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Introduction: Factors of a Psychopath

What really causes people to become deviant? What does it mean to be deviant? Could
you have a deviant mind? Deviance includes untypical behavior, usually social and/or sexual.
Psychopaths are classified as having a personality disorder from antisocial behavior, a lack of
empathy, and bold behavior. Psychopaths are deviants because they tend to act out in social
situations as well as behaving in a way that may be unusual to others.
A psychopath does not choose a day when and where their minds will become deviant.
There are three main aspects of a psychopath: genetics, brain development, and a traumatic event
(Fallon). A family could have a long line of psychopaths but it does not mean the child will also
become a psychopath but the genetics could carry on to the offspring. It is the matter of noticing
a personality disorder in the child at a young age.
Brain scans are used as a detection to see the childs personality development. They can
show dark spots in the brain where a child may lack in development, the detection will help train
the brain how to respond. Adolescents are more at risk to become a psychopath because their
brain is already developed and it would be hard to redirect their thinking (Cepeda).
A traumatic event could easily destroy a childs brain development. The first few years of
the childs life are crucial to the rest of their lives. An event in their early years could carry on
with them for the rest of their lives and build them to continue what has happened to them.
From a young age, the detection of a small personality disorder could save a child from a
horrible childhood experience. A child is not at risk of becoming a psychopath without the three
factors. Having one less of these factors could mitigate the possibility of becoming/having
psychopathic personality/behaviors. Recognizing, diagnosing and treating the early symptoms of
psychopathic behavior is important because it can prevent further damage in the brain, train the

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brain to positively respond to other peoples words and actions, strengthen family relationships,
and finding treatments that could work for the individual who is experiencing these symptoms.

What is a psychopath?
Psychopaths are usually defined as having a personality disorder combined with
antisocial behavior. Psychopaths do not know from right or wrong and can be perceived as
charming people. Psychopathic behavior starts at any age but it is a matter of time that one may
notice it. There have been mental health professionals that have said a child could be diagnosed
as early as three years old. It also has been said that it could be easier to treat if found at an early
stage. (Cepeda)Some parents may look at the situation and think that it may just be a stage that
the child will outgrow. Symptoms of psychosis are the same for both children and adolescents
which include mood disorders. There are two different classifications, primary and secondary.
The primary group includes schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or psychotic disorder NOS (Not
otherwise specified). The secondary group is more of a severe diagnosis that includes PTSD,
bipolar disorder, mood disorder, and other psychotic conditions. The most depressive disorder
usually turns out to be schizophrenias. Schizophrenias is a disorder where it is hard to think
clearly or normal emotional responses. There are cases where these disorders are not detected at
an early age and it may not have an emotional responses, or act normal in a social situation. It is
hard to actually classify the group that they are in.
When assessing a child who may have psychosis, there is a process with six steps.
According to Claudio Cepeda, the first step of diagnosing is gathering their history as well as the
family history and the development background. Next is the psychiatric interview to classify
what disorder they may have and any further questions as to what the child may have. After the
interview, there must be a physical and neurological evaluation. The neurological evaluation is

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necessary to rule out anything medically similar to schizophrenia-like reactions. Once that is
done the psychiatrist evaluates what they have observed. Throughout the interviews the examiner
goes over how the child had reacted to certain questions, the language used, and how they act
physically. It is difficult to examine a child under ten because of developmental and language
challenges and that is when a parent becomes an active participant. For parents a way to find the
diagnosis is by participating in the childs life and any noticeable or unusual changes could be a
hint to a diagnosis. After it is diagnosed by an examiner, there would be treatment plans put in
place.
A person does not become a complete psychopath. Symptoms show there are
possibilities of becoming one if the symptoms continue to worsen. There are different stages of
of a psychopathy. The early stage is known as a mild/semi psychopath and there is the high risk
psychopath. From the Center For Early Detection, Assessment and Response to Risk (CEDAR):
Between four to seventeen percent of young people report experiencing subclinical (mild)
psychotic-like symptoms. Jon Ronson who is a writer as well as a documentary filmmaker
encountered a semi psychopath, Tony. Tony had all the factors of a psychopath or what is the
checklist of the psychopath test. The psychopath test includes cunning and manipulative acts,
charm, a sense of self worth, the lack of empathy. Ronson explains how Tony seemed to be a
normal guy because he had normal conversations with people, he was a social person, a
charismatic man but his actions were what made Ronson see him differently. Ronson says he's a
gray area in a world that doesn't like gray areas. But the gray areas are where you find the
complexity, it's where you find the humanity and it's where you find the truth. What seems to be
a bit abnormal to other people is a threat to others (Ronson). Although psychopaths may sound
scary, they are not. It is scary to know that there are other people who are different from what is

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conceived as normal. They all were born the same as every other person but had something
drastically change them which could have been noticed but was not and now they are portrayed
as psychos.

