I know that my title is shocking but im seriously asking since they are doing the same on the back end. If we can pinpoint a specific psychological group that has no remorse for their actions, sees others only as "means to achieve X," and can't emotionally understand how their actions affect their surroundings, then why are we being kind and comprehensive? I'll be like that for inmates, murderers, or anyone if I know they can learn and grow from it, but if it's psychologically impossible... then why bother or put resources into that?

I mean if they see people as objects or things, why should they be any different?

I wonder what married life is like for psychopaths. Do they care about their spouses? Why do they got married if they don't feel love? Please educate me.

I know that they feel nothing but how is it to feel nothing?

If being a psychopath is a physical condition of the brain, what is getting in the way of developing a medication? Is there no drug combination that can stimulate or simulate empathy? I know they medicate people a lot for schizophrenia and it got me wondering. Are schizophrenic people being medicated for it, before they become a danger to themselves or others? If so, would diagnosed psychopaths be medicated before they became a danger, if a drug existed?

Edit: I don't mean medicate against their will. I meant with consent. That might have been confusing.

i was thinking about this earlier and got curious. if we lived in a matriarchal society, do you think psychopathy would present differently?
The social environment people grow up in would likely be very different with social norms, power dynamics, expectations, ethical standards, etc.
If psychopathy is partly shaped by the way individuals interact with their surroundings, would its expression change as well?

I’m also wondering how psychopathic traits in men and women might differ under those conditions. Would the gender differences we currently observe still exist, or would they look completely different?
What are your thoughts?

I saw a few posts around where psychopaths wouldn't care if humans died but when an animal did they felt sad. Is it because of the saying that humans are fundamentally evil but animals are innocent? Does it also extend to unfairness or cruelty to animals?

(Edit: realised I spelt the "some" in title wrong, is there a way to change it?)

If I have understood correctly, a person who displays psychopatic traits can function "normally" in a society. My questions are the following ones:

- How much the actions and behaviour of a psychopath are molded by outside circumstances (upbringing, society, etc.)?
- Can a "normal" person start exhibiting psychopathic behaviour due to shitty outside circumstances?

So basically my question is: how much can society be blamed for psychopathic actions and behaviour?

hi, so for context i recently read we need to talk about kevin and CANNOT get it out of my head for the life of me so im looking for non fiction books that explain the mind for psychopaths just so i can learn more because im super curious. i dont mind tackling difficult/information dense reads if they are good (not sure if flair is quite right?)

Most people would argue that insecurity is relative to fear, serving as the fear of not being enough. It seems like the most common form right now is feeling insecure about the way you look, beauty standards or whatever. My question is, do psychopaths feel this? Do they ever compare themselves to other people and feel any type of way about the way they look in contrast to that person? I know people say they can’t feel fear (which you could argue against, but let me know) but they do freak out over loss of control or rejection… and insecurity is the most human of emotions. Do they feel this as well?

The Mental Health, Wellbeing and Lived Experiences Study

Theresia Bedard, a PhD candidate at Lakehead University that is working with Dr. Beth Visser, is seeking participants for her dissertation project.

In this study we are examining the lived experiences of people who have experience or victimization from an individual with high psychopathic traits. We are seeking anyone that has this lived experience, whether the perpetrator was or is a spouse, family member, partner, co-worker, friend, acquaintance, neighbour or stranger. We are seeking the lived experiences of men, women, and gender-diverse individuals to share your story.

Our research consists of two studies. In the first study, you will complete questionnaires related to your victimization experience from the individual with high psychopathic traits, the potential warning signs, victimization history (e.g., prior physical or sexual abuse), and the impact the experience had on you. Once you finish the survey, you will be invited to participate in the second study (optional), which will consist of 12 questions requiring a written response regarding your lived experience with the individual with high psychopathic traits. If you decide to participate in study 2, please be aware that you will be required to provide us with your email to access it, and you may wish to use an email account that only you have access to.

