The Bad Seed is a 1954 horror novel by American writer William March , the last of his major works published before his death.
90-488: Nominated for the 1955 National Book Award for Fiction , The Bad Seed tells the story of a mother's realization that her young daughter is a murderer. Its enormous critical and commercial success was largely realized after March's death only one month after publication. In 1954, the novel was adapted into a successful and long-running Broadway play by Maxwell Anderson and into an Academy Award -nominated film directed by Mervyn LeRoy in 1956. 8-year-old Rhoda Penmark
180-421: A television remake for Lifetime network. This version of The Bad Seed first ran on Lifetime on September 9, 2018, and was watched by 1.87 million viewers, placing it in the top ten most-watched cable programs on that date. However, the production received mixed reviews. A sequel, The Bad Seed Returns , was released in 2022. National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction
270-522: A decreased activation of the fusiform and extrastriate cortical regions. The underlying biological surfaces for processing expressions of happiness are functionally intact in psychopaths, although less responsive than those of controls. The neuroimaging literature is unclear as to whether deficits are specific to particular emotions such as fear. The overall pattern of results across studies indicates that people diagnosed with psychopathy demonstrate reduced MRI, fMRI, aMRI, PET, and SPECT activity in areas of
360-489: A diagnosis titled "psychopathy", assessments of psychopathic characteristics are widely used in criminal justice settings in some nations and may have important consequences for individuals. The study of psychopathy is an active field of research. The term is also used by the general public, popular press, and in fictional portrayals . While the abbreviated term "psycho" is often employed in common usage in general media along with "crazy", " insane ", and "mentally ill", there
450-512: A further study using the same tests found that prisoners scoring high on the PCL were more likely to endorse impersonal harm or rule violations than non-psychopathic controls were. The psychopathic offenders who scored low in anxiety were also more willing to endorse personal harm on average. Assessing accidents, where one person harmed another unintentionally, psychopaths judged such actions to be more morally permissible. This result has been considered
540-539: A narrow and broad sense, such as MedlinePlus from the U.S. National Library of Medicine . On the other hand, Stedman's Medical Dictionary defines "psychopath" only as a "former designation" for a person with an antisocial type of personality disorder. The term psychosis was also used in Germany from 1841, originally in a very general sense. The suffix -ωσις (-osis) meant in this case "abnormal condition". This term or its adjective psychotic would come to refer to
630-703: A partial constitutional factor that influences its development. Disagreement exists over which features should be considered as part of psychopathy, with researchers identifying around 40 traits supposedly indicative of the construct, though the following characteristics are almost universally considered central. Cooke and Michie (2001) proposed a three-factor model of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised which has seen widespread application in other measures (e.g., Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory, Antisocial Process Screening Device ). Cleckley's (1941) original description of psychopathy included
720-562: A reflection of psychopaths' failure to appreciate the emotional aspect of the victim's harmful experience. The word psychopathy is a joining of the Greek words psyche ( ψυχή ) "soul" and pathos ( πάθος ) "suffering, feeling". The first documented use is from 1847 in Germany as psychopatisch , and the noun psychopath has been traced to 1885. In medicine, patho- has a more specific meaning of disease (Thus pathology has meant
810-840: A result. In considering the issue of possible reunification of some sex offenders into homes with a non-offending parent and children, it has been advised that any sex offender with a significant criminal history should be assessed on the PCL-R, and if they score 18 or higher, then they should be excluded from any consideration of being placed in a home with children under any circumstances. There is, however, increasing concern that PCL scores are too inconsistent between different examiners, including in its use to evaluate sex offenders. The possibility of psychopathy has been associated with organized crime , economic crime and war crimes . Terrorists are sometimes considered psychopathic, and comparisons may be drawn with traits such as antisocial violence,
