Based upon research into Psychopathy, I have come up with a theory to explain the boredom that pushes some psychopaths to become addicts, risk takers, and murderers. I've run this by some psychologists, and they feel it's a valid idea.
If you appreciate this article, please 🏅upvote/like👍
, 🤩resteem/share
and share it to Facebook
, Twitter
, Reddit
, LinkedIn
and wherever else
you can!
Hi reveurgam,
This was an awesome talk; it made cleaning my room go by in an instant. While I'm confident I've heard those hypothetical "pull the lever" scenarios before, I couldn't help but think I would make the rash decision to save the majority of those in danger - even before you revealed that that's not the common choice.
I am a psychopath I suppose ;)
https://steemit.com/psychology/@reveurgam/the-trolley-problem
I'm glad that you appreciated the talk! Thank you! Actually, it isn't exclusive to psychopaths, it's just that they'll make the decision faster than most "emos" because it's logical to sacrifice 1 to save 4, and accept the consequences, rather than sacrifice the 4 and have to deal with unforeseen consequences. It's just logic.
Now, if the 1 was, say, an extremely rich or famous person, the outcome might be different, because you may consider the possibility of being rewarded lavishly. It's not that the 4 are worth less, morally, it's the lure of wealth...
Hey @reveurgam, thank you for your thoughts about the human psychology and the reason that may influence some people to do weird things. Have you noticed that lately there are many people having different degree of personality disorders and a lot more depressions. Some of the literature says that such psychopath are just born like that. To tell the truth I do not what everything depends on but I believe we still can influence the psychology of children since their birth to give them security, love and care :)
Cheers, from Art-supporting blog,@art-venture
https://steemit.com/psychology/@reveurgam/can-mental-illness-create-psychopaths
I'm not aware of trends in neuroses and psychoses, I'm afraid. I can say that modern societies within which there is an eroded culture, religion and a sense of isolation in the crowd, or of being treated like a number, tend to have higher cases of depression. However, I'm fairly certain that there are ways to alleviate these issues through developing a more unified culture, and that can be with or without religion, and changing business practices.
I'm aware that some literature says that psychopaths are born that way. I'm also aware that some differentiate psychopaths and sociopaths. As for the former, I believe that psychopaths can be born due to genetics, but it's more likely prenatal damage/mutation, or post-natal physical damage to certain brain centers such as the prefrontal cortex, even in an adult, in which case it's difficult or impossible to reverse the problem but, in the case of abuse as a baby/toddler/child, I believe the potential exists to reverse the condition...Although it'd take a willing subject, and many years of therapy to rebuild the connections to the centers of emotions. I definitely agree with your closing sentence!!! :)
You have been scouted by @promo-mentors.
We are a community of new and veteran Steemians and we are always on the lookout for promising authors.
I would like to invite you to our discord group https://discord.gg/vDPAFqb.
When you are there send me a message if you get lost! (My Discord name is the same as here on Steemit)
Thank you! What shall I do on Discord?
You can explore it and maybe join some workshops, or simply chat with other people, among other activities. There are a lot of things going on in promo mentors!
I invited you because I think your content is of good quality and maybe there could be a productive relationship between promo mentors and yourself :)
Cheers.
Ok, so PM has workshops and chats. Is there a video or article that gives me a list of all the things PM offers?
Hi Reveurgam!
Thanks for sharing your video about psychopathy.
And you explained it thoroughly with some examples and ideas to look into.
By the way what move you to talk about psychopathy?
I guess addiction is one the causes of psychopathy. When a person is addicted to something, he/she tries to think and find reasons to support and continue the addiction by finding the benefits or advantages of such addiction.
If the addiction becomes extreme in some point, that's the time an addict becomes a psychopath.
I'm glad you found my talk useful. Thank you!
This is a theory I developed a few years ago, but was unable to pursue because my wife was dying. Now seemed to be a good time, given that 3 psychologists and a couple of therapists had said it had merit.
