Psychopaths are very common in the world today. But what are psychopaths? What causes someone to act in this manner? To best answer this question we must look in the past. In the early 1800's there was a French psychiatrist named Pinel. He coined the original label manie sans delire. This phrase described the people who displayed atypical and aggressive behavior. However it was not until the end of the nineteenth century the term psychopathic inferiority was used. In 1952 the American Psychiatric Association replaced psychopath with sociopath. This was criticized given the definition of sociopath emphasized social maladjustment. This means that sociopaths did not have the capability to socialize as normals did. There are certain characteristics that are common to most psychopaths. They do not learn from experience, lack a sense of responsibility, are unable to form meaningful relationships, lack control over impulses, lack moral sense, are chronically or recurrently antisocial (punishment does not alter behavior) are emotionally immature, are unable to experience guilt, and are self centered. These characteristics best define a psychopath's behavior. (DSM IV).
Where do they come from? Psychologists agree that most human behavior comes from both genetic inheritance (nature) and from learning and listening (nurture). This relates to psychopaths in that both factors contribute to how they are formed. The issue of Nature Vs. Nurture is best explained by giving examples from each. Some believe that it is only the environment and family home life that causes psychopaths. Some psychopaths come from a very troubled youth; the popular belief is that this is how psychopaths are formed. (Werlinder, 1978) To some extent this is true, having a troubled youth can cause children to become psychopaths. To support this we can look at case studies and see what the youth of psychopaths was like.