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Antisocial Personality Disorder Antisocial Personality Disorder Some of you will find that your best and most admired qualities express characteristics associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder – … in a muted form From Normality to Abnormality: Normal Range Adventurers (Oldham and Morris, 1995...

Antisocial Personality Disorder Antisocial Personality Disorder Some of you will find that your best and most admired qualities express characteristics associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder – … in a muted form From Normality to Abnormality: Normal Range Adventurers (Oldham and Morris, 1995) – Intrepid individuals who pushed the frontiers by crossing oceans, breaking records, and even walking on the moon – Live on the edge, challenging boundaries and restrictions – For these people Adventure provides a route to freedom that is – Socially acceptable – Admired as stereotypically masculine – Non-conformers with their own value system Love challenges Assume that people can take care of themselves Interpersonally persuasive Reluctant to settle down – Examples Christopher Columbus and John Glenn From Normality to Abnormality: Normal Range Adventurers (Oldham and Morris, 1995) From Normality to Abnormality: Normal Range Dissenting Personality (Millon et al., 1994) – Unconventional Do things their own way Willing to take the consequences, regardless of how others might judge them – Inclined at times to finesse the truth Flirt with legal boundaries in pursuit of their own goals and desires – See themselves as independent or creatively autonomous Do not accept customary responsibilities – Authority is viewed contemptibly as belonging to “Big Brother” Society charged with replacing individuality with a socially acceptable identity From Normality to Abnormality: Normal Range Dissenting Personality (Millon et al., 1994) From Normality to Abnormality: Normal Range Dissenting Personality (Millon et al., 1994) – Dislike daily routine – Criticized by others as being impulsive and irresponsible – Action oriented, independent thinking, enterprising, and confrontational – Self-motivated and extremely resourceful Seize initiative to make matters work toward their own ends – Make wonderful leaders Take charge with confident, decisive action From Normality to Abnormality: Boundary of Normality and Pathology Individuals who never come in contact with the law because they are effective at covering their tracks Capacity for guiltless willingness to deceive and exploit others, though not overtly physically cruel Examples – Industrialists and entrepreneurs who flourish in the gray area of legal technicalities – Savvy corporate executives who exploit some market position, monopoly power, or regulatory loophole for huge advantage Even when at great costs to others – Individuals who systematically dismember corporations for their own self-gain through hostile takeovers From Normality to Abnormality: Boundary of Normality and Pathology Similar situation for many politicians – Deception of doublespeak is a talent necessary for survival – Skirting the edge of deceitfulness, they “spin” objective events by Minimizing negatives Exaggerating positives – When cornered Focus attention on mitigating circumstances Lie by omission by failing to report the total circumstances and full motivations of their actions – Deliberately create public policy so complex that any particular aspect might be singled out to impress the special interest of the moment – Can be thought of as “premeditating antisocials” From Normality to Abnormality: Boundary of Normality and Pathology Similar situation for many politicians – Extreme example… From Normality to Abnormality: Boundary of Normality and Pathology Other examples – The smooth-talking businessman – The less-than-forthcoming used-car salesman Not as vivid a description as the serial murderer – But more common – Result in just as great a threat to society From Normality to Abnormality: Boundary of Normality and Pathology From Normality to Abnormality (1) Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest – Disorder Consistently violates social norms through illegal activities – Style Puts its own value system above that of the group and is occasionally caught up in conflict thereby From Normality to Abnormality (2) Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure – Disorder Uses various forms of deceit to achieve its own ends – Style “Slippery”, tending to finesse critical points and spin objective events to its advantage – Without engaging in outright deception From Normality to Abnormality From Normality to Abnormality (3) Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead – Disorder Too impulsive to consider the consequences of its actions – Style Naturally spontaneous and self-indulgent Knows when a failure to delay gratification would violate social norms or lead to substantial harm to self or others From Normality to Abnormality (4) Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults – Disorder Aggressive to the point of repeated fights or assaults – Style Assertive in creating a felt physical presence From Normality to Abnormality (5) Reckless disregard for safety of self or others – Disorder Recklessly disregards the safety and welfare of both self and others – Style Simply see themselves as being less resistant to risk than the average person, but not impulsively careless or foolhardy From Normality to Abnormality (6) Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations – Disorder Consistently irresponsible as to work and financial obligations – Style Prefers to remain free of external constraints and to spend on the joys of the present rather than save prudently for the future From Normality to Abnormality (7) Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another – Disorder Rationalizes exploitation of others – Style Aggressively or impulsively self-serving within moral, social, and legal boundaries Variations of the Antisocial Personality Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Covetous Antisocial (variant of “pure” pattern) – Seen in distilled forms Aggrandizement Desire to posses and dominate – Feel that life has not given them “their due” They have been deprived of their rightful amount of love, support, and/or material reward Others have received more than their share Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Covetous Antisocial (variant of “pure” pattern) – Jealous of those who have received the bounty of good life Driven by envious desire for retribution to take what destiny has refused them – Goal is compensation for the emptiness of life Gotten through deceit and/or destruction Rationalized by the assertion that they alone can restore the imbalance fated to them Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Covetous Antisocial (variant of “pure” pattern) Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Covetous