality disorder because of genetics,

the development of the brain, and a traumatic event that has occurred in their life. These three

factors are the reasons why a person may be come deviant and be classified as a psychopath. As

symptoms become more clear within a child, they should be seen to determine if there is a

possibility that the child may have the genes or any lacking activity within the brain. Detecting

the early symptoms of psychopathy is important because it could prevent the symptoms

progressing and causing further damage to the life that is laid out ahead of them. It is important

to have a comfortable home for a child who is experiencing these symptoms. A psychopath is not

a psychopath without all three factors. Preventing a traumatic event in a child’s life could save

them from fully developing their symptoms. There are programs set in place to help children and

young adults who are experiencing the symptoms to help them work on their symptoms and

preventing them from moving any further. Parents need to be aware of the small changes in their

child. It may not be symptoms of psychopathy but it is important to be aware of their children.

Parents can also prevent this from getting further by nurturing their child instead of avoiding or

neglecting the child. The detection of these small symptoms could save a child pain in their

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young adulthood which is why it is important to bring their child to a doctor or psychiatrist to

treat them before it worsens.

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