Family duty
There has been a controversy whether the child is born with the disorder or they have
been raised poorly by the parent. Children are born with the disorder and family history plays a
huge part in a childs life. This is why the psychiatrist does a full family history to have a better
understanding of the patient. A child can be born with it but it is a matter of how the parents treat
it. The parent could give a child full attention and may notice the symptoms at an early stage and
avoid any other cost. On the other hand, the parents may neglect the child only later to find the
child frustrated and acting upon it. As the child grows the parents may notice their child slowly
become less active in things they once liked to do. An example of this may be having a great
relationship with others or things such as toys and slowly withdraw from them and become shy
to it. As they grow older they show the traits of aggression and sensation seeking and all
contributes to an antisocial disorder. A familys role in a childs life will affect the way the child
will respond with an antisocial disorder (Cepeda).
Dr. Ken Magid treated a young six year old girl (Beth Thomas) in 1992 who was
diagnosed as a psychopath. She calmly explained to Dr. Magid of how she would kill her parents
as well as her younger brother, John. He recorded their sessions that then became a
documentary. By the time Beth was one, her mother had died and she was left with her father
who sexually abused her. She and her brother were adopted by Tim and Julie who did not know
about the childrens past. As Beth started to do more sessions with Dr. Magid she revealed her
rage against the pets they owned, her brother, and herself as well. She would stick pins into her

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dog and brother, choke the birds they had owned and became so violent with her brother that he
needed stitches for his forehead. Beth not only tried killing her brother and abusing her pets but
also hurt herself. Julie (her adoptive mother) found her masturbating and in one case hurt herself
to the point where she started to bleed. Through therapy sessions with Dr. Magid Beth was
rehabilitated. It was over a course of years that Beth started to make improvements. As an adult
now, Beth is now a successful RN. It is important to get help at a young age because it could
redirect the childs life. Beth was a child who was left with an abusive father which traumatized
her and with a new family she was able to start treatment. The treatment changed her life and
now she is in a better place than how she started.
The role of the family is important because they are around the child all day. Dr. Bill
McFarlane, a psychiatrist in Maine, believes in low-tech interventions which mostly include
cutting the stress within the families. McFarlane has created programs in which he brings in
families to have group sessions to come to an understanding of what the child is going through.
These sessions brought the families together to plan a way to make the homes more fitting of the
situation for the child/young adult. It was in hopes of catching the schizophrenia (mental disorder
that makes it difficult to tell the difference of right and wrong) before it worsens. Joseph
Edwards who is an assistant program director of a program Kickstart in San Diego promotes
teenagers to participate with friends in and outside of school. He says just being outside with
friends could be a type of therapy for those who are developing schizophrenia. Although they
may try to isolate everyone and everything, it is better for them to keep their minds engaged.
Families can not let them become isolated because it does not help them at all but to become
more at risk of completely developing schizophrenia. The family should help the child/young
adult participate in therapy as soon as they can (Standen). Therapy does not only help the child

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but the family to be able to come to an understanding of why this is happening and play an active
part in the childs life. It would help the families interact with each other and build stronger
relationships.
Families will or might find this time difficult, especially when the child becomes distant
or would not respond to the parents. Although the parents may become frustrated they should not
ignore what is happening but the parents should stay active in conversations with the child.
Patience and support is also necessary when dealing with a situation like this.

Brains & genetics

History is an important aspect to know about to understand a psychopath. Jim Fallon is a
neurologist who studied the brain scans and genetic analysis of psychopathic killers. According
to Jims findings, genetics plays a role in what makes a psychopath. Not only does genetics play
a role but as well as biological epigenetic, brain damage, the environment and the timing
(development age). Jim has done multiple brain scans of those who are prisoners and diagnosed
as psychopaths. From his findings, there is a pattern among the prisoners and that is the High
Risk Gene MAO-A (monoamine oxidase A). This gene regulates serotonin which is a chemical
that is responsible for sustaining mood balance (Hagerty). Scientist have said that if a person has
a certain version of this gene the brain will not respond to the calming effects which is the
problem that most psychopaths face.
Jim also says that they also have to experience something in their life that is traumatic. It
also makes them become traumatized by this event. Jims mother had informed him that his
fathers side of the family came from a long line of murderers. He then decided to run a MRI on
his family as well as drawing blood to see if his family might have the MAO-A gene. It became a
shock to James when he found that his familys MRI came to be clean except for one, himself.