Antisocial (variant of “pure” pattern) – Seething with anger and resentment, their greatest pleasure lies in taking control of the property and possessions of others – Some are overtly criminal – Many possess an enormous drive for revenge Manipulate others like pawns in a power game Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Covetous Antisocial (variant of “pure” pattern) – Most feel Deep sense of emptiness Images of how different life might have been had opportunity blessed them – As it has so many others… – Range from simple thieves to manipulative entrepreneurs Exploit others as objects to satisfy their desires – Little compassion for or guilt about the effects of their behavior – Never feel that they have acquired quite enough – Never achieve a sense of contentment – Feel unfulfilled regardless of their success – Remain forever dissatisfied and insatiable Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Covetous Antisocial (variant of “pure” pattern) Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Reputation-Defending Antisocial (Narcissistic features) – Motivation is to defend and extend bravery and toughness – Antisocial acts are designed to ensure that They are noticed by others Others notice them and accord them the respect that they deserve – Perpetually on guard against the possibility of belittlement Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Reputation-Defending Antisocial (Narcissistic features) – Society knows them as those who are Significant Not to be easily dismissed, treated with indifference, taken lightly, or pushed around – When status or ability is slighted May erupt with ferocious intensity Posturing Threatening until their rivals back down – Being tough and assertive is essentially a defensive act intended to prove their strength and guarantee a reputation of indomitable courage Variations of the Antisocial Personality Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Risk-Taking Antisocial (Histrionic Features) – Wish others to see them as unaffected by what almost anyone else would experience as dangerous or frightening – Risk is proactively sought as its own reward Provides a means of feeling stimulated and alive Not a means of material gain Thrill seekers infatuated by opportunities to test their mettle – Perform for the attention, applause, and amazement of an audience – Without these opportunities they would feel trapped by the boredom of life Seen by others as foolhardy, if not stupid Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Risk-Taking Antisocial (Histrionic Features) Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Nomadic Antisocial (Schizoid, Avoidant features) – These individuals drift along at the margins of society Scavenge for whatever slim resources they come across Differ from most Antisocials who react antagonistically to social rejection – See themselves as jinxed or doomed Desire to exist at the edge of a world that would almost certainly reject them – Mired in self pity Societal drop outs Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Nomadic Antisocial (Schizoid, Avoidant features) Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Malevolent Antisocial (Sadistic, Paranoid features) – Often seen as the least attractive antisocials – Described as Belligerent, rancorous, vicious, malignant, brutal, callous, vengeful, and vindictive – Perform actions charged with a hateful and destructive defiance of conventional social life – Seek to secure their boundaries with cold-blooded ruthlessness Avenge every mistreatment they believe others have inflicted on them in the past – Interpret goodwill and kindness of others as hiding a deceptive ploy for which they must always be on guard Variations of the Antisocial Personality The Malevolent Antisocial (Sadistic, Paranoid features) The Psychodynamic Perspective of Antisocial Personality Disorder The Ego develops, but the Superego does not – As a result, the total personality remains dominated by the infantile Id and its pleasure principle. – Classical psychoanalytic theory holds that the Id is completely centered on its own immediate needs The Psychodynamic Perspective of Antisocial Personality Disorder The Ego develops, but the Superego does not – Antisocials impulsively and egocentrically violate shared standards of social living – Just as the Id is dominated by sex and aggression, so is the behavior of most antisocials – Just as the Id demands immediate gratification, antisocials focus on the short term Failing to think ahead or anticipate the consequences of their actions The Psychodynamic Perspective of Antisocial Personality Disorder The Ego develops, but the Superego does not – Just as the Id knows only its own urges, antisocials know mainly the selfish pursuit of their own satisfaction Act without reflection, remorse, or regards for others – Just as the moral principle is irrelevant to the Id, social conventions and ideals have no intrinsic value to the antisocial personality – Just as the id has no tolerance for frustration, neither do antisocials Seem incapable of delaying action in the face of reward, unless deterred by the threat of concrete punishments The Psychodynamic Perspective of Antisocial Personality Disorder Lack of conscience – Antisocials have little in the way of an inner voice or internal censor to moderate their actions – Immediacy of their own impulses, urges, and desires outweigh societal constraints – Without a conscience, other persons become the raw material for gratification – When social rules interrupt behavior, they exist as nagging nuisances to be circumvented The Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective of Antisocial Personality Disorder Cognitions – Automatic thoughts reflect themes of pragmatic strategies for self-advancement Specific cognitions are difficult to isolate – Common theme The rules by which they live are significantly and noticeably different from those of the broader community Goal of life is to limit or avoid the control by others The Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective of Antisocial Personality Disorder Affectivity – No single affective pattern – Can range from Reclusive and disengaged antisocial with self-focused actions (e.g., heroin use) Aggressive acting-out individual – Significant deficits in emotional processing may be a characteristic (particularly with empathy) The Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective of Antisocial Personality Disorder Interpersonal functioning – No one interpersonal pattern. Wide range. Some have poor interpersonal skills and have problems that are rooted in their social skills deficits Others have superb interpersonal skills and use them to manipulate others (e.g. the “con artist”) Impulse control – Range from Individuals who evidence excellent impulse control and patiently wait for the chance to get what they want Opportunists who reach out and grab what they want without thought of consequence (e.g. muggers)