Please be advised that whether you choose to participate in the study, withdraw, or skip questions you do not want to answer, that you acknowledge that answering some of these questions may be emotionally taxing on you. Despite the potential for an emotional toll the survey questions have, you may find the process of sharing your experience is therapeutic for you. In addition to the resources we provide, you may want to consider following-up with a counsellor for further support.

You are also encouraged to have your own snacks and drinks while you take the survey, and be aware that they are estimated to take 45 minutes to complete.

If you are interested in participating and would like to read or find out more about it, click here to access the survey:

https://lakeheadhbs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bKEq1vOVdBJMrjw

As part of an MSc in Psychology, I am completing a research study looking at psychopathic traits and types offending behaviours. This study will hope to ascertain the predictive nature of certain traits and types of offending behaviours. Your participation will involve completing a survey. This survey looks at psychopathic traits and offending types. This should take you no longer than 20-30 minutes. The questionnaire contains some sensitive questions regarding behaviours, should you feel you need support after taking part, links will be offered in the debrief. In order to complete the study, you must fit the criteria below.

-         Be between the ages of 18-40 years old

-         Reside within the United Kingdom and speak English fluently

-         Have not been diagnosed with a serious mental health condition.

https://khobbs2.questionpro.com/t/AcyaiZ8gRB

So, fun facts. There is a near-opposite of "sparkle", and that word is "darkle". There is also an opposite of "paranoia". That is "pronoia", and it is the belief that people are conspiring to make you successful.

In that same vein, is there a good or beneficial form of psychopathy and sociopathy? I guess in the form of someone acting like a vigilante or a paladin? Chaotic-Good? Someone who still lacks emotion, and could be violent, but does it in the name of good actions, and maybe even has little regard for their own safety?

This question was brought to mind due to a youtube video I was watching from LADBible Stories from a criminal behavior analyst, and it made me think will a killer fufill a murder-suicide out of shock of what they just did to their victim or is it premeditated, and whats like the ratio of one versus the other obviously I think information gathering would be pretty difficult in majority of these crimes since the perpetrator is gone but I would assume the premeditated person would leave notes

This is self-promotion. However, this sub may find the interview and topic interesting.

I would like to develop an understanding on psychopathy beyond the traditional black and white thinking of the media. I intuitively don’t think psychopathy is an innate quality and more see it as a type of survival mechanism developed in people who are exposed to violence/abuse and desensitization in childhood who developed an incentive to power and manipulation similar to other Cluster B personality disorders which is why it’s seen highest in criminals, not because psychopaths gravitate towards crime but because they usually come from environments that produce lack of empathy as a response and why they scale depending exposure. I do think there may be baseline biological differences (e.g., emotional reactivity, fear response), but I don’t see these as sufficient to produce psychopathy on their own. Instead, they may influence how someone responds to their environment, while the environment itself does most of the shaping.

I am open to being corrected with research, and I want a more well rounded view. I don't want simply opinions but more research articles with an outlined methodology of how they gather their research and sample size.

Obviously psychopathy can’t be diagnosed until an individual is an adult, but out of those who have been properly diagnosed as an adult, I’m curious as to how far back the symptoms started showing for them? Did the individual respond to stimulus as an infant? Did they giggle and smile while being bounced on a lap or while playing peek-a-boo?

A 2012 case study (Dawson et al.) on two incarcerated adolescent males, 'Justin' and 'Owen,' offers a side-by-side look at how psychopathic personality disturbance can look drastically different even when the total scores are almost identical. While both hit the 'severe' markers on the PCL:YV and CAPP-IRS, their internal worlds, motivations, and social strategies were poles apart. Owen, in particular, represents a highly prototypical case, scoring a 35 on the PCL:YV well into the severe range.

