Urban Legend Essay
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Alexis McMillan-Clifton
Prof. Soullier
English 1302
22 November 2011
Behind Media’s Perceptions: Who Psychopaths Really Are
Psychopath. When most people read that term, their mind will most likely bring up
horrific stories of Ted Bundy who raped and murdered more than twenty-eight women. Most
people will directly link psychopaths to serial killers. Why would people almost immediately
identify psychopaths as bloodthirsty criminals? Why would they associate the heinous crimes of
criminals with psychopathy? Yes, there are many criminals that are psychopaths but not many of
psychopaths are criminals. Could the reason to why people in today’s society view psychopaths
as “monsters” be because of media’s influences? It is just as renowned professor of psychology;
Dr. David Lykken says “As used by the media, ‘psychopath’ conveys an impression of danger
and implacable evil. This is mistaken…” (Lykken 1). The crime fighting television shows which
blatantly use the word “psychopath” to label the worst of criminals is one the of main
contributing factors to the belief that all psychopaths are inherently evil.
Not all psychopaths are going to butcher someone. Before making a wrongful judgment,
people should learn the real definition of psychopathy. Robert Hare is a Professor of Psychology
at the University of British Columbia where he has taught and conducted research for nearly four
decades. He spent most of his life researching psychopathy and here is a definition that he gave:
“A social predator who charms, manipulates and ruthlessly plows their way through
life...completely lacking in feelings for others, they selfishly take what they want and do as they
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please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret”
(Hare 1). This does make the psychopath seem like a person that no one would want to be around
with but psychopathy has been known to be a personality disorder (Cleckley 11). This means that
people who are psychopathic suffer in their own ways. Such as how it may be difficult for them
to hold meaningful and long lasting relationships with other people.
Despite how many television shows do accept the fact that psychopathy is a personality
disorder; they still provide their own “facts”. In the popular crime-fighting television series,
Criminal Minds, psychopath is a term that is used freely. Every serial killer that the team finds is
a psychopath. In an episode of this shows, there is a conversation with a super serial killer,
Frank, who killed over a hundred people in the worst way possible. The words that one of the
BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) team members says to this serial killer are: “You know exactly
what you are: a psychopathic sexual sadist. You get off on the brutal torture of others” (Criminal
Minds 12:31). These are the type of statements that are freely spoken in the show and this is the
reason to why people think that psychopaths are going to brutally torture them. Most people that
asked what a psychopath is will most likely refer to definitions and “facts” that they heard from
their favorite television shows and movies. “We have all heard these phrases before. ‘Violent
psychopath’ (21,700). ‘Psychopathic serial killer’ (14,700). ‘Psychopathic murderer’ (12,500).
‘Deranged psychopath’ (1,050). The number of Google hits following them in parentheses attests
to their currency in popular culture” (Arkowitz and Lilienfeld, par. 1). Those words that the
writers used are the most commonly used ones that people will use to describe psychopaths.
There are many crime fighting shows and movies which feature psychopaths. Some
movies are Silence of the Lambs, American Psycho, and The Shining. But of course, all the
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psychopaths in these films are fear instilling. Many people would argue that the unfair portrayal
of psychopaths is not intended by the writers. That the over use of the word “psychopath” is not
purposefully used to make psychopathic people fearful to many. This may be the case in some
television shows but it does not in any way stop people from connecting all psychopaths to being
evil. Because the word is used so often in the media to describe murderous criminals, this is the
way society will view most if not all psychopaths that they come across. If only the writers could
take in consideration of how a psychopath would feel watching their shows which depict the
disorder as violent and mirthless. To even minimize the use of the word “psychopath” would
improve the way people view real life psychopaths.
There are millions of people that enjoy watching crime fighting shows. That large amount
of people is getting exposed to the ideas and facts that these shows reveal. There are those people
that will say that there is no way that television affects them in any way. They might be wrong.
