- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Psychology Press (12 Jun 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0805819746
- ISBN-13: 978-0805819748
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.3 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 793,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
This volume presents a scholarly analysis of psychopathic and sociopathic personalities and the conditions that give rise to them. In so doing, it offers a coherent theoretical and developmental analysis of socialization and its vicissitudes, and of the role played in socialization by the crime-relevant genetic traits of the child and the skills and limitations of the primary socializing agents, the parents.
This volume also describes how American psychiatry's (DSM-IV) category of "Antisocial Personality Disorder" is heterogeneous and fails to document some of the more interesting and notorious psychopaths of our era. The author also shows why the antinomic formula "Nature vs. Nurture" should be revised to "Nature via Nurture" and reviews the evidence for the heritability of crime-relevant traits. One of these traits -- fearlessness -- seems to be one basis for the primary psychopathy and the author argues that the primary psychopath and the hero may be twigs on the same genetic branch.
But crime -- the failure of socialization -- is rare among traditional peoples still living in the extended-family environment in which our common ancestors lived and to which our species is evolutionarily adapted. The author demonstrates that the sharp rise in crime and violence in the United States since the 1960s can be attributed to the coeval increase in divorce and illegitimacy which has left millions of fatherless children to be reared by over-burdened, often immature or sociopathic single mothers. The genus sociopathic personality includes those persons whose failure of socialization can be attributed largely to incompetent or indifferent rearing.
Two generalizations supported by modern behavior genetic research are that most psychological traits have strong genetic roots and show little lasting influence of the rearing environment. This book demonstrates that the important trait of socialization is an exception. Although traits that obstruct or facilitate socialization tend to obey these rules, socialization itself is only weakly heritable; this is because modern American society displays such enormous variance in the relevant environmental factors, mainly in parental competence. Moreover, parental incompetence that produces sociopathy in one child is likely to have the same result with any siblings. This book argues that sociopathy contributes far more to crime and violence than psychopathy because sociopaths are much more numerous and because sociopathy is a familial trait for both genetic and environmental reasons. With a provocative thesis and an engaging style, this book will be of principal interest to clinical, personality, forensic, and developmental psychologists and their students, as well as to psychiatrists and criminologists.
This volume also describes how American psychiatry's (DSM-IV) category of "Antisocial Personality Disorder" is heterogeneous and fails to document some of the more interesting and notorious psychopaths of our era. The author also shows why the antinomic formula "Nature vs. Nurture" should be revised to "Nature via Nurture" and reviews the evidence for the heritability of crime-relevant traits. One of these traits -- fearlessness -- seems to be one basis for the primary psychopathy and the author argues that the primary psychopath and the hero may be twigs on the same genetic branch.
But crime -- the failure of socialization -- is rare among traditional peoples still living in the extended-family environment in which our common ancestors lived and to which our species is evolutionarily adapted. The author demonstrates that the sharp rise in crime and violence in the United States since the 1960s can be attributed to the coeval increase in divorce and illegitimacy which has left millions of fatherless children to be reared by over-burdened, often immature or sociopathic single mothers. The genus sociopathic personality includes those persons whose failure of socialization can be attributed largely to incompetent or indifferent rearing.
Two generalizations supported by modern behavior genetic research are that most psychological traits have strong genetic roots and show little lasting influence of the rearing environment. This book demonstrates that the important trait of socialization is an exception. Although traits that obstruct or facilitate socialization tend to obey these rules, socialization itself is only weakly heritable; this is because modern American society displays such enormous variance in the relevant environmental factors, mainly in parental competence. Moreover, parental incompetence that produces sociopathy in one child is likely to have the same result with any siblings. This book argues that sociopathy contributes far more to crime and violence than psychopathy because sociopaths are much more numerous and because sociopathy is a familial trait for both genetic and environmental reasons. With a provocative thesis and an engaging style, this book will be of principal interest to clinical, personality, forensic, and developmental psychologists and their students, as well as to psychiatrists and criminologists.