The article notes that assessing the "self" (Facet 1 on the PCL:YV) was one of the biggest challenges for the researchers. The authors emphasize that while the PCL:YV is a "gold standard," it is heavily weighted toward observable behaviors (50% of the items), which can be inconsistent or fluctuate during adolescence. In contrast, the CAPP-IRS was specifically designed to explore underlying personality traits, including the Self domain.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241727866_Critical_Issues_in_the_Assessment_of_Adolescent_Psychopathy_An_Illustration_Using_Two_Case_Studies

Justin Bobby

His Offenses & Violent Tendencies

• The Index Offense: "Justin Bobby is a 17-year-old male convicted of an aggravated assault committed against a female teacher."
• Violence towards family: "According to Justin, he only hit his mother on two occasions, the worst of which resulted in assault charges."

History & Interpersonal Traits

• Early signs of arrogance: "One teacher recalls a conversation with Justin where he stated that 'females are there for sex and to clean up after me.'"
• Lack of familial respect: “It’s hard to listen to my mom. I think it’s a respect thing ... I don’t respect my mom because of her lack of motivation and effort, and she is too emotional during arguments.”"
• Grandiose self-worth: "“I need to be put up on a standard of real school because I know I’m good ... when I complete the work, it’s great!”"
• Egocentric view of friendships: "“my friends are merely a fragment of myself ... like a Venn diagram with me in the centre.”"
• Internet personas and manipulation: "“I am able to be whoever I want to project, like the arrogant, condescending know-it-all.”" "“I can mold my personality and get people’s reactions ... I like testing the waters before I reveal who I really am.”"
• Bizarre early romantic relationship: "She reported that Lisa controlled and manipulated her son, and involved him in bizarre activities, such as biting, cutting, and drinking blood."

Interactions with Mental Health Professionals

• Early counseling: "At this time, the mental health clinician reported that Justin’s temper tantrums were characteristic of someone who suffers from intermittent explosive disorder."
• Superficial remorse: "After stating that he believes he committed the crime to 'impress certain people,' he commented that he feels 'awful and remorseful, but it is moot and pointless as remorse doesn’t undo anything.'"
• Superiority over psychologists: "“a psychologist told me I decompartmentalize ... I can manipulate things and situations ... there are not many situations that are that elaborate that I can’t deal with it myself.”"
• Rationalizing his crime: "“I couldn’t deal with society and people and what they expect of me. I became depressed, apathetic and nihilistic. The offense represented the entirety of the process; it was a like a mental suicide.”"

Owen Gregson

His Offenses & Violent Tendencies

• The Index Offense: "Owen Gregson is an 18-year-old male convicted of 2nd degree murder in the death of his co-accused’s sister."
• Escalating animal cruelty: "Problems with his assaultive behaviors intensified when Owen kicked the family dog so hard that he broke its leg." "After this incident, Sheila recalls that Owen stopped showing any remorse for his actions."
• Weapons at school: "Owen was ultimately placed on an indefinite suspension for bringing a knife to school and getting into a physical altercation with his sister and another student."

History & Interpersonal Traits

• Severe early abuse: "In addition to experiencing these physical punishments, Sheila disclosed that, over the period of several years, Owen was subjected to numerous inappropriate sexual acts, including kissing, touching, and fondling, at the hands of a male relative."
• Extreme gaming obsession: "He had also formed an obsession with the computer to the point that he would urinate into containers in his room to avoid leaving the online games he was playing."
• Antagonistic bullying: "“Most people think I’m an asshole ... I like to bully in a roundabout way.”"
• Narcissistic intellectual superiority: "“I should be treated differently because of my abilities ... I’m on a different intellectual level than [most] people ... people might not understand me, unless they can look up the words I use.”"
• Bizarre sexual history: "By the time he was 14, Owen was engaging in threesomes and what he classified as “vampirism,” which involved cutting and drinking blood as a means of foreplay."