The case of the CSI Effect shows just how people might get affected by television shows that
they watch. The Honorable Donald E. Shelton who is a felony judge shares a definition of what
this effect is: Many attorneys, judges, and journalists have claimed that watching television
programs like CSI has caused jurors to wrongfully acquit guilty defendants when no scientific
evidence has been presented. The mass media quickly picked up on these complaints. This
so-called effect was promptly dubbed the "CSI effect," laying much of the blame on the popular
television series and its progeny. (Shelton 1)
Diagram Missing: This chart shows the inflation of jurors who need scientific evidence from prosecution. CSI Effect is what caused the spike in the need for evidence. After watching CSI, jurors expected some sort of evidence especially for murder. CSI is only one of popular justice shows. Despite how it may be harmlessly televised to its
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viewers for their entertainment, it still impacts them. The CSI Effect is only one example of how
people can get affected by the media. This is similar to the how psychopaths get portrayed so
negatively to the society. It has to do with people taking in what their favorite shows tell them
and then accepting it in their minds. Before they know it, anytime someone mentions
psychopaths, they will most likely think of Frank vilely smiling while holding a bloody knife.
So who are psychopaths? Many people think of sociopaths. But there is a difference between the
two. Since psychology is not definite and there are many theories out there, there still are many
uncompleted answers to this. Hare says that “the term sociopathy may be preferred by
sociologists that see the causes as due to social factors. The term psychopathy may be preferred
by psychologists who see the causes as due to a combination of psychological, genetic, and
environmental factors” (Hare 5). This is only one of many definitions and differences offered.
Lykken gives another difference/definition: …proposes psychopathy and sociopathy as two
distinct kinds of antisocial personality disorder. He believes psychopaths are born with
temperamental differences such as impulsivity, cortical under arousal, and fearlessness that lead
them to risk-seeking behavior and an inability to internalize social norms. On the other hand, he
claims sociopaths have relatively normal temperaments; their personality disorder being more an
effect of negative sociological factors like parental neglect, delinquent peers, poverty, and
extremely low or extremely high intelligence. (Lykken 4) There are still many questions around
why or how sociopaths and psychopaths become the way they are. Despite all the harsh
negativity surrounding them both, they are still human beings.
From that harsh negativity that the media brings about psychopaths come the myths. The
first one is that all psychopaths are violent. This is definitely not true. “…not all psychopaths are
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murderers-and not all murderers are psychopaths. In fact, studies suggest that nearly one per cent
of the general population fits the clinical definition of psychopath. But very few are criminals, let
alone killers” (Friscolanti, par. 6). This quote by writer Michael Friscolanti tells people the truth
about most psychopaths. The myth is debunked quickly by many researches and facts about
psychopaths. Another myth is that all psychopaths are psychotic. People who are psychopathic
are rational thinkers (Arkowitz and Lilienfeld 6). Yet another myth is that psychopathy is
untreatable, “Although psychopaths are often unmotivated to seek treatment, research by
psychologist Jennifer Skeem of the University of California, Irvine, and her colleagues suggests
that psychopaths may benefit as much as non-psychopaths from psychological treatment. Even if
the core personality traits of psychopaths are exceedingly difficult to change, their criminal
behaviors may prove more amenable to treatment” (Arkowitz and Lilienfeld 9). That means that
people who suffer from the personality disorder can indeed find and get help as long as they are
willing.
Diagram Missing: This is a picture of a “successful psychopath”, Gordon Gekko from Wall Street 1987. Despite how he was a psychopath, he is not running rampant and killing people. Most people will not realize that there are psychopaths like him.
