Documentary Description
According to popular wisdom, psychopaths are …crazed and
bloodthirsty serial killers. The reality is not …all so simple. While
many psychopaths do commit violent crimes, not all psychopaths are
criminals and not all criminals are psychopathic. Psychopaths are
found in many walks of life and are often successful in competitive
professions. However they are also ruthless, manipulative and
destructive.
Equinox reports on techniques developed by psychologists to work out
whether a person is psychopathic and shows how brain scientists are
coming close to mapping the malfunctions in the brain that cause a
person to be a psychopath. In Britain one person in 200 is likely to be
a psychopath. However psychopaths are thought to be responsible for
half of all reported crimes and to make up between 15% and 20% of the
prison population.
The programme looks at the most recent research into the
brains and behaviour of psychopaths and assesses the prospects for the
treatment or containment of this antisocial group of people who create
such a disproportionate amount of destruction. Psychopaths who have
been convicted of appalling crimes explain with disturbing clarity what
motivated them in their violent and destructive behaviour. They speak
without shame, guilt, remorse or empathy with their victims. Though
they are articulate and, at times, plausible and charming, they lack
the range of emotions experienced by the rest of society. They know the
difference between right and wrong but they do not feel it.
Robert Hare, Professor of Psychology at the University of Vancouver, has devised a system of assessment called
the Psychopathy Checklist. In specialised interviews, psychologists
assess individuals on a scale of 0 to 40 for a series of character
traits, including callousness, superficial charm, lack of empathy and
many others (for more detail look at How to recognise a psychopath).
Anyone whose score is greater than 26 is diagnosed as psychopathic.
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