Written for MP578 Mental Health Law
In
1941, Medical College of Georgia psychiatrist Hervey M. Cleckley (2007)
analytically described Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder. He
described a set of personality personas and behaviors as described below (Meyer
& Weaver, 2006). These superficial personalities display continually
charismatic behavior, normal, trustworthy and comforting. However, a person
with Psychopathic and Antisocial Personalities are really egocentric, self-absorbing,
dishonest and erratic behaviors for self-fulfilling pleasure. They do not fully feel a sense of
responsibility, compassion and love. They normally are insensitive during
relationships; vindicating their reckless behavior by placing blame on others
instead. Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder seldom learn from
their mistakes and struggle with their immoral impulses (Arkowitz &
Lilienfeld, 2007).
Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder as described
by Cleckley has led to the conception that real life monsters exist in society
(Arkowitz & Lilienfeld, 2007). A society that the media and Hollywood enjoy promoting
through real-life horror stories elevating them to an almost pop-culture
status. The depiction of Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder
individuals in movies, television shows, stories and news reports are
depictions of insane killers using their charm to torment their victims.
However, are they really insane, or do their morals not fit within society?
Andrew Tudor (1989) study of the horror films from the 1960’s
to the late 1980’s demonstrated an intense use of a psychotic killer over the
horror’s more conventional forms such as monsters, vampires, werewolves, or
aliens. Steffen Hantke’s (2010) book American Horror Film: The Genre at the
turn of the Millennium also states that American film goers love a psychotic
killer because they are so close to being scared by the real thing. In 2012 Almost
a quarter century after Tudor’s book came out, Hollywood and American culture still favor the
psychopathic killers. Hollywood ’s
shift from using mythological antagonists to human based real life psychotic killer
movies are because the demons are so real. The serial killer is usually portrayed
with Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder characteristics, as
described by Cleckley’s as well as characteristics such as genius intelligence,
charismatics, cunning, manipulative, charming, disillusioned, cryptic,
regimented, compulsive, etc.
Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho (1991) created
controversy when it was released because of the horrific details and the book’s
ability to exhibit the thought process of a serial killer and their perception
of reality. One can question in the novel whether any of the crimes really
happened, or are they really a delusional psychotic fantasy. The cinematic
version of the book was able to establish a bewildering visual demonstration of
his thought. Many questioned the book and film’s plot was it a fantasy or were
they seeing the world through the eyes of psychotic killer, or both? Are psychopaths
living in an alternate perception of reality where they do not have a sense of
moral judgment?
Psychopathy and Antisocial
Personality Disorder is a pattern of disregard, the unforgiving violation of
others and deviant characteristics of a person that harms without remorse. A
person with Psychopathy and/or Antisocial Personality Disorders demonstrates
the same characteristics as many of their fictional counterparts. The term Psychopathy and Antisocial
Personality Disorder is currently not a diagnostic criterion in the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an appropriate diagnosis for a
personality disorder (Meyer, R., & Weaver, G., 2006). The law defines them
as moral disorders; which seems appropriate according to the Encarta Dictionary
definition moral as “the right, wrong and how individual people should behave”.
Society decides these morals though laws and social culture, when one does not
fit into society’s standards because of their perception they become deviants.
Society’s social deviants such as John Wayne Gacy can have
the ability to appear as a model citizen. Gacy was able to fool his community because
he would be seen doing volunteer work, working with kids, helping out his
neighbors and even dressed up as a clown and visited sick children. Individuals with a Psychopathy and Antisocial
Personality Disorder are sometimes able to manipulate the people around them.
Gacy was caught and sent to prison for illegal sexual acts. Gacy was able to
manipulate and convince the parole board that he was fit for society. A mental
health expert may be able to see the behaviors but in Gacy’s case they were not
able to convince the parole board (Hawes, 2012).
Gacy had an unnatural ability to manipulate and lie. His
ability to do this resulted in the deaths of 33 known victims (McCormick, J,
1998). Gacy is not the only serial killer to demonstrate such traits, Jeffrey
Dahmer’s antisocial personality allowed him to manipulate and lie. Jeffrey was
a social outcast during his high school years, however when he started killing
he needed to start learning how to manipulate and lie in order to stay out of
trouble. During Jeffrey’s first murder he was pulled over by police and they
questioned him about the full trash bags (A&E Biography-Jeffrey Dahmer
1996). Jeffrey was also seemly caught by police 10 years later when he left a
young 14 year old drunk boy alone. The boy was able to get out of Jeffrey’s
apartment and the police were called on his behalf because he was standing in
the middle of the street naked. When police questioned him, he was able to
convince them that this was a “lover’s quarrel” and even invited them into his
apartment and showed them photos of their relationship. Jeffrey had mastered
the art to manipulate and lie (A&E Biography-Jeffrey Dahmer 1996).
Ted Bundy one of America ’s
most notorious serial killers story sounds as though it comes straight from a Hollywood script. His story demonstrated how manipulative
and egotistical a Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder person can
be. Ted Bundy was able to master traits that allowed him to be a public figure
and serial killer. Ted Bundy was able to commit over 30 known murders of women
and believed to have killed many more during the 1970s and possibly earlier.
This real life serial killer was so charismatic, intelligent and sophisticated
that his real life killings, personality and story are believed to inspire one
of the most famous fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter (A&E
Biography-Ted Bundy 2007).