Interactions with Mental Health Professionals

• Early warning signs: "More seriously, the doctor was concerned about Owen’s 'mean streak'; the doctor noted that Owen appeared to be developing psychopathic tendencies."
• Manipulating the assessment: "Although he spoke to the doctor for hours, Owen disclosed that, because he did not like the individual who was doing his assessment, he lied about his true mental state."
• A complete lack of remorse: "Owen further proclaimed, 'I haven’t done a lot that requires me to be sorry for';"
• Egocentric regret regarding the murder: "...however, he admitted that he regrets the offense, but when asked why he replied, “I don’t know, largely I regret it for myself, and then for family ... The last thing I need to be is to be depicted as a bad person.”"

PCL:YV Scores

An interesting article that examines the interpersonal dynamics within adolescent psychopathy.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00960/full

Some choice excerpts:

I've never been in love. Being in love… (…) I would not be able to stand it. (…) I would go crazy, lose control. Girls, they make you crazy. I couldn't stand the idea that I'd always want to be with her (Dennis, session 7).

I don't know from what kind of mother and father I descend. (…) They are not the kind of people to mess with. (…) A man or a thief or an animal… An animal, when it's hungry it goes to its mother, right? To his own mother, not to cows or monkeys, right? A cow has a baby and the baby knows his mother because he needs to eat. This mother goes to the child, to stay close to the child, to give it warmth, to defend it (…). But this mother comes too close for comfort. The child needs freedom. So he has to go. He has to leave his mother, (…) because an animal knows who his mother is. I know who my mother is (Max, session 16).

I'm a cold-blooded human being, just like my father, like my entire family. I once ate a hedgehog… its liver, its heart (…). I drank its blood and ate its flesh. Since that moment, I'm a cold-blooded man. I like to see blood. Since I drank its blood I'm cold-blooded and without fear. (…) Some people are always afraid, I'm not, I always laugh.

D.: I've never had that feeling of being sad or…(…) They can't hurt me or destroy me. Nobody, no Judge can break me, you must let them know this (…).

I hate misery and people acting hopelessly… I hate it when people around me cry. I say “Shut up!”

J.: Other people crying is unbearable for you?

D.: I hate that, I get angry when they act hopelessly. Act like a man! A man doesn't cry.

J.: Who says a man doesn't cry?

D.: I do, I say to them: “A man does not cry, so why are you crying?” (…) Life is hard, so you have to be hard.

Very interesting article, I'd advise you all to read it.

Recruited from a Belgian treatment program for juvenile offenders, adolescents that were selected had a score over 30 on the PCL:YV, an analogue to the PCL-R for youths.

Have you ever encountered psychopathy in the workplace?

Paul Babiak, Ph.D. and Robert Hare, Ph.D. (creator of the Psychopathy Checklist/PCL-R) wrote a book called Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go To Work, where they describe the patterns of behavior that show up when psychopathic traits intersect with corporate and workplace environments. 

The premise of this book is that psychopaths do work in modern organizations; they often are successful by most standard measures of career success; and their destructive personality characteristics are invisible to most of the people with whom they interact. They are able to circumvent and sometimes hijack succession planning and performance management systems in order to give legitimacy to their behaviors. They take advantage of communication weaknesses, organizational systems and processes, interpersonal conflicts, and general stressors that plague all companies. They abuse coworkers and, by lowering morale and stirring up conflict, the company itself. Some may even steal and defraud.

One of the core narratives in Snakes in Suits is that psychopathy in professional settings rarely looks like overt cruelty or obvious dysfunction. It often shows up as superficial charm, callous impression management, calculated manipulation, and consistent patterns of pursuing self-interest without regard for the impact on others…. and they’re often rewarded for it, especially in competitive environments.

In these environments, few will suspect that they’re dealing with a psychopath who’s playing up to their particular personality and vulnerabilities. Instead, they’re recognized for their excellent oral communication skills, not the deceit and superficial charm beneath the flowery words. They're rewarded for their ability to influence and meet ambitious business goals while their unscrupulous manipulation which drives it goes unchecked. And while they continue to advance in the workplace, their callousness and insensitivity to the rights and feeling of others leaves victims feeling like they've been left high and dry.