Addiction isn't a cause of psychopathy but is sometimes observed in psychopaths because of their desire for stimulation to fill up that "hole" I talked about, which they call boredom. High-risk behavior is, as I understand it, common amongst psychopaths, but those with sufficient self-restraint avoid those behaviors that would land them in jail or, at least, those that are difficult to identify and prosecute (such as emotionally abusing/manipulating subordinates in business). In my research, I came across enough info to show that a lot of psychopaths are in the business world, and some are even leaders. One research suggests that while they can lead, businesses led by them tend to perform worse than the leaders who have the best combination of traits.
It is, I suppose, possible for certain types of drugs to potentially damage the relevant parts of the brain, but I've not heard of that. Have you?
Thank you!
https://steemit.com/psychology/@reveurgam/psychopathy-drugs-and-addiction
I don't know if its proven with real facts and evidence that certain drugs could potentially damage some relevant parts of the brain, maybe there is.
I guess the effects of using those drugs would affect the user that could eventually harm other people to some extent. Maybe this is the reason why our government here prohibits some drugs like, shabu, cocaine, marijuana, etc.
Where are you? Indonesia?
My understanding of the criminal behavior of addicts stems from the over-riding need to get high. If they don't have the money to get their drug of choice, then they become increasingly willing to engage in criminal behavior to get money to buy more drugs. This can also, over time, cause escalation in the level of criminal behavior and violence.
This is paralleled in other aspects of the criminal world. An initiate into a gang may be asked to commit minor crimes at the start but, over time, the seriousness of crimes required escalates, as does the level of violence. A fairly strongly moral person can experience a degradation of their behavior through repeated exposure to, and participation in, criminal behavior and violence, one day ending up an extremely ruthless criminal. The progression can be tracked. Breaking down norms and values takes time for most people, with many slowly making compromises in their integrity.
This has the side effect of guilt, leading to self-loathing, self-hate and self-punishment, which often affects people nearby, especially loved ones, who may become victims.
This doesn't usually apply to psychopaths, who are emotionally divorced and tend to look at morality and religion with disdain due to the hypocrisy and lack of logic. They can engage in any level of criminal behavior and violence which they are inclined to, as long as their fear of getting caught and send to prison isn't enough of a disincentive...
I'm from the Philippines.
Thanks for the insights.
Sorry for including drug addicts in my comments, its out of the context of psychopathy in your post.
I'm just concern of the people here especially those drug addicts who could not change themselves and don't want to surrender, instead they fight against the police authority and and thousands of them were already killed.
Before our President became a president, during election, he promised to stop drugs in the country for 6 months. Now, the President is more than 2 years already in the office but drugs are still there, pushers and users are still there. I guess tens of thousands are already in the rehabilitation center who surrender.
There is no reason to apologize. I mentioned addiction in my video and, judging by your description, it makes sense why you wrote that addiction causes psychopathy. Unfortunately, addiction is a serious problem and a candidate promising to deal with it is just a campaign promise that is very hard to keep. In my area, heroine is a serious problem.
I'm told a great (great?) uncle of mine married and had kids in the Fils, so there are relatives of mine there, somewhere.
Salamat po!
Walang anuman!
There are actually many foreigners here and mostly I guess are Americans.
I'm glad you have relatives here in our country.
Nice meeting you here on Steemit!
By the way what's your name @reveurgam if you don't mind?
Ronel, I looked again at the comments, and I have given some more thought to your comment about addiction. In theory, certain chemicals might induce an alteration of the mental state, just as strong magnets can alter the way the brain works, but I don't think there are many (if any) street drugs that can do this. That said, I am reminded of reports in recent years of people suddenly attacking homeless people or neighbors and consuming parts of their bodies while alive, or murdering them. Supposedly, this was after using certain illicit substances, and may give credence to your theory, although I would suspect it was a temporary effect. That said, I still don't think ADDICTION causes psychopathy, but certain chemicals may.
Good point grand dad!
I guess we have to moderate everything and anything to avoid side effects?