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Soon after he went through his brain scan and received his results from the blood work he found
that he was born a killer. Although it may be genetics and brain scans might classify him as a
psychopath he is not one. He may have the brain scans and genetics of a psychopath but he did
not have a history of abuse or violence during his own childhood. Jim differs from others
because he did not have any history in his childhood. He did not have all three factors of a
psychopath and because of that James is not a psychopath (Fallon).
Studies that were published by the General Psychiatry, have shown that the brain scans of
people who have psychosis have a significant difference than those who are considered
normal. The frontal lobe of someone with psychosis has a smaller frontal lobe than what a
normal brain would have. The main function of the frontal lobe is recognizing the consequences
from current actions. This part of the brain is what makes a person have a clear view of what is
right or wrong. The main reason why psychopaths tend to do things that the rest of us may think
is inhumane is because the frontal lobe is smaller making it less clear to them as to why what
they are doing is wrong. Brain scans have also detected a thin layer around the region of the
cortex. The cerebral cortex contains three parts: sensory, motor, and association areas. The
sensory areas of the brain receive vision, audition, and touch, the motor function is the control of
the voluntary movement, and the association areas hold the information stored in memories. In
this part of the brain there is a reduction of eighteen percent volume reduction for antisocial
people compared to individuals without a mental disorder . "We're not suggesting that some
children are psychopaths, but CU traits can be used to identify a subgroup of children who are at
risk," Fontaine said.(Moskowitz). James Fallons studies of brain scans also show a significant
difference between a normal persons brain scan and a psychopath. He also explains the function

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of the orbital cortex which is in control of ethical behavior, moral decisions, and impulse control
(Hagerty). James explains that this part of the brain is what a lot of psychopaths lack.
The picture below shows the different parts of the brain lighting up. The bright blue parts
of the brain is where there is activity currently happening in the brain. This is a way that scientist
are able to study the way psychopaths think. They simply run tests looking into certain parts of
the brain to see if there is any sort of activity.

CT of brain scans (Moskowitz)

Jim Fallon did a brain scan of himself as well as his son which he gave a copy to NPR
where he shared his findings. They came out significantly different. Fallons scans show a
darkened area in the orbital cortex which controls the decision making and emotions. His sons
brain has color in those areas which means his son is able to recognize emotions and make clear

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decisions. Fallons wife explains that Fallon says things that hurt them but he never noticed how
it made them feel.

James Fallons brain scans (the right) and the left is his sons normal brain scans.
(Monterey)

Psychopaths do not recognize pain, there is not activity in the brain when it comes to pain
to others. The anterior insula, anterior midcingulate cortex, somatosensory cortex, and the right
amygdala are areas in the brain that are associated with empathy. When it was asked of inmates
to picture accidents happening to themselves, all parts of the brain lit up but when it was asked to
picture it happening to someone else it did not light up. Instead, the ventral striatum which is an
area that includes pleasure lit up (Lewis). Those who are highly psychopathic individuals do not
feel any empathy when it comes to other people. Jon Ronson gave a quote, I heard a story about

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her once, said James. She was interviewing a psychopath. She showed him a picture of a
frightened face and asked him to identify the emotion. He said he didnt know what the emotion
was but it was the face people pulled just before he killed them.
In Madagascar, researchers put 1, 795 three year old children in a room. They then put on
headphones and played a tone and then another tone of jangling metal. The researchers repeated
this process to see when the children would react and take off the headphones. The purpose of
this study was another version of Pavlovian conditioning which is respondent conditioning.
Instead of electrical shock, it used the tones to sense their emotion. The first tone is much like a
warning sound and that is when children usually start to act nervous and those children who can
bare the second tone lack of a fear response. These children dont have a connection between
behavior and punishment. This reaction is also is the function of the amygdala, according to
Adrian Raine (Professor at University of Pennsylvania's Department of Criminology)
psychopaths show eighteen percent reduction from those who are considered normal.
The children that managed to listen to the second tone without taking off the headphones
were looked up twenty years later to find that those children had some type of criminal record.
Those criminal records included drug arrests, driving offenses, and violent attacks. The children
who also were a part of the research and had the same background as the ones with a criminal
record were looked up only. The other children did not have any criminal records but when they
looked at records back to the groups of the kiddie tests, they were the ones who became anxious
with the first unpleasant tone. Those who continued with the second tone were the criminals by
the age of twenty. By the age of three those children had already lacked of anticipation. The lack
of emotion that these children had meant they could not experience what others may have. A
small detection of lack of anticipation and emotion could mean the lack of activity within in the