One might think that conning or bullying traits in a job applicant would be so obvious to employers that such candidates would not be hired for important jobs, especially those where the ability to get along with others is critical. One might also think that abusive, deceitful behavior toward coworkers would eventually lead to disciplinary action and termination. But, based on the cases we have reviewed, this often is not the case.

The authors also talk about how organizational systems, especially HR and management structures, often end up unintentionally protecting these individuals. HR processes are built to manage risk and maintain stability, so patterns of abuse get reframed as “interpersonal conflicts” or misunderstandings, and people who speak up are sometimes even reprimanded for creating the conflicts themselves. As a result, teams become tense, confused, fractured, or burned out, while the individual responsible continues to advance.

I’m curious how this lines up with people’s real experiences.

If you’ve worked with someone who fits this pattern, what did it actually look like day to day? What kinds of behaviors were most noticeable in hindsight, and how did the organization respond when issues surfaced?

Mod note: Please pay attention to the sub rules, especially those about misinformation and diagnosing others. Instead of "my boss was a narcissist," focus on observed patterns of behavior and firsthand experiences. And if you're going to make scientific claims, we always ask that you provide a source to back it up.

I consider Sean Combs, aka Diddy, a psychopath. And while his current sentence of 50 months is appalling low for the harm he has caused, there was a clip I noticed that suggest he's been suffering for a long time.

During a raid of his hotel room last year, cops discovered, among many items, a bottle of clonazepam prescribed to Diddy. It's unclear if he personally uses it but let's assume he does. This suggests he is susceptible to panic attacks or seizures. Moreover, he suffers psychiatrically.

Therefore, while judicial justice may not be punishment enough, my claim is being on an anti-anxiety pill is. And it may be a form of suffering--a man who must take pills to not have an attack.

With all that said, I wonder if psychopaths like him who take psychiatric pills would accept that as a form of suffering. Equally, would spectators concede that psychopaths are suffering when they must take psychiatric pills.

What do you think?

Recently, we discussed a potential neurological basis for the Psychopath label. This suggests, that behind psychopathy, there might be an underlying neurological development disorder rather than merely a dysfunctional personality trait.

The nature versus nurture debate is long, and while it is agreed upon that psychopathy derives from both genetic dispositions as well as environmental factors, the idea that psychopathy already begins at youth still finds numerous supports. While in popular culture, the distinction between an "acquired psychopathy" is often referred to as "Sociopathy" and and "innate psychopathy" as "Psychopathy", the scientific way to handle this subtile distinction is to access children and adolesence for Conduct Disorder with Callous Unemotional traits (CU). Please be careful, that we are talking about scientific terminology, not about literal descriptions. Children with CU traits lack specific emotions, not emotions in general, so that there is no confusion. (Anatomy 2018)

However, not all children with CD+CU become necessarily psychopaths. Neither is CD one monolithic set of neurological profile: "However, not all patients receiving this diagnosis show the same pathophysiology." (R James J Blair 2013) nor do we know for sure, if children with CD do match adults with severe forms of ASPD.

So this ebgs the question, are children with Conduct Disorder basically little psychopaths?

A more recent study suggests that

"factors 1 and 2 are associated with microstructural abnormalities, consistent with reduced myelination, in a dorsal component of the default-mode network (DMN) (Sethi et al., 2015) and an amygdala–orbitofrontal limbic network (Craig et al., 2009; Motzkin et al., 2011; Passamonti et al., 2012) respectively. The dorsal DMN is of particular interest in the development of psychopathy due to the functions associated with it. Specifically, whilst the ventral component of the DMN (connecting the medial temporal lobe and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC)) is linked to autobiographical memory and spatial orientation (Catani and Thiebault de Schotten, 2012), the dorsal DMN, and the regions it connects (the medial prefrontal cortex and PCC), underpin affective (Kiehl et al., 2001; Maddock et al., 2003), social (Buckner et al., 2008; Völlm et al., 2006) and moral (Greene et al., 2001; Harrison et al., 2008) processing. In adult psychopathy, microstructural abnormalities within the dorsal DMN are linked to the affective and interpersonal differences that define the disorder (Sethi et al., 2015). However, the aetiology of these differences remains unclear" (Anatomy 2018)

Do children with CD +CU offer a similar picture?