But moderation or balance is hard to achieve but at least we're reminded when sometimes we tend to do things excessively, then we could easily shift or turn to other things instead of doing things we mostly love excessively especially those that feeds our appetite and desires or passion or pleasure doing them over and over again would lead to addiction.
Moderation is a good idea in most things, I agree, whereas following our passions and appetites may lead to destructive behaviors/consequences...
Yep, yep!
I don't know if I'm doing the moderation thing when I no longer eat breakfast for almost 2 years now.
Ever since I felt strong and healthy compared to those times when I was eating breakfast my almost whole life.
The difference may be because you don't eat breakfast, but it could be something else. For example, if you were eating a lot of wheat-based cereal, and have gluten intolerance and/or lactose intolerance for breakfast, stopping would almost certainly make you feel better.
I don't think stopping counts as moderation, though. :)
Yeah you're right. But I guess for now I feel better eating no breakfast. I don't know where this thing will go. Around 7 pm up to 12 noon no foods and no drinks at all, its 17 hours straight fasting daily for almost 2 years. Am I the only one doing this? I guess there are some. And I break the rules of the food industries slogan 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'.
Thanks for your interesting theory and explanation of the experiment with the train. Can some psychopaths be cured?
Certainly, a more intelligent psychopath would be able to deceive an expert, especially if the expert's IQ weren't high enough and/or they lacked sufficient experience. I would suppose that there are many psychopaths who would look at gaining emotions and potentially losing logic would not be worth it but there might some who would prefer to get rid of the void in them (the one due to having divorced their emotions). Keep in mind, however, that those psychopaths who suffered brain damage to the frontal lobes, resulting in psychopathy, even if there was also severe emotional abuse, may not be in a position to be helped until brain surgery advances sufficiently to undue damage, which may never be possible.
https://steemit.com/psychology/@reveurgam/can-psychopathy-be-cured
Thank you! If my supposition is correct, I believe it is possible to cure those who had to emotionally divorce themselves while very young as a protective mechanism that became ingrained. How many years of therapy is not something I can hazard a guess at, but it certainly would be important for the person to be willing. Off the top of my head, I would say those with a higher IQ would be able to make a more informed decision and, thus, be more likely to consider the idea, but I really don't know anything about the percentage of psychopaths that wish to change, aside from the one that I mentioned I'd read the blog of.
Hi reveurgam,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Thank you!
Congratulations @reveurgam! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPThank you!
This was a good idea to video your thinking instead of write a long article @reveurgam. This easier for us to absorb :) Are you major in psychology? Actually how you determine whether a person is psychopath or not? A person who has no feeling even her closest grandmother pass away. This might be something happen in older days until he blocked his emotion.Is this consider a psychopath? I agreed with you psychopath due to young day because of abused or betrayed by their parent. But some of it from family history, genetic as well. Did sociopath and psychopath similar?
Congratulations @reveurgam! You have completed the following achievement on the Steem blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPThank you again!
@reveurgqam if it was worth watching your video because of the great thoughts that you have, if you know pure psychology I am a novice before you. those who are born Psychopaths that already comes in the blood in the genes @neymarth10
I had misunderstood your statement about psychopaths being born that way due to genetics, thinking that you were saying all psychopaths are born that way due to genetic. But, in looking at it again, I figured out what you really meant: that those who are born psychopathic are that way due to genetics.
So, I share with you this revised thought. I would be inclined to theorize that, to a degree, you are correct regarding DNA, and yet, I believe that there are also things that can happen in the womb that might be able to damage the brain's development, given existing examples. A deficiency of folic acid can cause spina bifida and too much alcohol during pregnancy can do damage to the brain and even alter physical appearance, and there have been both medicines, such as antibiotics, and elements, such as lead, that have lead to birth defects so it then is proven that excesses and deficiencies cause a wide range of maladies, and among them could also be damage to parts of the brain, such as the frontal lobes, that control executive functions. Further, injuries from physical trauma in the womb can also cause damage to the frontal lobes, although the risk is lower than once the baby is born.