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childs amygdala. While at young age the childs brain is still developing and there could still be
a chance to train their brain to recognize the emotions and behaviors of others and know how to
respond to it.
Psychopaths lack empathy as they become more involved in criminal activity. They
cannot grow out of this but they may become better at what they do but if it is caught at an early
stage things may turn out different. Neurocriminology is a field in which they look at the cause
of psychopathy with brain scans. It looks for the abnormalities within the criminals mind and
looks at where they may lack. It is a new way to actually understand the mind of a psychopath by
looking at their mind and their tendencies as they think or do something. As they find that the
brain lacks activities in certain areas they would be prepared for younger cases that are able to be
treated.

Trauma
A person could have the brain scans and genetics of being a psychopath but it does not
conclude that the person will actually become a psychopath without an event that is traumatic.
Research from the National Alliance on Mental Issues (NAMI) has demonstrated that it is
biological and psychological that traumatic events affects the impact of the body, spirit, and
brain. The trauma affects people differently depending on the developmental stage of the person
and as well as their development of the brain. The event could define the experience of a person
and influence their actions (NAMI).
Serious trauma affects all of the developments of the child which includes their cognitive,
social, emotional, physical, psychological and moral development. The negative events of the
childs life could result in behavior and emotional problems in the near future. Children who
experience trauma because of an abuse or neglect tend to lack in cognitive abilities and develop

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health problems or mental health disorders in the near future. Children who experience trauma
may have problems in thinking clearly, reasoning, or problem solving.The way the children has
been raised affects their thinking in a sense of surviving the way they had been used to. The
National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) said, when children grow up under
conditions of constant threat, all their internal resources go toward survival. Children they may
not think through problems clearly or would come up with their own alternatives to fixing the
problems (NCTSN). The solution may not be as reasonable because their thinking is not clear.
There are also emotional aspects of the experiences of the traumatic event. The child will
not be able to express their emotions or even managing them. Their emotional responses could
be unpredictable because they could suddenly remember that event which would make them
react in the moment. It could result in the child trembling, becoming angry, sad, or avoidance. A
child who has gone through multiple experience would likely have more reactions and as time
progresses it will become much more difficult to calm down the child. The child would find
themselves easily overwhelmed because they have not yet to learn how to calm themselves in
certain situations. Over time the event will be a constant reminder and there would be more
problems as it progresses.

Finding it before it begins

The early realization of an abnormal change to ones daily routine could change the
outcome of becoming a psychopath. In California, a new program has been created to prevent
schizophrenia before it actually begins. This first stage of the program is what psychiatrists call
prodromal which is when one starts to hear faint whispers, flashes of lights, or seeing shadows.
Those who experience small things such as a whisper might suspect something going on but may

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not be quite sure as to what is happening to them. These small symptoms could lead into
something bigger.
Although it is much more difficult to work with older children such as teenagers, it is not
too late to catch these early symptoms if they are just experiencing things such as hallucinations
and/or hearing faint whispers. Meghan who is nine-teen years old had yet to have a psychotic
breakdown but she was aware of what she had been experiencing. She started to feel depressed,
her mother did not know how to respond or what to even say to this. Meghan also found a
fascination of headlights as she was driving, she thought that they had looked like eyes. She
knew that it was not eyes but could not stop herself to be drawn to them while driving. She then
knew that there was something wrong. Meghan then got a screening and which she had
prodromal stage of psychosis. She then was referred to a clinic that specializes in treating the
early cases of psychosis. This clinic was also modeled after the Portland Identification and Early
Referral program (PIER).
Another case in which Tiffany Martinez had also been experiencing usual sights and
hearing things that werent actually there. She had been seeing a black shadow of a man and
hearing someone talking to her but not a faint whisper, she said the voice was so clear that it had
felt like it was in her ear. Tiffany knew there could be a possibly that she might have
schizophrenia because her father has had it for years now, it was a matter of time when she
would. She was referred to the PIER which gave her psychiatric medications. Tiffany believes
that the program saved her life from a life such as her fathers. She is now symptoms free and on
her own without medications. Tiffany explains that it is not the medications or the diagnosis that
has helped her but it is the people who are helping her on a personal basis. It made her feel that
she was not on her own and there was always someone who devoted to the work (Standen). As