900-532: A secret report originally prepared for the Office of Strategic Services in 1943, and which may have been intended to be used as propaganda , non-medical psychoanalyst Walter C. Langer suggested Adolf Hitler was probably a psychopath . However, others have not drawn this conclusion; clinical forensic psychologist Glenn Walters argues that Hitler's actions do not warrant a diagnosis of psychopathy as, although he showed several characteristics of criminality, he
990-622: A self-centered disposition, unreliability, poor behavioral controls, and unusual behaviors may disadvantage or preclude psychopathic individuals in conducting organized terrorism. It may be that a significant portion of people with psychopathy are socially successful and tend to express their antisocial behavior through more covert avenues such as social manipulation or white collar crime . Such individuals are sometimes referred to as "successful psychopaths", and may not necessarily always have extensive histories of traditional antisocial behavior as characteristic of traditional psychopathy. The PCL:YV
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#17327724894961080-456: A selfish world view that precludes the welfare of others, a lack of remorse or guilt, and blame externalization. However, John Horgan, author of The Psychology of Terrorism , argues that such comparisons could also then be drawn more widely: for example, to soldiers in wars. Coordinated terrorist activity requires organization, loyalty and ideological fanaticism often to the extreme of sacrificing oneself for an ideological cause. Traits such as
1170-599: A sense of empathy or morality, but sociopathy as only differing from the average person in the sense of right and wrong. Ancient writings that have been connected to psychopathic traits include Deuteronomy 21:18–21 and a description of an unscrupulous man by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus around 300 BC. The concept of psychopathy has been indirectly connected to the early 19th century work of Pinel (1801; "mania without delirium") and Pritchard (1835; " moral insanity "), although historians have largely discredited
1260-433: A somewhat lower average value of 17.5. Studies have found that psychopathy scores correlated with repeated imprisonment, detention in higher security, disciplinary infractions, and substance misuse. Psychopathy, as measured with the PCL-R in institutional settings, shows in meta-analyses small to moderate effect sizes with institutional misbehavior, postrelease crime, or postrelease violent crime with similar effects for
1350-533: Is a categorical difference between psychosis and psychopathy. Socially, psychopathy typically involves extensive callous and manipulative self-serving behaviors with no regard for others, and often is associated with repeated delinquency, crime and violence. Mentally, impairments in processes related to affect and cognition , particularly socially related mental processes, have also been found. Developmentally, symptoms of psychopathy have been identified in young children with conduct disorder , and suggests at least
1440-456: Is an accepted version of this page Psychopathy , or psychopathic personality , is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse , in combination with traits of boldness , disinhibition , and egocentrism . These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to stress , which create an outward appearance of apparent normalcy. Hervey M. Cleckley , an American psychiatrist , influenced
1530-455: Is an adaptation of the PCL-R for individuals aged 13–18 years. It is, like the PCL-R, done by a trained rater based on an interview and an examination of criminal and other records. The "Antisocial Process Screening Device" (APSD) is also an adaptation of the PCL-R. It can be administered by parents or teachers for individuals aged 6–13 years. High psychopathy scores for both juveniles (as measured with these instruments) and adults (as measured with
1620-467: Is announced on the day of the final ceremony in November. The award is $ 10,000 and a bronze sculpture; other finalists get $ 1,000, a medal, and a citation written by the panel. Authors who have won the award more than once include William Faulkner , John Updike , William Gaddis , Jesmyn Ward , and Philip Roth , each having won on two occasions along with numerous other nominations. Saul Bellow won
1710-537: Is argued to be more due to a personality disorder caused by neurological deficits interacting with an adverse environment. For many, but not all, childhood onset is associated with what is in Terrie Moffitt's developmental theory of crime referred to as "life-course- persistent" antisocial behavior as well as poorer health and economic status. Adolescent onset is argued to more typically be associated with short-term antisocial behavior. It has been suggested that
1800-434: Is based on research which suggests that those with conduct disorder who also meet criteria for the specifier tend to have a more severe form of the disorder with an earlier onset as well as a different response to treatment. Proponents of different types/dimensions of psychopathy have seen this as possibly corresponding to adult primary psychopathy and increased boldness and/or meanness in the triarchic model. Dysfunctions in
