Another Classic Case of

An

Antisocial Personality.

A

leading psychiatrist writes about another classic case of an Antisocial personality. He was a 20 year old person Mr. X, whom the Psychiatrist met in a prison. Mr. X had planned, conspired and helped commit a double murder with ruthless disregard for the consequences of his action. In a very businesslike way he had persuaded a companion, a schizophrenic, who happened to be the only son of two physicians, to poison them by having them drink champagne, which the instigator had filled with Arsenic, on the parents’ wedding day anniversary night at a celebration by these four people. The police listed their death as a double suicide for more than a year. Meanwhile, a life Insurance policy of US $ 1, 50,000.00 was shared by the two youth. The reason for their eventual arrest was the need of Mr. X to impress his girl friend, by constantly boasting of his role, in killing his friend’s parents. She eventually informed the police about the crime. As a result both young men were placed on the prison ward for examination and observation. The couple’s son was diagnosed as a schizophrenic and Mr. X as a Psychopathic Personality or Anti-social personality.

During his interviews with Mr. X, the psychiatrist observed that Mr. X neither showed conscious remorse, guilt, shame nor anxiety, nor did he admit the feeling of any of these emotions. He admitted his part in the murder which, he said, was to him, an experience similar to Oscar Wilde’s, “In search of a new experience.” He did not have any remorse about his actions, except the regret he felt about being apprehended and imprisoned. He admitted seeing no wrong with the murder, stealing, or any other immoral or amoral actions, provided he or anyone else could get away with it. He showed no psychotic illness or symptoms. Hereunder I submit certain statistics and characteristics of these Antisocial Personalities (ASPs).

   1.The most disruptive of all the personality disorders is    

      this Antisocial Personality Disorder. 

2.3% of the human population has this disorder.

3.Six times as many men as women are ASPs.

Their Characteristics:

1.  Lack of remorse, guilt, or a sense of shame pertaining   

   to antisocial acts.

2. Inability to see self as others do (lack of insight), failure    

    to learn from experience.

3. Irresponsible in marital or parental roles; repeated

    failures   to achieve lasting success in school, on the job,   

    or in personal relationships.

4. Intelligent, superficially charming and likable, but   

    underneath this façade, there is a profound poverty of   

     deep and lasting emotions, particularly those involving    

     tenderness and nurturance.

5.  Often combines intelligence and charm to con and  

     manipulate others for personal gain.

6.  Extremely egocentric and self-centered.

7.  Can pretend to love or care for others but appears to be  

     lacking in genuine capacity to love.

8.  Absence of any of the classic symptoms of psychological  

     disorders such as excessive anxiety, depression,   

     irrational thought process, or hallucinations.

9.  They seem to express the attitude, “You cannot hurt me

     because I have little fear of pain.”

10.They may have far less anxiety about the possible

     consequences of punishment than most people do.

11.They act impulsively and repeatedly manifest antisocial

     behavior.

12.They like to satisfy id (id is life instincts like hunger,

      thirst, sex) instincts without regard for social mores

      (customs) and unhindered by guilt or shame. In the   

      course of their early personality development, they fail

      to acquire a superego, which causes the growth of the  

      sense of right and wrong, and the moral arm of the   

      personality. ( Freud’s theory)