People that truly believe that all psychopaths are like the ones that are shown through the
media might even close their eyes to who psychopaths really are. They can be a neighbor, the
businessman walking down the street, or a successful lawyer. Most psychopaths are not locked
up in prison for decapitated people. These are the psychopaths that most people do not even
know exist. They are called “successful psychopaths”. A definition is given by writer Melissa
Burkley, “A successful psychopath is someone who fits the criteria of a psychopath, but is
largely successful in their exploitations and so is able to avoid getting caught. Such people may
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be lawyers, professors, or politicians, and given the recent headlines, likely have a permanent
address on Wall Street” (Burkley). Since people of this society are blinded by the portrayal of the
psychopaths through media, they do not realize the successful ones wandering the streets. It is in
fact surprising to many people that there are such psychopaths out there. There were not that
many studies conducted upon these psychopaths since everyone is interested into the
psychopathic criminals. Yet these are still people that suffer from the disorder, their quality of
life may not be as great as the next person. There are places in which psychopathic people can
get. There are hospices in which they can get the best care for their needs. This is a disorder that
is truly very difficult to treat. A professor of psychology, Jessica H Lee, states just how hard it
could be, “Different methods of treatment have been tried with those diagnosed with the
condition [psychopathy], but the lack of controlled follow-up research in this area has made it
difficult to evaluate their effectiveness” (Lee 1). The brain, from which psychopathy happens, is
something that will always be mysterious. Maybe one day, there will be a treatment to help
people with psychopathy; a treatment that will actually work and help these people live normal
lives like everyone else. Even if psychopaths are not going through treatment, they should still be
treated just as anyone else is. Even if the percentage of psychopathic people is small, they are
still out there. They are still living their everyday lives like anyone else.
Psychopaths are people that need to be given a chance just like any person. People should
not feel like they should fear for their lives if they come across a psychopath. There are the scary
psychopathic people that did terrible crimes but there are also “normal” people that do just as
much harm. Psychopaths do not have to take the brunt of all the fear that is instilled to people
through media. Since many people are fascinated with serial killers and brutal deaths, it intrigues
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them to think that all psychopaths are capable of doing the same to them. This may not seem like
a big issue to many people but it should matter. The portrayals of certain people through
television shows and movies should not define anyone. Media should not have such a big impact
on peoples’ thoughts. People should be able to be more open minded about issues that are around
them. Television shows should share more facts and stop showing certain types of people
unfairly to their many viewers. The next time someone comes across a psychopath, they might
get nervous but they should not forget that this too, is a human being that hurts just like any other
human being. It is vital to remember that not every psychopath is another Ted Bundy or Jeffrey
Dahmer. When a psychopath is mentioned, people should not be looking for a person with a
crazy, murderous look in their eyes; instead they should realize that they could very well be
sitting next to one on the bus or train.
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Works Cited
Burkley, Melissa. "Is Dexter a Successful Psychopath? | Psychology Today." Psychology Today:
Health, Help, Happiness Find a Therapist. 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201104/spotting-the-psychopaths-among-
us/is-dexter-successful-psychopath>.
Melissa, Burkley. Gordon Gekko from Wall Street. Digital image.www.psychologytoday.com.
Sussex Publishers, 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.
Cleckley, Hervey M. The Mask of Sanity. New York: New American Library, 1982. Print.
"Criminal Minds." Criminal Minds. CBS. Los Angeles, California, 22 Sept. 2005. Television.
(My counter argument)
Friscolanti, Michael. "Screening For Psychopaths." Maclean's 124.40 (n.d.): ProQuest: Research
Library (SRU). Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
Lee, Jessica H. "The Treatment of Psychopathic and Antisocial Personality Disorders: A
Review." Http://www.ramas.co.uk/report3.pdf. Clinical Decision Making Support Unit
Broadmoor Hospital. Web. 1 Dec. 2011.
Lilienfeld, Scott O., and Hal Arkowitz. "What "Psychopath" Means: Scientific
American."Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. 28 Nov. 2008.
Web. 02 Dec. 2011.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-psychopath-means
Lykken, David T. "Psychopathy, Sociopathy, and Crime." Society 34.1 (1996): 29-38. Academic
Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.
Ramsland, Katherine. "All about Dr. Robert Hare - Expert on the Psychopath, by Katherine
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Ramsland — What Is a Psychopath? — Crime Library on TruTV.com." TruTV.com: Not
Reality. Actuality. Web. 02 Dec. 2011.
<http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/robert_hare/3.html>.
Shelton, Donald E. "Percentage of Jurors Who Expect Scientific Evidence From Prosecution."
Chart. National Institute of Justice Journal. Vol. 259. Web.
Shelton, Donald E. "The 'CSI Effect': Does It Really Exist? | National Institute of
Justice."National Institute of Justice: Criminal Justice Research, Development and
Evaluation. 17 Mar. 2008. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. <
p://www.nij.gov/journals/259/csi-effect.htm>.