1890-447: Is dissociable from and not synonymous with violence. It has been suggested that psychopathy is associated with "instrumental aggression", also known as predatory, proactive, or "cold blooded" aggression, a form of aggression characterized by reduced emotion and conducted with a goal differing from but facilitated by the commission of harm. One conclusion in this regard was made by a 2002 study of homicide offenders, which reported that
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#17327724894961980-593: Is evidence from DT-MRI of breakdowns in the white matter connections between these two important areas. Although some studies have suggested inverse relationships between psychopathy and intelligence , including with regards to verbal IQ, Hare and Neumann state that a large literature demonstrates at most only a weak association between psychopathy and IQ , noting that the early pioneer Cleckley included good intelligence in his checklist due to selection bias (since many of his patients were "well educated and from middle-class or upper-class backgrounds") and that "there
2070-428: Is hinted to be a closeted homosexual), David Carradine as Leroy, and Chad Allen as Mark Daigle (whose character was never seen before, only referenced). Carrie Wells played the title character, whose name was changed from Rhoda to Rachel. The TV-movie version was considered inferior to both the play and original film by critics. In December 2017, Deadline Hollywood reported that Rob Lowe would direct and star in
2160-503: Is implied in The Bad Seed . March incorporates the notion that a murderous genetic trait is being passed down through the generations. Within the plot of the story, Rhoda is a serial murderer just like her grandmother, having inherited the murderous gene. Rhoda had been brought up as a privileged child; she was nurtured emotionally and physically and thus a broken home life was not to blame for her actions. Tasker hints and suggests at
2250-558: Is just a movie. The Bad Seed was remade as a television movie in 1985, adapted by George Eckstein and directed by Paul Wendkos and kept the novel's original ending but changed other details, including some forenames (i.e. Claude Daigle → Mark Daigle, Hortense Daigle → Rita Daigle, Claudia Fern → Alice Fern) and added a scene in which young Christine escapes into a cornfield from her own sociopathic mother, Bessie Denker. This version starred Blair Brown as Christine, Lynn Redgrave as Monica, David Ogden Stiers as Emory (whose character
2340-400: Is no obvious theoretical reason why the disorder described by Cleckley or other clinicians should be related to intelligence; some psychopaths are bright, others less so". Studies also indicate that different aspects of the definition of psychopathy (e.g. interpersonal, affective (emotion), behavioral and lifestyle components) can show different links to intelligence, and the result can depend on
2430-596: Is not known whether this is reflected in reduced experience of state fear or where it reflects impaired detection and response to threat-related stimuli. Moreover, such deficits in threat responding are known to be reduced or even abolished when attention is focused on the threatening stimuli. In terms of simple correlations, the PCL-R manual states an average score of 22.1 has been found in North American prisoner samples, and that 20.5% scored 30 or higher. An analysis of prisoner samples from outside North America found
2520-477: Is one of five annual National Book Awards , which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation , but they are awards "by writers to writers." The panelists are five "writers who are known to be doing great work in their genre or field." General fiction was one of four categories when
2610-502: Is positive correlation between early negative life events of the ages 0–4 and the emotion-based aspects of psychopathy. There are moderate to high correlations between psychopathy rankings from late childhood to early adolescence. The correlations are considerably lower from early- or mid-adolescence to adulthood. In one study most of the similarities were on the Impulsive- and Antisocial-Behavior scales. Of those adolescents who scored in
2700-408: Is referred to) as psychopathy or sociopathy . The creation of ASPD and DPD was driven by the fact that many of the classic traits of psychopathy were impossible to measure objectively. Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare later re-popularized the construct of psychopathy in criminology with his Psychopathy Checklist . Although no psychiatric or psychological organization has sanctioned
