Excellent article. I had no idea about Angelman Syndrome - the human body is a marvel. Thank you for this.
I could say I’m sorry that this woman deleted her account, but I’m not. Her articles were so incorrect, especially surprising for someone who claims to have an advanced degree in psychology. Much of what she talks about is covered in various abnormal psych courses, very basically, but still - it makes me wonder where she went to school and what her actual focus was.
I wish people, who clearly show an interest in this field, would learn from current information and advance their knowledge. When they do not, it makes me think that much of their ‘knowledge’ could be from perceived personal experience.
Covert psychological abuse is a popular topic currently, and while I’m glad, because so many suffer in silence, many are also confusing this with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Many are both abusive AND suffer from this personality disorder, among other things, but the moniker ‘he’s a narcissist’ is also being thrown around quite a bit - and this Cluster B business is even more complicated, I find, than psychopathy.
And, it is terribly hard to be objective when one is both a ‘student’ and has personal experience. Perhaps this writer is a victim of abuse and has fallen into the easy label trap? It’s not an excuse for writing from a position of expertise when that is clearly lacking - and if one cannot write a so-called scholarly article without objectivity, I would suggest just to avoid it. In this circumstance, Athena, I definitely envy you - I assume objectivity comes naturally?
I think so, but it could be a byproduct of cognitive empathy and continual observation of people. In doing so I can see the many different reasons that people have when they do things. Because I see many sides, it is often far simpler for me to see that an observed behavior in a person can have many motives, so I tend to be more able to consider many sides of something.
Due to that, and how often I have seen that there are often unconsidered things, I will not take things at face value, but rather look for the other possible contributing factors.
Hey Athena! I know I'm light-years behind but Glad to see you going in depth about such topics and back in the game.
I couldn't agree more with how Neurtypicals believe that people should be clones or behave in a certain way.
I couldn't help but think when I was reading in between how you stated that you had a perfectly normal childhood (however you define "perfect") and that a big percentage of psychopaths aren't antisocial. I do agree with that not everyone of them will be caught on the radar if they misbehaved but I recall that you have written before how in your younger years you have had your fair share with the police and you did things that made you go through the process of how you eventually found out that you are a psychopath. Which I assume is something that not everybody will find that it is blending in with the society (?)
Maybe I'm misinformed but that's antisocial behavioir if you are rubbing the wrong foot with the police no matter how much of a good upbringing you have had.
I still need to go through your article again maybe it will answer my question but I felt I had to point that out.
Oh, I have always said that I was antisocial when I was younger, but many kids are. I am not antisocial now, and applying a label to someone because of how they acted as teenagers would be asinine.
Thank you Athena. Your publications are valuable, you make the facts override myths or false interpretations. I used the term psycopath incorrectly, led by that suffix "path" which misrepresents the oxicontin defect effect. Crystal clear explanations.
For now I either post here, or on Quora. The subscriptions here are free. In the future there will be exclusive content behind a paywall, but my general posts will remain free.
I understand. I learnt about psycopatholgy reading you. Thank you. I was using the term incorrectly. I think i should have used the tem sociopath instead of psycopath in many cases.
When you said most psychopaths are not anti-social in the slightest, are you referring to adult psychopaths? Anti-social personality disorder has a lot to do with upbringing, and you had a good upbringing, correct?
So would you consider yourself an exception to this statement, since as an adolescent, you participated in certain activities that would be considered anti-social, despite a good upbringing?
I wouldn't consider myself an exception. I think of myself as someone that was fortunate to have the parents that I did because I was not allowed to get away with the things that I was caught doing. Therefore it instilled in me outcomes that weren't favorable to me, and gave me reasons to reconsider my actions. Not right away, it took some time for me to reevaluate things, but over time it did register.
The 3 types of people thing reminded me of a recent event at my place of employment. We were having a casual meeting before work began when I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye.
It was a snake that had crawled inside.
I had a startle response, said, "Is that a snake?" and jumped off the bench I was sitting on to get a better look.
One woman literally jumped up on top of the bench I was sitting on and screamed while everyone else just froze in place.
The snake managed to escape from me though I only intended to get it back outdoors but since that's where it ended up I guess I was successful. :P
Could you explain from your experience with brain scans what we’re seeing in the pictures in a previous post (‘Connectomes—mappings of neural connections in the brain—showing differences in connectivity between the neurotypical brain, the high-functioning autistic brain, and the psychopathic brain’)? Do the colors specify activity level alone, and what do the differences in shape & length signify?
I am not an expert in connectomes. The most I can say about the image personally is that it illustrates very clearly the difference between the number of synaptic branches of people with autism, neurotypicality, and psychopaths.
Good day I highly appreciate your explanation of psychopath and its misrepresentation. Thanks. Question : if 90% of psychopaths are not antisocial, but on the contrary, positively productive individuals, why use the suffix path as in psychopath, when path implies pathology? My email is thomasbraun321@gmail.com Thank you.
Excellent article. I had no idea about Angelman Syndrome - the human body is a marvel. Thank you for this.
I could say I’m sorry that this woman deleted her account, but I’m not. Her articles were so incorrect, especially surprising for someone who claims to have an advanced degree in psychology. Much of what she talks about is covered in various abnormal psych courses, very basically, but still - it makes me wonder where she went to school and what her actual focus was.