"results suggest that CD youths have microstructural abnormalities in the same network as adults with psychopathy. Further, the association with childhood/adolescent measures of emotional detachment (CU traits) resembles the relationship between emotional detachment and network microstructure in adult psychopaths." (Anatomy 2018)

However, some important differences are also found "these changes appear to occur in opposite directions – with increased myelination in adolescent CD but reduced integrity in adult psychopathy. Collectively, these findings suggest that developmental abnormalities in dorsal DMN may play a role in the emergence of psychopathy." (Anatomy 2018)

The full study and full paper can be read here: Anatomy of the dorsal default-mode network in conduct disorder: Association with callous-unemotional traits - ScienceDirect

Sources:

- Anatomy (2018): Arjun Sethi  Sagari Sarkar , Flavio Dell’Acqua , Essi Viding , Marco Catani , Declan G.M. Murphy , Michael C. Craig "Anatomy of the dorsal default-mode network in conduct disorder: Association with callous-unemotional traits" 2018

-R James J Blair "The neurobiology of psychopathic traits in youths" 2013

"If psychopathy is a construct made up of twenty separate personality and behavioural traits, one might wonder whether we are discussing a distinct condition at all. It might be that ‘psychopath’ is simply a word for someone who, for disparate reasons, happens to demonstrate a large number of these traits to a high degree. Indeed, it is generally accepted that psychopathic traits, in common with those associated with other personality disorders, exist on a continuum. That is, these traits are not unique to psychopaths, but are found also in the general population to a greater or lesser extent. We all know people who lack empathy, or are impulsive, or have trouble working towards long-term goals. We may indeed observe some of these traits in ourselves at times. On the other hand, it is apparently the case that psychopathic traits tend to cluster together, suggesting that they are related, or perhaps the product of an underlying cause. Interestingly, a large-scale study found that all of the factors in the PCL-R construct correlate positively with a single, ‘superordinate’ factor, suggesting that the lower-order factors are related by a common theme, which Hare and Neumann characterise as ‘the broad dissocial nature of psychopathic traits’. Perhaps the best reason for regarding psychopathy as a distinct condition is given by the promising attempts (to which I will turn shortly), to identify a neurological basis for the disorder. (41-42)

Recent attempts to establish a neurobiological basis for psychopathy have proved somewhat fruitful. On the other hand, the techniques used to examine structural and functional aspects of the brain are still developing rapidly, the relationship between different regions of the brain and different psychological phenomena is only partly understood, and the business of relating personality traits to neurological phenomena is a complex one. Therefore, any conclusions drawn from neurological studies must be highly tentative. Still, it is possible to discern patterns in the results, which are worth discussing here. Overall, a picture is beginning to emerge of a neurodevelopmental disorder with a significant genetic basis, though there are probably environmental factors involved in producing its full clinical manifestation.

Studies have been carried out investigating two separate aspects of the neurology of psychopaths: brain activity and brain structure. These are importantly distinct because they point towards two distinct overall types of conclusion. On the one hand, to show that psychopaths have particular patterns of activity in the brain, perhaps when performing tasks of a particular kind, is broadly to provide evidence that they are using some regions of the brain more than, or instead of, others. This might lead one tentatively to conclude, for example, that psychopaths tend not to engage their emotions as much when performing certain tasks, compared to normal agents. It says nothing about why this is the case.