2790-476: Is reported that offenders with psychopathy (both sexual and non-sexual offenders) are about 2.5 times more likely to be granted conditional release compared to non-psychopathic offenders. Hildebrand and colleagues (2004) have uncovered an interaction between psychopathy and deviant sexual interests , wherein those high in psychopathy who also endorsed deviant sexual interests were more likely to recidivate sexually. A subsequent meta-analysis has consolidated such
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2880-409: Is the only child of Christine and Kenneth Penmark. While she is cherished by the adults in her life for her sweet and intelligent nature, her classmates at Fern Grammar School avoid her, sensing something “isn’t quite right” about her. After her husband leaves on a business trip, Christine notices Rhoda’s callous attitude regarding the sudden death of her classmate, Claude Daigle — while the boy’s death
2970-457: The Children's or Young People's categories. This list covers only the post-war awards ( pre-war awards follow) to general fiction for adult readers: one annual winner from 1950 except two undifferentiated winners 1973 to 1975, dual hardcover and paperback winners 1980 to 1983. For each award, the winner is listed first followed by the finalists. Unless otherwise noted, the year represents
3060-531: The Hollywood Production Code . Rhoda is suddenly struck and killed by lightning when she goes back to the scene of her crime to retrieve the medal (allowing an interpretation of divine intervention ), while Christine survives her suicide attempt. During the closing credits, LeRoy added a light-hearted sequence of Nancy Kelly , Christine, holding Patty McCormack , Rhoda, over her leg and spanking her –possibly to remind audiences that this
3150-689: The Psychopathic Personality Inventory , known as Fearless Dominance. To some, it is evidence of psychopathy not being a more extreme version of ASPD, but as an emergent compound trait that manifests when Antisocial Personality Disorder is present in combination with high levels of Fearless Dominance (or Boldness as it's known in the Triarchic Model). Analyses showed that this Section III ASPD greatly outperformed Section II ASPD in predicting scores on Hare’s (2003) Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Section III ASPD including
3240-610: The Richard Rodgers Theatre ), less than a year after the publication of the novel. On April 25, 1955, the play transferred to the Coronet Theatre (now the Eugene O'Neill Theatre ), where it completed its successful run of 334 performances on September 27, 1955. Nancy Kelly , the actress who played Christine, won the 1955 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The audience made claims that Patty McCormack ,
3330-543: The construct of psychopathy does not necessarily add value to violence risk assessment . A large systematic review and meta-regression found that the PCL performed the poorest out of nine tools for predicting violence. In addition, studies conducted by the authors or translators of violence prediction measures, including the PCL, show on average more positive results than those conducted by more independent investigators. There are several other risk assessment instruments which can predict further crime with an accuracy similar to
3420-807: The prefrontal cortex and amygdala regions of the brain have been associated with specific learning impairments in psychopathy. Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which regulates the activity in the amygdala, leads to common characteristics in psychopathic individuals. Since the 1980s, scientists have linked traumatic brain injury , including damage to these regions, with violent and psychopathic behavior. Patients with damage in such areas resembled "psychopathic individuals" whose brains were incapable of acquiring social and moral knowledge; those who acquired damage as children may have trouble conceptualizing social or moral reasoning, while those with adult-acquired damage may be aware of proper social and moral conduct but be unable to behave appropriately. Dysfunctions in
3510-599: The "Most Distinguished Novel" (1935–1936) or "Favorite Fiction" (1937–1940). Furthermore, works of fiction were eligible for the "Bookseller Discovery" and "Most Original Book" awards; fiction winners are listed here. There was only one National Book Award for 1941, the Bookseller Discovery, which recognized the novel Hold Autumn In Your Hand by George Perry; then none until the 1950 revival in three categories including Fiction. 1935: Rachel Field , Time Out of Mind 1936: Margaret Mitchell , Gone With
3600-614: The 'Psychopathic Traits Specifier' can be seen on page 765 of the DSM-5 or Page 885 of the DSM-5-TR. The term is used in various ways in contemporary usage. Robert Hare stated in the popular science book Snakes in Suits that sociopathy and psychopathy are often used interchangeably, but in some cases the term sociopathy is preferred because it is less likely than is psychopathy to be confused with psychosis , whereas in other cases
