Throughout history, there have been many people who have used the arts to communicate their ideas and messages. Some use poetry, music, or visual art to express their thoughts and feelings.
Others use them as a medium to spread their message. In poetry, writers use their experience, ideas, and feelings to convey their message. In music, writers can use the style of music to convey their message.
Some writers use language that is explicit or explicitness is used in music. For example, a composer might choose strong or low tones for a song’s theme, an artist might choose bold or soft styles for her art, and a poet might choose some of each.
In some cases, people who want to share their message spend lots of time doing both formal communications and informal outreach. It is just one way they connect the dots between themselves and the world.
Describe how neuroscientist James Fallon came to study psychopaths
For decades, social scientists have attempted to understand the characteristics of psychopathic personalities, but little progress has been made.
Until now.
In a world-renown institution like Harvard University, where I studied and worked for many years, there was much interest in my work. It was easy to see why: My book is an outstanding investigation of the characteristics of a psychopathic personality and how to identify one in the context of a mental health diagnosis.
It is without a doubt one of the most discussed books of recent years, with both reviews and sales topping out at over 681,000 copies. It has even gone Hollywood-style and been adapted into a movie starring Brad Pitt (The Mask) and Angelina Jolie (Anaaltness).
The reason this book has earned such attention is because it provides insight into the characteristics of a psychopathic personality and how to recognize one in the context of a mental health diagnosis.
Explain what is known about the genetic basis of psychopathy
In recent years, researchers have begun to explore the factors that make someone psychopathic. This is a term for a person with a high level of antisocial behavior.
Although the term has been around for decades, it has only recently gone mainstream as a term for investigating the biological bases of what makes people evil.
Many researchers now believe that character traits such as ruthlessness, self-centeredness, and lack of empathy are essential not just to crimes like murder, but to most every kind of behavior.
This is an important concept: While we can say with certainty that something evil is in someone’s makeup, we cannot say with certainty that something bad will happen if they don’t have it.
If it was possible to remove some of the characteristics that made someone evil, then maybe we could prevent some kinds of evil from happening. This is called prevention.
Describe the different characteristics of a psychopath
First, a psychopath doesn’t feel any empathy or concern for others. This is how they get past all social conventions and societal norms. They don’t pay attention to what others are going through and what they are feeling.
Second, a psychopath doesn’t care if people live or die. They don’t feel any remorse for the damage they cause to people and society at large.
Third, a psychopath doesn’s care about right or wrong as we apply it to them. They don’t see anything worth living for because they know no matter what they will never be accepted by society at large.
Finally, a psychopath doesn’s consider themselves smart but only in the sense that they think very little else does less than them.
Explain how neuroimaging can be used to study the brain of a psychopath
Our brains are very beautiful, complex structures. We can use our expertise in the field of neuroscience to study the brain of the psychopath.
Some believe that the build-up of stress in the brain of a psychopath is what causes him or her to behave in such an unpredictable manner. By studying how the brain works alongside behaviour, we can gain a better understanding of why people behave as they do and how to prevent a psychopath from re-offending.
Using neuroimaging, we can study what happens in the brain when someone with a psychopathic personality is confronted with feelings and emotions. We can also examine what happens in the brain when someone with a psychopathic personality faces situations that involve emotions. These situations could be court cases or interactions with others, such as friends, family members, colleagues or strangers.
We found that when people with low empathy are confronted with feelings and/or emotions, then their empathy towards others decreases.
What are the implications of studying psychopathy?
For example, scientists studying the effects of psychopathy in adulthood are discovering changes in the brain.
During childhood and early adolescent years, when parts of the brain controlling emotion and social behavior are developing, changes in the brain occur. This is a natural progression as we grow and develop into who we are.
Once an individual reaches adulthood, these changes in the brain continue to happen as it organizes its functioning. These changes can be specific to psychopathic traits like reckless disregard for others or emotional detachment.
This continues to happen as they reach middle age and after, when new functions emerge that were never present before. For example, at a young age, people with psychopathy showed signs of physical violence but at middle age they show signs of financial fraud.
What are some possible solutions to psychopathy?
There are a few possible solutions to the challenge of being a psychopathy. One is to avoid or limit your exposure to people with lower levels of empathy.
The other is to understand and manage your own psychopathic tendencies.
Practicing self-compassion, developing friendships with noncompetent people, and learning how to manage my emotions are all ways I can try to control my behavior.
In fact, these three points may be the only ones that work for me because without forgiveness in my life, I cannot change anything in my brain. (And even then, only very slowly.)
As difficult as it may be, learning how our brains function can help us understand ourselves and improve our behavior.
Read some books on the topic!
While there are many excellent books on the psychopath, you should be aware that not all psychics are created equal. Some psychics are trained in the art of reading the dark side of the brain, and use this knowledge to their advantage. This knowledge has been called “psychic Psycho”!
As a psychic, you can gain insights into people’s subconscious thoughts and behaviors which make them susceptible to being controlled by the dark side of the brain. You can also read people’s situations and know what will happen.
There are many ways to learn how to recognize a psychopath. It is not enough to look for signs at work or on social media – you must actually dialogue with them! Psychologists have coined a term for this type of spirituality: situational spirituality.
It is through this type of spirituality that we find ways to resist their control and influence over our lives.
Watch some documentaries on the topic!
While there are many truth-about-psychopath-awareness documentaries available, we suggest you don’t just read this article and follow along with the author’s example. You have to experience it to believe it.
These types of documentaries can give you a quick, non-intoxicating peek into the mind of a psychopath. They can make you feel bad for what they’ve gone through and even admire their cold, calculating behavior.
They help you see more clearly how destructive a person like the psychopath is and how far they must exist on the scale of left to right extrema. It makes you realize how lucky we are to have more non–psychopaths in society!
They also help you understand how the brain is wired to protect us against people like the psychopath and make you appreciate more people who aren’t as calculated but still have some sense of morality.