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During most of the 20th century, psychiatric diagnosis was an impressionistic art form and studies showed that even experienced practitioners often could not agree in classifying the same patients except in a very general way. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
During most of the 20th century, psychiatric diagnosis was an impressionistic art form and studies showed that even experienced practitioners often could not agree in classifying the same patients except in a very general way. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
this is a very good, readable book on antisocial personalities. david covers all aspects of the disorder in a very readable fashion. there is even bits and pieces of humor thrown in too. loved his two paragraph statement on how psychodynamics describes antisocials. essential reading for any therapist or forensic scientist.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5 reviews
56 of 63 people found the following review helpful
Absorbing study of antisocial dysfunction
5 Sep 2001
Format:Paperback
David T. Lykken, in his highly absorbing and comprehensive exposition, attempts to define the various types of antisocial dysfunction. Although he also takes into account behaviourist and biologistic explanations of the origin of antisocial disorder (such as frontal-lobe brain disorder and the low Serotonin hypothesis), his main argument is that sociopathy is principally a result of inadequate parenting and poor socialisation. He justifies this assertion by quoting statistics which prove that the majority of fearless, aggressive, manipulative impulsive criminals with low I.Q. and little sense of commitment towards jobs, family or others -- (those who are responsible for raising America's crime rate) -- are mainly the result of being brought up in often single-parent households, or else reared by incompetent parents. This leads to delinquency in early youth, as the potential young offender finds no sense of discipline or authority at home, thereby gravitating towards dubious peer groups, such as gangs, who are usually presided upon by older, more mainipulative, though no less intelligent, gangleaders. Lykken also offers some engrossing insights on the possibility of a genetic component in fluencing psychopathic behaviour, leading him to devote several chapters on the hereditability of crime, a topic that has remained highly controversial in criminological circles since Lombroso. Though he denies the existence of a precise gene for "criminality", thus avoiding the untenable view that criminals consititute a fixed "type", he argues that genetics do indeed predispose certain individuals towards psychopathic and sociopathic activity. They may, for instance, be more venturesome, more aggressive, more competitive, more egoistic and more impulsive than other children, though these susceptibilities can only develop into criminality due to environmental inputs: - which, as Lykken claimed, are related to inadequate socialisation and defective parenting styles. His chapter on the relationship between race and criminality -- (in view of the black minority's disproportionate responsibility for over half of America's crimes) -- is evenly and impartially argued. Lykken charges that the same genes, given differing environmental conditioning, can be responsible for breeding either a criminal psychopath or a zealous crime-fighter, and he substantiates this claim by quoting a number of twin studies. Lykken's recommendations on the prevention of sociopathy are controversial. He believes that prevention is far better than the cure, and calls for much needed tax-payer funding for licensed "parenters" to become the wards of parentless or potentially delinquent children. Otherwise, he contends that the majority of psychopathic personalities are incurable, and the only solution would be "biological-prophylactic" legislation...
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Highly recommended for all
26 Mar 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
David Lykken's brilliant book is a thoughtful, and articulate exposition of his theory about biological, psychological, and social causes of crime and antisocial behavior. It says:
1. Various traits such as fearlessness, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, and muscular body type, are highly heritable.
2. Those with average measures of such traits who are incompetently raised in asocial environments will go on to commit the majority of violent crimes; these are sociopaths.
3. Those with very high measures of such traits, almost regardless of their nurturing environment, will become psychopaths - fortunately, these are much fewer in number.
4. The solutions to the problems created by the sociopaths are better parenting training, use of alternative rearing environments (foster care), and parental licensing.
Along the way, you'll also get an introduction to evolutionary psychology, a review of various taxonomies of psychopathy and sociopathy, the evidence for Lykken's psychophysiological basis of psychopathy (low fear quotient), and even a short chapter on bull terriers. Lykken writes with a forceful and deeply personal, non-academic style, but avoids the lurid sensationalism of sadism and torture that attracts many readers (and writers) to the antisocial personality. He dispatches psychoanalytic theory in two paragraphs. Most of the book will be accessible to the intelligent layperson; the few more technical sections can be skipped without loss of the flow of his argument.
I first borrowed this from the library, but bought it and read it again; it's that good. It has profound implications for our current society. Liberals won't like the emphasis on behavioral genetics; conservatives might not like the state interference of his proposed parental licensing - tough luck for ideologues. Anyone who is a parent, might become one, or knows someone who is, should read this book. I'm wondering if the person who gave this book a 2-star review actually did read it, because Lykken discusses Hare's work at considerable length.
1. Various traits such as fearlessness, impulsiveness, aggressiveness, and muscular body type, are highly heritable.
2. Those with average measures of such traits who are incompetently raised in asocial environments will go on to commit the majority of violent crimes; these are sociopaths.
3. Those with very high measures of such traits, almost regardless of their nurturing environment, will become psychopaths - fortunately, these are much fewer in number.
4. The solutions to the problems created by the sociopaths are better parenting training, use of alternative rearing environments (foster care), and parental licensing.
Along the way, you'll also get an introduction to evolutionary psychology, a review of various taxonomies of psychopathy and sociopathy, the evidence for Lykken's psychophysiological basis of psychopathy (low fear quotient), and even a short chapter on bull terriers. Lykken writes with a forceful and deeply personal, non-academic style, but avoids the lurid sensationalism of sadism and torture that attracts many readers (and writers) to the antisocial personality. He dispatches psychoanalytic theory in two paragraphs. Most of the book will be accessible to the intelligent layperson; the few more technical sections can be skipped without loss of the flow of his argument.
I first borrowed this from the library, but bought it and read it again; it's that good. It has profound implications for our current society. Liberals won't like the emphasis on behavioral genetics; conservatives might not like the state interference of his proposed parental licensing - tough luck for ideologues. Anyone who is a parent, might become one, or knows someone who is, should read this book. I'm wondering if the person who gave this book a 2-star review actually did read it, because Lykken discusses Hare's work at considerable length.
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Great Innovative Book
23 Feb 2006
Format:Paperback
I do seminars across the country for thousands of mental healthcare workers. I was at a prison for over two years (as a psychologist, of course) and I really liked this book. Lykken has a real FEEL for the antisocial "personalities". These are "personalities" honed by neglect, lack of an alpha personality, and lack of bonding. If they don't bond with an alpha by the time they are a certain age, they become THEIR OWN alpha personality. Then it's too late (almost always irreversable with the therapy we have now). My opinion? It's a GREAT BOOK!!
Dr. Jay Carter (author of "Nasty People")
Dr. Jay Carter (author of "Nasty People")
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