3690-525: The 77 previous winners in fiction categories were in print. The 77 included all eight 1980 winners but excluded the 1981 to 1983 children's fiction winners. The award recognizes one book written by a U.S. citizen and published in the U.S. from December 1 to November 30. The National Book Foundation accepts nominations from publishers until June 15, requires mailing nominated books to the panelists by August 1, and announces five finalists in October. The winner
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3780-607: The Affective facet of the PCL-R predicted reduced offense seriousness. Studies on perpetrators of domestic violence find that abusers have high rates of psychopathy, with the prevalence estimated to be at around 15-30%. Furthermore, the commission of domestic violence is correlated with Factor 1 of the PCL-R , which describes the emotional deficits and the callous and exploitative interpersonal style found in psychopathy. The prevalence of psychopathy among domestic abusers indicate that
3870-512: The PCL-R and Fearless dominance of the PPI-R have smaller or no relationship to crime, including violent crime. In contrast, Factor 2 and Impulsive antisociality of the PPI-R are associated more strongly with criminality. Factor 2 has a relationship of similar strength to that of the PCL-R as a whole. The antisocial facet of the PCL-R is still predictive of future violence after controlling for past criminal behavior which, together with results regarding
3960-424: The PCL-R and other measurement tools) have similar associations with other variables, including similar ability in predicting violence and criminality. Juvenile psychopathy may also be associated with more negative emotionality such as anger, hostility, anxiety, and depression. Psychopathic traits in youth typically comprise three factors: callous/unemotional, narcissism, and impulsivity/irresponsibility. There
4050-536: The PCL-R and some of these are considerably easier, quicker, and less expensive to administer. This may even be done automatically by a computer simply based on data such as age, gender, number of previous convictions and age of first conviction. Some of these assessments may also identify treatment change and goals, identify quick changes that may help short-term management, identify more specific kinds of violence that may be at risk, and may have established specific probabilities of offending for specific scores. Nonetheless,
4140-440: The PCL-R may continue to be popular for risk assessment because of its pioneering role and the large amount of research done using it. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that psychopathic behavior is consistent with traits common to some serial killers , including sensation seeking, a lack of remorse or guilt , impulsivity , the need for control , and predatory behavior. It has also been found that
4230-464: The PPI-R which by design does not include past criminal behavior, suggests that impulsive behaviors is an independent risk factor. Thus, the concept of psychopathy may perform poorly when attempted to be used as a general theory of crime. Studies have suggested a strong correlation between psychopathy scores and violence , and the PCL-R emphasizes features that are somewhat predictive of violent behavior. Researchers, however, have noted that psychopathy
4320-892: The Wind 1937: A. J. Cronin , The Citadel 1938: Daphne Du Maurier , Rebecca 1939: John Steinbeck , The Grapes of Wrath 1940: Richard Llewellyn , How Green Was My Valley 1936: Norah Lofts , I Met a Gypsy (short stories) 1937: Lawrence Watkin , On Borrowed Time (novel) 1938: see nonfiction 1939: Elgin Groseclose , Ararat (novel) 1940: see nonfiction 1941: George Sessions Perry , Hold Autumn in Your Hand (novel) 1935: Charles G. Finney , The Circus of Dr. Lao (novel) 1936: see nonfiction 1937: see nonfiction 1938: see nonfiction 1939: Dalton Trumbo , Johnny Got His Gun (novel) Psychopathy This
4410-495: The absence of nervousness and neurotic disorders, and later theorists referred to psychopaths as fearless or thick-skinned. While it is often claimed that the PCL-R does not include low anxiety or fearlessness, such features do contribute to the scoring of the Facet 1 (interpersonal) items, mainly through self-assurance, unrealistic optimism, brazenness and imperturbability. Indeed, while self-report studies have been inconsistent using
4500-429: The acts of evil and depravity that some people are capable of committing. Later in his book, Hare argues that March's novel is a "remarkably true to life" portrayal of the development of psychopathy in childhood, illustrating both Rhoda's callous use of others to serve her own ends as well as Christine's growing helplessness and desperation as she realizes the extent of her daughter's behavior. Maxwell Anderson adapted
4590-416: The amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex may also impair stimulus-reinforced learning in psychopaths, whether punishment-based or reward-based. People scoring 25 or higher in the PCL-R, with an associated history of violent behavior, appear to have significantly reduced mean microstructural integrity in their uncinate fasciculus — white matter connecting the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex . There
