I watched the series about Neil Berryman and can’t understand why no DNA test was done to rule out the bloke he was harassing thinking it was Lucan! Seems a very obvious solution.
It is difficult to understand the apparently inexplicable, self-defeating, crazy behavior of a psychopath. Psychologists however are familiar with this phenomenon. It distinguishes the psychopath from the sociopath, narcissts and other anti-social characters. The famous handbook used by psychology students in the last century, Cleckley's "Mask of Sanity" delves into it and provides many case histories which are used today by soap opera scriptwriters as "tropes".
I've always found it difficult to clearly separate the two. I really enjoyed Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test which covered it in an entertaining way. That book sounds brilliant, will check it out.
In fairness, many psychologists believe sociopath and psychopath are interchangeable terms (one American, the other British), but based on the characteristics cited there seems to be a subtle difference. Also, going by the etymology, I guess psychopathy is more a deficit of the psyche, which arguably means the soul, whereas sociopathy is more of a deficit in the person's interactions with other people. Narcissism is another character defect (Dr Martha Stout explained the difference between narcissists and sociopaths in one of her books; narcissists are needy, attention-seeking, and people around them find them frustrating to deal with, whereas socipaths are cold and motivated by a need for power). But it's all up for debate and these labels change all the time...
Thanks! It's really interesting and I think important when writing about crime. I found that book Cleckley's "Mask of Sanity" on Kindle Unlimited which is a win-win in case anyone else wants to try it.
I watched the series about Neil Berryman and can’t understand why no DNA test was done to rule out the bloke he was harassing thinking it was Lucan! Seems a very obvious solution.
It is difficult to understand the apparently inexplicable, self-defeating, crazy behavior of a psychopath. Psychologists however are familiar with this phenomenon. It distinguishes the psychopath from the sociopath, narcissts and other anti-social characters. The famous handbook used by psychology students in the last century, Cleckley's "Mask of Sanity" delves into it and provides many case histories which are used today by soap opera scriptwriters as "tropes".
I've always found it difficult to clearly separate the two. I really enjoyed Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test which covered it in an entertaining way. That book sounds brilliant, will check it out.
In fairness, many psychologists believe sociopath and psychopath are interchangeable terms (one American, the other British), but based on the characteristics cited there seems to be a subtle difference. Also, going by the etymology, I guess psychopathy is more a deficit of the psyche, which arguably means the soul, whereas sociopathy is more of a deficit in the person's interactions with other people. Narcissism is another character defect (Dr Martha Stout explained the difference between narcissists and sociopaths in one of her books; narcissists are needy, attention-seeking, and people around them find them frustrating to deal with, whereas socipaths are cold and motivated by a need for power). But it's all up for debate and these labels change all the time...
Thanks! It's really interesting and I think important when writing about crime. I found that book Cleckley's "Mask of Sanity" on Kindle Unlimited which is a win-win in case anyone else wants to try it.