I wish people, who clearly show an interest in this field, would learn from current information and advance their knowledge. When they do not, it makes me think that much of their ‘knowledge’ could be from perceived personal experience.
Covert psychological abuse is a popular topic currently, and while I’m glad, because so many suffer in silence, many are also confusing this with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Many are both abusive AND suffer from this personality disorder, among other things, but the moniker ‘he’s a narcissist’ is also being thrown around quite a bit - and this Cluster B business is even more complicated, I find, than psychopathy.
And, it is terribly hard to be objective when one is both a ‘student’ and has personal experience. Perhaps this writer is a victim of abuse and has fallen into the easy label trap? It’s not an excuse for writing from a position of expertise when that is clearly lacking - and if one cannot write a so-called scholarly article without objectivity, I would suggest just to avoid it. In this circumstance, Athena, I definitely envy you - I assume objectivity comes naturally?
I think so, but it could be a byproduct of cognitive empathy and continual observation of people. In doing so I can see the many different reasons that people have when they do things. Because I see many sides, it is often far simpler for me to see that an observed behavior in a person can have many motives, so I tend to be more able to consider many sides of something.
Due to that, and how often I have seen that there are often unconsidered things, I will not take things at face value, but rather look for the other possible contributing factors.
"Please get your sarcasm meter recalibrated". Can I use that one?
Of course
Hey Athena! I know I'm light-years behind but Glad to see you going in depth about such topics and back in the game.
I couldn't agree more with how Neurtypicals believe that people should be clones or behave in a certain way.
I couldn't help but think when I was reading in between how you stated that you had a perfectly normal childhood (however you define "perfect") and that a big percentage of psychopaths aren't antisocial. I do agree with that not everyone of them will be caught on the radar if they misbehaved but I recall that you have written before how in your younger years you have had your fair share with the police and you did things that made you go through the process of how you eventually found out that you are a psychopath. Which I assume is something that not everybody will find that it is blending in with the society (?)
Maybe I'm misinformed but that's antisocial behavioir if you are rubbing the wrong foot with the police no matter how much of a good upbringing you have had.
I still need to go through your article again maybe it will answer my question but I felt I had to point that out.
Oh, I have always said that I was antisocial when I was younger, but many kids are. I am not antisocial now, and applying a label to someone because of how they acted as teenagers would be asinine.
Athena, enjoy life with health, peace and prosperity!
Thank you, Thomas. You as well
Thank you Athena. Your publications are valuable, you make the facts override myths or false interpretations. I used the term psycopath incorrectly, led by that suffix "path" which misrepresents the oxicontin defect effect. Crystal clear explanations.
You are quite welcome Thomas. Thank you for reading.
Which is the URL of your website? You post there and also have a paid subscription for exclusive publications?. Warm regards, I write from Lima, Peru
For now I either post here, or on Quora. The subscriptions here are free. In the future there will be exclusive content behind a paywall, but my general posts will remain free.
I understand. I learnt about psycopatholgy reading you. Thank you. I was using the term incorrectly. I think i should have used the tem sociopath instead of psycopath in many cases.
Sociopathy is quite different, but also very interesting.
Mammals are born with emotions
So I wonder if there are non human models of neo-psychopathy
This is as fascinating a neurolandscape as exploring the surface of Mars, we cal learn by contrasts,
Lends deep insight into my own assumptions, about my empathetic default states.
There’s practical application there
When you said most psychopaths are not anti-social in the slightest, are you referring to adult psychopaths? Anti-social personality disorder has a lot to do with upbringing, and you had a good upbringing, correct?
Yes, I did
So would you consider yourself an exception to this statement, since as an adolescent, you participated in certain activities that would be considered anti-social, despite a good upbringing?
I wouldn't consider myself an exception. I think of myself as someone that was fortunate to have the parents that I did because I was not allowed to get away with the things that I was caught doing. Therefore it instilled in me outcomes that weren't favorable to me, and gave me reasons to reconsider my actions. Not right away, it took some time for me to reevaluate things, but over time it did register.
The 3 types of people thing reminded me of a recent event at my place of employment. We were having a casual meeting before work began when I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye.
It was a snake that had crawled inside.
I had a startle response, said, "Is that a snake?" and jumped off the bench I was sitting on to get a better look.
One woman literally jumped up on top of the bench I was sitting on and screamed while everyone else just froze in place.
The snake managed to escape from me though I only intended to get it back outdoors but since that's where it ended up I guess I was successful. :P
Wow, that is a very illustrated example of the three types, isn't it.
Could you explain from your experience with brain scans what we’re seeing in the pictures in a previous post (‘Connectomes—mappings of neural connections in the brain—showing differences in connectivity between the neurotypical brain, the high-functioning autistic brain, and the psychopathic brain’)? Do the colors specify activity level alone, and what do the differences in shape & length signify?
I am not an expert in connectomes. The most I can say about the image personally is that it illustrates very clearly the difference between the number of synaptic branches of people with autism, neurotypicality, and psychopaths.
Good day I highly appreciate your explanation of psychopath and its misrepresentation. Thanks. Question : if 90% of psychopaths are not antisocial, but on the contrary, positively productive individuals, why use the suffix path as in psychopath, when path implies pathology? My email is thomasbraun321@gmail.com Thank you.
Because it was named many many decades ago.
A-empathic is clunky