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#17327724894964680-560: The award in three decades (1954, 1965, 1971) and is the only author to have won the National Book Award for Fiction three times. From 1935 to 1941 , there were six annual awards for general fiction and the "Bookseller Discovery" or "Most Original Book" was sometimes a novel. From 1980 to 1985, there were six annual awards to first novels or first works of fiction . In 1980 there were five awards for mystery, western, or science fiction . There have been many awards to fiction in
4770-496: The awards were re-established in 1950. For several years beginning 1980, prior to the Foundation, there were multiple fiction categories: hardcover, paperback, first novel or first work of fiction; from 1981 to 1983 hardcover and paperback children's fiction ; and only in 1980 five awards to mystery fiction , science fiction , and western fiction . When the Foundation celebrated the 60th postwar awards in 2009, all but three of
4860-562: The book for the stage almost immediately after its publication. Anderson had previously won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1935 and 1936 for his plays Winterset and High Tor , as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1933 for his play Both Your Houses . Reginald Denham directed the play using Anderson's script . The play opened on Broadway on December 8, 1954, at the 46th Street Theatre (now
4950-426: The boy's face. Afraid he will expose her, she waits until Leroy is asleep before lightning his mattress ablaze and locking him inside his shed; a horrified Christine witnesses the murder from afar. Christine confronts Rhoda, who confesses to the murders while expressing no remorse. Not wanting her daughter to suffer the same fate as Denker, Christine secretly gives Rhoda an overdose of sleeping pills; after destroying
5040-1010: The brain. Research has also shown that an approximate 18% smaller amygdala size contributes to a significantly lower emotional sensation in regards to fear, sadness, amongst other negative emotions, which may likely be the reason as to why psychopathic individuals have lower empathy. Some recent fMRI studies have reported that emotion perception deficits in psychopathy are pervasive across emotions (positives and negatives). Studies on children with psychopathic tendencies have also shown such associations. Meta-analyses have also found evidence of impairments in both vocal and facial emotional recognition for several emotions (i.e., not only fear and sadness) in both adults and children/adolescents. Psychopathy has been associated with amorality —an absence of, indifference towards, or disregard for moral beliefs. There are few firm data on patterns of moral judgment. Studies of developmental level (sophistication) of moral reasoning found all possible results—lower, higher or
5130-422: The child actress who played Rhoda, was the most memorable character. Mervyn LeRoy was the director of the 1956 movie. In LeRoy's Hollywood career, he produced and or directed over 70 films including Little Caesar and Little Women . Nancy Kelly , Patty McCormack and most of the original cast acted in the 1956 movie. The ending of the 1956 film was changed from that of the novel and the play to comply with
5220-590: The combination of early-onset conduct disorder and ADHD may be associated with life-course-persistent antisocial behaviors as well as psychopathy. There is evidence that this combination is more aggressive and antisocial than those with conduct disorder alone. However, it is not a particularly distinct group since the vast majority of young children with conduct disorder also have ADHD. Some evidence indicates that this group has deficits in behavioral inhibition, similar to that of adults with psychopathy. They may not be more likely than those with conduct disorder alone to have
5310-421: The concept of psychopathy . It was used to indicate that the defining feature is violation of social norms , or antisocial behavior, and may be social or biological in origin. The terms sociopathy and psychopathy were once used interchangeably in relation to antisocial personality disorder , though this usage is outdated in medicine and psychiatry. Psychopathy, however, is a highly popular construct in
5400-528: The core characteristics of psychopathy, such as callousness, remorselessness, and a lack of close interpersonal bonds, predispose those with psychopathy to committing domestic abuse, and suggest that the domestic abuses committed by these individuals are callously perpetrated (i.e. instrumentally aggressive) rather than a case of emotional aggression and therefore may not be amenable to the types of psychosocial interventions commonly given to domestic abuse perpetrators. Some clinicians suggest that assessment of