Just like strongly shaking a baby can result in a wide range of physical (such as cerebral palsy, seizures, spasticity, internal bleeding, and sensory organ malfunction) and mental (learning disabilities, intellectual problems, and emotional/behavioral issues) problems, babies, toddlers, children or even adults who suffer the right kind of injuries to the parts of the brain relating to emotional regulation, maturity and self-control could develop psychopathy or other mental maladies that are physically based. There are recorded cases where adults have suffered a serious head injury only to survive, but with a greatly altered personality. Here's an article on the topic: After Brain Injury: The Dark Side of Personality Change Part I.
Thank you but, truly, I am not an expert. I have an interest in many subjects, psychology included, and I try to apply myself when the opportunity presents itself. I subscribe to the belief that life is for learning, growing and loving, and anyone who does not do this is a zombie.
I respectfully disagree that psychopaths are born to it. Please see my comments to others regarding this, but I believe most psychopaths are created through extreme abuse at a very young age over years, resulting in divorcing themselves from their emotions in the same way that a person with multiple personalities might switch personas in order to better handle a given situation. I hope that makes sense.
you are right @reveurgam all that comes from the upbringing but today you have to give a good upbringing since there are many methods for our children to deviate. how this happens television is a video game consoles technology is the one that made most of the psychopaths go out to the street the other point is I have 7 brothers, my brother jhonatan has always been a psychopath you make your trap kill steals but I I did not learn from him we are different world and he had a good upbringing. Now I have a 5-year-old son named Neymarth and he is very calm that I see him and I say he is equal to me but my brother's son is not different they are the same age as Neymarth and what he does and thinks is in stealing do evil and everything I want you to explain to me that @reveurgam
I'm sorry, I never did differentiate between different types of environmental factors. Here you go - this completes the paragraph on that.
Drugs, chemicals and injuries could, depending on when they occurred, cause temporary or permanent changes, I think. Abuse can lead to a variety of mental illnesses, with psychopathy being just one possible outcome. Bullying is a consequence of various factors, including abuse, being the victim of bullying at home or in the community, and may also, perhaps, learned from video games and TV, although I think that media plays a more "supplementary" role, by normalizing violent behavior. Bullying, thus, probably will not cause psychopathy but, if not appropriately addressed, can lead to depression, suicide, violent attacks including school shootings, and a life full of difficulties.
First, let me differentiate between types of environmental factors. Video games, movies, TV shows and the like probably cannot produce a psychopath, although I can think of extreme conditions that would have a severe negative influence such that a child would grow up thinking that destructive psychopathic behavior is acceptable. This would require that the child be programmed by heavy, routine exposure to media that promotes such behavior as normal over a period of years, starting as a toddler. This type of programming is more easily reversible, I am fairly sure, than what happens to a psychopath. Media can cause a child to believe that rape, theft, and even torture and murder are acceptable and even positive behaviors.
Thus, I am confused by your statement about video games and psychopaths. Psychopathy is caused by (rarely, I suspect) genetics, more often by pre- and post-natal damage, and most often by emotional and physical abuse of an extreme sort.
I am not aware of what criteria you have observed in your brother that makes you feel your brother, Jhonathan, is a psycho. Please list as many symptoms as you can, including about relationships/marriage, criminal behavior, manipulation, high-risk behavior, lack of planning for the future, etc. His behavior and that of his son could be the result of something else, such as another mental illness, or conscious decisions, but his son is probably the way he is because Jhonathan taught him to be that way. I await further info from you.
Please do keep in mind that I am not a psychologist; I'm just trying to be helpful by using my logic and knowledge of psychology...
thank you for clarifying the points I will take much into account @reveurgam the truth if they take points about my nephew's case the same parents will be harmed the father and mother support him that everything he does is fine but I see him from another thank you for giving me your point of view a cordial greeting from here VEnezuela @neymarth10
Feel free to share with me the things he and his son do that make you feel he is a psychopath. Again, he may just have chosen the criminal life for other reasons. Mucho gusto!
Hi Neymarth! I prepared a video response to your question. It's somewhat more complete than the text answers I gave below...
What Causes Psychopathy?