Assignment help – Discuss the extent to which genetic, environmental, cognitive, and developmental influences contribute to the development of psychopathy. Which of these influences do you feel is the most important?
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized by a lack of empathy, poor behavioral regulation, and impaired emotional reactions. Psychopaths exhibit violent, aggressive, and anti-social behaviors. Their manipulative nature makes them experience challenges in life, relationships, and work. Research reveals that 20% of people in North American prisons are psychopaths.
Although several factors contribute to the development of psychopathy, genetic influences play a significant role. Benjamin Karpman describes psychopathy caused by genetic influences as primary and that which is caused by other factors as secondary. People with primary psychopathy are less anxious; they lack emotional expression, and they engage in crime that is instrumental. Psychopathy develops with time. It is related to strong genetic influences and harmful effects on the paralimbic regions of the brain that leads to a dysfunction in the parts responsible for emotional responses.
Environmental factors, such as trauma, growing up in impoverished surroundings, and incompetent parenting, also contribute to the development of psychopathy. Environmental factors contribute to secondary psychopathy. People with secondary psychopathy are more anxious, and they commit reactionary crimes. They have an overactive behavioral inhibition system.
Psychopathy starts developing at a young age. Its features become more apparent at the age of ten. Juveniles with impaired emotional responses do not develop cues for learning to avoid behaviors that result in punishment. They also lack empathy. Research shows that people with mental lobe dysfunction exhibit behaviors similar to those of psychopaths. That led to the speculation that a frontal lobe problem has a connection to psychopathy. Psychopaths are different from people with antisocial personality disorder; that is because their brain has challenges with attention and emotion processing. They portray emotional deficiency from childhood to adulthood. A psychopath is likely to re-offend close to three times.
Research shows that psychopaths have a history of being antisocial during childhood. The behavior is likely to bring about neurobiological and socio-environmental risk factors. It’s better to identify and treat psychopathy during childhood because several attempts to treat it during adulthood have proven unsuccessful. People with psychopathy have a record of criminal activity and recidivism. They lack empathy, guilt, and interpersonal bonds.
Psychopathy can be inherited. There are several genes linked to the development of psychopathy, such as DRD 2. The growth of psychopathy depends on these genes and adverse environmental factors. Genes affect the growth of psychopathy, while environmental factors determine which traits will predominate.
Sources
Hare, Robert D. “Psychopathy.” Research in psychophysiology (1975): 325-348.
Viding, Essi, and Eamon J. McCrory. “Genetic and neurocognitive contributions to the development of psychopathy.” Development and Psychopathology 24.3 (2012): 969-983.
Farrington, David P., Simone Ullrich, and Randall T. Salekin. “Environmental influences on child and adolescent psychopathy.” (2010).
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