5490-526: The diagnosis. The diagnostic category of sociopathic personality in early editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) had some key similarities to Cleckley's ideas, though in 1980 when renamed Antisocial Personality Disorder some of the underlying personality assumptions were removed. In 1980, Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare introduced an alternative measure, the " Psychopathy Checklist " (PCL) based largely on Cleckley's criteria, which
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#17327724894965580-565: The equating of this to mean exclusively "in cold blood", more than a third of the homicides committed by psychopathic offenders involved some component of emotional reactivity as well. In any case, FBI profilers indicate that serious victim injury is generally an emotional offense, and some research supports this, at least with regard to sexual offending. One study has found more serious offending by non-psychopathic offenders on average than by offenders with psychopathy (e.g. more homicides versus more armed robbery and property offenses) and another that
5670-440: The homicide victims of psychopathic offenders were disproportionately female in comparison to the more equitable gender distribution of victims of non-psychopathic offenders. Psychopathy has been associated with commission of sexual crime , with some researchers arguing that it is correlated with a preference for violent sexual behavior. A 2011 study of conditional releases for Canadian male federal offenders found that psychopathy
5760-472: The homicides committed by homicidal offenders with psychopathy were almost always (93.3%) primarily instrumental, significantly more than the proportion (48.4%) of those committed by non-psychopathic homicidal offenders, with the instrumentality of the homicide also correlated with the total PCL-R score of the offender as well as their scores on the Factor 1 "interpersonal-affective" dimension. However, contrary to
5850-614: The idea of a direct equivalence. Psychopathy originally described any illness of the mind, but found its application to a narrow subset of mental conditions when it was used toward the end of the 19th century by the German psychiatrist Julius Koch (1891) to describe various behavioral and moral dysfunction in the absence of an obvious mental illness or intellectual disability . He applied the term psychopathic inferiority ( psychopathischen Minderwertigkeiten ) to various chronic conditions and character disorders, and his work would influence
5940-465: The idea of child crimes was a new phenomenon. A controversy about nature vs nurture arose as psychiatric explanations were proposed for juvenile delinquency, with the debate being whether inborn tendencies ("nature") are more or less important than environmental factors ("nurture") in explaining deviant behavior. Supporters of the “nature” side suggested that some people are born evil or with malicious tendencies. The idea that nature prevails over nurture
6030-535: The idea of nature taking effect when he quotes that "some people are just born evil", when discussing Denker with Christine. Psychologist Robert D. Hare , who argues that the evidence suggests psychopathy is an inborn trait, discusses The Bad Seed in his 1993 non-fiction book Without Conscience . A lengthy quote from the novel opens Hare's book, describing in March's words how most decent individuals are not by nature suspicious and thus unable to understand or anticipate
6120-441: The idea that her daughter might be the one behind all these tragedies, Christine begins investigating and discovers she was actually adopted by her own parents: her birth mother, Bessie Denker, was a notorious serial killer who died in the electric chair . As her mental state deteriorates, Christine begins writing letters to her husband discussing Rhoda, blaming herself for passing the “bad seed” gene to their daughter. She never mails
6210-533: The initial diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality reaction/disturbance in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), as did American psychologist George E. Partridge . The DSM and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) subsequently introduced the diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and dissocial personality disorder (DPD) respectively, stating that these diagnoses have been referred to (or include what
6300-494: The interpersonal/affective features and the deficits in emotional processing characteristic of adults with psychopathy. Proponents of different types/dimensions of psychopathy have seen this type as possibly corresponding to adult secondary psychopathy and increased disinhibition in the triarchic model. The DSM-5 includes a specifier for those with conduct disorder who also display a callous, unemotional interpersonal style across multiple settings and relationships. The specifier