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people start to go through these symptoms the first thing to happen is withdrawl from from
families and any of their normal activity. With this program they are not alone and stops them
from withdrawing from their family but instead help the families come together and help one
another through what each of them are experiencing.
Psychosis may be transient, intermittent, short-term or part of a longer- term psychiatric
condition (NAMI). It is important that people understand the possibilities of the diagnosis and
the recovery from the diagnosis. Psychosis is treatable, especially when it is during the first
experience of a psychotic episode. A psychotic episode is able to tell the doctor how far the
patient may be in, in terms of symptoms and where they symptoms may lead. When a child
experiences things such as hallucinations in school performances and/or act in odd behaviors
they would have to go through a diagnostics test. The test includes lab tests for a developmental
and psychological testing. This will determine where the patient will go as of treatment, it will
narrow the factors such as a neurological problems, bipolar disorder, and child schizophrenia
which is rare but a possibility. It is more effective to treat the children before it progress into the
early ages of young adulthood. Psychosis impacts young adults more than children because they
are in a developmental stage in their life which is a vulnerable time for them. It is a problem for
young adults at this time because they are learning how to become independent and as they are
learning how to do things on their own they could also be distracted by voices that they are
hearing. It is a concern for young adults to carry these symptoms because it could affect their
actions with the help of voices that are not actually real. It is much more difficult to treat one
with psychosis at the ages over forty years old. As the symptoms of psychosis increases there is
more at risk. It includes the increase of medications and/or medical illness/surgical procedures.

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For more neurological reasons as wells as medical conditions could be presence of psychosis in
ones life but it could be reversed if it is caught and treated.

Treatment
The symptoms of becoming a psychopath could be treated at an early onset. There are
multiple programs that are in place to for those who are at risk of becoming a psychopath. It is
much harder to work with those who are older or have progressed the symptoms over a course of
years. Programs such as National Alliances of Mental Illness (NAMI) dedicate their work to help
people who have a mental illnesses with support and further research. They have programs set in
place for young adults and their parents, it is a way to have the parent involve with the childs
changes. It includes what families can do when they child has unexplained changes in their
behavior and/or mood, educating on the treatments, and ways to interact with the child at home.
The NAMI reaches out to the youth and young adults who are experiencing the stage of recovery
as well as educating others on the mental illness and their treatment work (NAMI).
It is not completely impossible to treat psychosis within teenagers, there are multiple
programs that help with the treatment of early stages of psychosis. Center for Early Detection,
Assessment & Response to Risk (CEDAR) is program that helps the youth who are at risk for
psychosis. It works with young adults ages fourteen to thirty who are experiencing new or even
worsening symptoms that could possibly lead into psychosis. The symptoms that the CEDAR
program seems to focus on is having a difficulty to think clearly or concentrating, uneasiness
with others, sensitivity to sound or sights, and a withdrawal from family. Support during this
time for someone who is experiencing a psychotic episode is crucial. The NAMI and CEDAR
are programs that help the families come to an understanding of what is needed and how to help

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the child/young adult in their situation. One of the most important treatments include the family
being active in the childs home life as well as therapy sessions.
The NAMI, CEDAR, as well as the Kickstart programs also use medications as a
treatment plan. The Kickstart program uses the medications as a treatment plan and continues to
use the medications until the patient is well off without it (Standen). The patients are taken off of
the medications once a doctor evaluates their progress. The patient also takes therapy sessions to
keep them involved with other people and not to withdraw.
Most treatments are therapy sessions because it avoids the first steps of psychopathy
which is withdrawal or antisocial behavior. The sessions keep the patients active in a
conversation and avoid social interactions.

Conclusion
Psychopaths are people who have developed a personality disorder because of genetics,
the development of the brain, and a traumatic event that has occurred in their life. These three
factors are the reasons why a person may be come deviant and be classified as a psychopath. As
symptoms become more clear within a child, they should be seen to determine if there is a
possibility that the child may have the genes or any lacking activity within the brain. Detecting
the early symptoms of psychopathy is important because it could prevent the symptoms
progressing and causing further damage to the life that is laid out ahead of them. It is important
to have a comfortable home for a child who is experiencing these symptoms. A psychopath is not
a psychopath without all three factors. Preventing a traumatic event in a childs life could save
them from fully developing their symptoms. There are programs set in place to help children and
young adults who are experiencing the symptoms to help them work on their symptoms and
preventing them from moving any further. Parents need to be aware of the small changes in their

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child. It may not be symptoms of psychopathy but it is important to be aware of their children.
Parents can also prevent this from getting further by nurturing their child instead of avoiding or
neglecting the child. The detection of these small symptoms could save a child pain in their
young adulthood which is why it is important to bring their child to a doctor or psychiatrist to
treat them before it worsens.

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