"The air around him seemed to buzz, and the eye contact he.
made with me was so direct and intense that I wondered if.
I had ever really looked anybody in the eye before. That.
stare was unrelenting-he didn't indulge in the brief glances.
away that most people use to soften the force of their gaze."".
Robert D. Hare PhD.
This was the very first encounter Dr. Hare had with a psychopath. To say it was unnerving would be an exaggerated understatement. Dr. Hare, even with all of his educational background, was no more prepared to deal with a psychopath than any average person in society. Who are these people, where do they come from, how do they turn out the way they do and how can they commit the crimes they commit without feeling any remorse? These are a few of the questions we ask about psychopaths. Which, is understandable considering the term psychopath in the past (as well as today) causes misunderstanding and confusing. The confusion isn't just with "lay people- but also with professionals in the psychiatric field. I will endeavor, in this short paper, to explain my understanding of what a psychopath is from the research I have done.
To start with what does the term psychopath mean? According to, The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of The English Language, page 771, psychopath is defined as; "An individual with a psychopathic personality; a mentally unstable person."" It goes on to say that a psychopathic personality is; "a personality disorder evidenced by antisocial, nonconforming, amoral, and sometimes criminal behavior, by the inability to form deep attachments for others or to learn from experience, and by extreme personal indulgence; one having this type of .
2.
personality."" Whereas, Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary Sixth Edition, page 1429 states a psychopath is; "a person who has an antisocial personality disorder. Also called sociopath."" It goes on to say a sociopath is a; "popular term for antisocial personality.