Ted Bundy was considered handsome and charismatic, so
profound in exploiting these traits he was able to win the trust of over 30
victims many in public places as an authority figure. Ted was so manipulative
that he was able to explain his way out of many arrests. One such famous
incident was when police found what Ted called “household items”. These items
included an ice pick, a crowbar, trash bags, a coil of rope, as well as a ski
mask, a second mask created from pantyhose, handcuffs, and other items assumed
to be burglary tools. The police were holding Bundy and were allowed to search
his room and found a brochure advertising a high school play (where a victim had
recently disappeared). He was so skilled and intelligent; Ted was able to
convince police that they did not have enough condemning evidence to hold him
(A&E Biography-Ted Bundy 2007).
Ted Bundy was able to escape prison twice in the State of Colorado . He acted as
his own counsel and was able to outmaneuver the legal system. He was so
charismatic that he obtained “groupie” status during his media driven trial. The
media allowed Ted Bundy to develop “pop culture” status all while trying to
prove that he was innocent as his own counsel. Ted Bundy was so incredibly
deceptive that his own mother believed him until the day before his death when
he told her the truth about his victims (A&E Biography-Ted Bundy 2007).
Often Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder
characteristics are apparent during childhood and continue on throughout
adulthood. All three of the above famous
personalities had similar childhood upbringings. They did not have strong
father figures, they had some reports of animal
abuse, and they were outsiders in high school that developed charismatic
personalities after high school. They all disassociated themselves and created
a alternate personalities, which was how the main character of “American
Psycho” Patrick Bates descended into serial murders.
There are many
well-known stories, cinematic portrayals, documents and disclosures describing
characteristic traits of Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder especially
during the childhood years. The above three display similar immoral behaviors
and validated how terrible Psychopathy and Antisocial Personality Disorder can
be without mental health assistance. The above examples are just a sample of
the aggressive and violent behaviors that only grow as the person matures
(Baskin-Sommers, Wallace, MacCoon, Curtin, & Newman, 2010).
A psychopathy checklist was created in order to help find
moral deviants. Meyer and Weaver (2006) explain that the Psychopathy Checklist -Revised
(PCL-R) score may predict the future characteristics of the individual or even
develop ways to prevent violent crimes. The score is a measurement that
assesses whether or not the individual may have psychopathic traits and tests
criminal offenders. The PCL-R involves questions about criminal activity and
helps to predict violent behavior as well as other criminal acts. The PCL-R is
said to be a good tool to assess risk factors of violence tendencies.
According to the American Law Institute (ALI) (pg.245) the US
Court of Appeals rejected the plea of mental illness for psychopathy because it
is not considered a mental illness and therefore it cannot be considered
insanity. All three are portrayed as insane but as Meyer and Weaver (2006)
state, “psychopathy is deviations of character rather than disorders of the
mind” (pg. 245).
There are many reasons this writer believes that Psychopathic
and Antisocial Personality Disorder should not be considered a mental health
disorder. A moral is the difference between right and wrong. In order to be
considered insane one must prove that he is unaware of his actions and not of
sound mental health. Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder suffers
are of sound mind, because they know what they are doing is wrong. If they did
not know what they were doing then they would not go to such great lengths to
ensure self-preservation. Another reason Psychopathic and Antisocial
Personality Disorder should not be considered a mental health diagnosis is due
to the fact that it would be an easy excuse to kill someone. These individuals
have a moral dilemma, but they are egotistical and already find loopholes to
ensure their own self-preservation. If
the diagnosis were to change then it would open up the possibility of the
individual not being held responsible for any of their actions. A psychopath
can easily fool society into thinking “they have cast no stone”.
Mental health professionals are the best source in helping
the legal system and society understand the thought process of these
individuals. Society cannot rely on Hollywood movies or television shows to
provide accurate information about Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality
Disorder mainly because of the overly dramatized sanity levels. Also, society
loves the feeling of being scared by the onscreen personas and some even
develop their fantasies about the possibility that their neighbor or someone
they see as a positive public figure is really a morally corrupt psychopathic
killer.
It appears that modern American culture is in unilateral
belief that psychopaths are violent. This is what over 50 years of Hollywood ’s portrayal of
psychopathic antagonist as engrained on our culture. There has been much
research by psychologists since Hervey M. Cleckley’s initial definition
(Arkowitz & Lilienfeld, 2007). It is now understood that psychopathy and
Antisocial behavior “is a risk factor for future physical and sexual violence” (Arkowitz
& Lilienfeld, 2007). Gacy, Bundy and Dahmer all had a history of traumatic
childhoods which might have lead them on to a dark sinister path as
psychopathic serial killers.
Lilienfeld and Arkowitz (2007) mentioned in their article that
behaviors can be diverted through positive role modeling, therapeutic
intervention and medication. Many with
Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorder are not violent, and one could
even say that most violent people are not psychopaths (Arkowitz &
Lilienfeld, 2007). Mental health professionals need to prove support and use
the tools that have been developed to thwart violent behavior. The Psychopathy Checklist -Revised (PCL-R)
assessment score just might be the key to stopping the next Ted Bundy (Meyer
& Weaver, 2006).
References
A&E
Biography [Television series episode]. (2000, February 8). In Ted Bundy: the
mind of a killer. A&E.
Arkowitz,
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means: scientific american. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
Baskin-Sommers,
A. R., Wallace, J. F., MacCoon, D. G., Curtin, J. J., & Newman, J. P.
(2010). Clarifying the factors that undermine behavioral inhibition system
functioning in psychopathy. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and
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Hantke,
S. (2010). American horror film: The genre at the turn of the millennium. Jackson , MI : University
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M. (2012). Psychopaths are they always dangerous? (Master's thesis, The Chicago
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I. , Piqueras, J. A., Mateu-Martinez, O.,
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McCormick,
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