Showing that psychopaths have differently structured brains, on the other hand, provides evidence that aspects of their psychology might have a particular neurological cause. If a psychopath’s brain shows reduced volume in a region associated with a particular kind of emotional processing, then it might be possible to conclude that unusual patterns in their experiencing of the relevant kind of emotion are due to their not having the same neurological resources as normal agents.

Two specific results are interesting enough to be worth noting here. First, Decety et al. showed a group of psychopaths pictures of people apparently in pain, and found, as expected, reduced activity in relevant brain regions in these subjects relative to controls. However, in a follow-up study, it was found that manipulating the instructions given to subjects had an effect on the level of brain activity displayed. When instructed to imagine the person in the picture being in pain, they continued to display reduced activity. However, when asked to imagine themselves in similar pain, they showed increased activity. This suggests that psychopaths’ own pain may even be more salient to them than normal subjects’ own pain is salient to them, while others’ pain is less salient to the psychopath. Another interesting result was discovered in Sommer et al.’s study. When trying to guess the emotional state of a cartoon character, as well as showing reduced activity in brain regions associated with emotional processing (superior temporal sulcus, supramarginal gyrus, frontal gyrus), the psychopathic group showed increased activity in regions associated with‘ processing the value of an outcome and mentalising efforts’. This, conclude Seara-Cardoso and Viding,‘ may reflect additional efforts in computing the emotion attribution due to an inability to automatically simulate the emotional state of the cartoon character’. This suggestion, which invites us to imagine psychopaths using inductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion about the mental state of a person (‘I’ve seen people pull facial expressions like that before, when they were in pain... so that’s probably what’s going on here’) where a normal agent would simply see someone in pain, raises interesting questions about what it is to empathise with someone. (46f.)

A correlation between high scores on PCL-R and reduced volume in the vmPFC has been shown repeatedly, for example, by Yang et al., Muller et al. and de Oliveira-Souza et al. A significant correlation between psychopathic traits and reduced volume in the amygdala has also been shown by Yang et al. Both regions are associated with emotional processing. Yang et al. also distinguish between successful and unsuccessful psychopaths, finding differences in the specific regions affected. In the words of Gao et al.,‘ findings suggest that neuropathological characteristics such as abnormal hippocampal asymmetry and reduced prefrontal grey matter volume may contribute to the emotional dysregulation and poor fear conditioning in unsuccessful psychopathic people, and consequently render these people less sensitive to environmental cues predicting danger and capture’. This interesting result suggests that the lack of prudence exhibited by unsuccessful psychopaths may have a separate neurological basis from the lack of moral sense found in both successful and unsuccessful psychopaths (p. 50)" - excerpts from "Moral Responsibility and the Psychopath" by Jim Baxter 2021

Since shooting her children, Downs has spent 36 years using extreme efforts to avoid accountability. Downs engages in persistent fantasy and conspiracy involving grandiose, elaborate, international and royal-lineage plots against her. Downs' stories center on crooked law enforcement, family, birth plot and/or intimate partner strategies all designed to result in her false imprisonment. Downs communicates these theories in various settings, e.g.letters, oral testimony, media statements. Regardless of format, all such communications are designed to convince the listener that she has been falsely targeted for her crimes, which range from murder to assault to escape. This pattern is not surprising considering a consistent diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Dr. Suckow 1984; L. Williams 2008; S. Schulte 2010 & Michelle R. Guyton 2020). Downs is dangerous because she lacks accountability and insight into her unaddressed disorder, which led to her initial violence.

Downs' consistent pattern of deceit, zero remorse and preoccupation with fantasy fuels her. It is noteworthy that in her most recent psychological evaluation (Dr. Guyton), Downs' total PCL-R score is 21, which is above average when compared with adult female inmates in North American prisons. That places Downs at a moderate to high level of severely antisocial or psychopathic personality. It is the State's position that this severely antisocial or psychopathic personality that resulted in the underlying murder and assaults.