6390-508: The later conception of the personality disorder. The term psychopathic came to be used to describe a diverse range of dysfunctional or antisocial behavior and mental and sexual deviances, including at the time homosexuality . It was often used to imply an underlying "constitutional" or genetic origin. Disparate early descriptions likely set the stage for modern controversies about the definition of psychopathy. An influential figure in shaping modern American conceptualizations of psychopathy
6480-488: The letters out of fear someone will read them and call the authorities. The only other adult aware of Rhoda’s true nature is Leroy Jessup, the maintenance man who works and lives at the Penmarks’ apartment complex, who relentlessly teases the girl regarding Claude’s death. She’s indifferent to his teasing until Leroy insinuates Rhoda must have used her cleated shoes to beat Claude, explaining the crescent-shaped marks left on
6570-442: The more severe mental disturbances and then specifically to mental states or disorders characterized by hallucinations , delusions or in some other sense markedly out of touch with reality . The slang term psycho has been traced to a shortening of the adjective psychopathic from 1936, and from 1942 as a shortening of the noun psychopath , but it is also used as shorthand for psychotic or crazed. The media usually uses
6660-512: The psychology literature. Furthermore, the DSM-5 introduced the dimensional model of personality disorders in Section III, which includes a specifier for psychopathic traits. According to the DSM, psychopathy is not a standalone diagnosis, but the authors attempted to measure "psychopathic traits" via a specifier. In one study, the "Psychopathic Features Specifier" has been modeled on Factor 1 of
6750-519: The same as non-psychopaths. Studies that compared judgments of personal moral transgressions versus judgments of breaking conventional rules or laws found that psychopaths rated them as equally severe, whereas non-psychopaths rated the rule-breaking as less severe. A study comparing judgments of whether personal or impersonal harm would be endorsed in order to achieve the rationally maximum ( utilitarian ) amount of welfare found no significant differences between subjects high and low in psychopathy. However,
6840-594: The study of disease since 1610, and psychopathology has meant the study of mental disorder in general since 1847. A sense of "a subject of pathology, morbid, excessive" is attested from 1845, including the phrase pathological liar from 1891 in the medical literature). The term psychopathy initially had a very general meaning referring to all sorts of mental disorders and social aberrations, popularised from 1891 in Germany by Koch's concept of "psychopathic inferiority" ( psychopathische Minderwertigkeiten ). Some medical dictionaries still define psychopathy in both
6930-513: The term psychopath to designate any criminal whose offenses are particularly abhorrent and unnatural, but that is not its original or general psychiatric meaning. The word element socio - has been commonly used in compound words since around 1880. The term sociopathy may have been first introduced in 1909 in Germany by biological psychiatrist Karl Birnbaum and in 1930 in the US by educational psychologist George E. Partridge , as an alternative to
7020-556: The three outcomes. Individual studies give similar results for adult offenders, forensic psychiatric samples, community samples, and youth. The PCL-R is poorer at predicting sexual re-offending. This small to moderate effect appears to be due largely to the scale items that assess impulsive behaviors and past criminal history, which are well-established but very general risk factors. The aspects of core personality often held to be distinctively psychopathic generally show little or no predictive link to crime by themselves. For example, Factor 1 of
7110-653: The top 5% highest psychopathy scores at age 13, less than one third (29%) were classified as psychopathic at age 24. Some recent studies have also found poorer ability at predicting long-term, adult offending. Conduct disorder is diagnosed based on a prolonged pattern of antisocial behavior in childhood and/or adolescence, and may be seen as a precursor to ASPD. Some researchers have speculated that there are two subtypes of conduct disorder which mark dual developmental pathways to adult psychopathy. The DSM allows differentiating between childhood onset before age 10 and adolescent onset at age 10 and later. Childhood onset
7200-490: The two terms may be used with different meanings that reflect the user's views on its origins and determinants. Hare contended that the term sociopathy is preferred by those who see the causes as due to social factors and early environment, and the term psychopathy is preferred by those who believe that there are psychological, biological, and genetic factors involved in addition to environmental factors. Hare also provides his own definitions: he describes psychopathy as lacking
7290-732: The two-factor model of the PCL-R, studies which separate Factor 1 into interpersonal and affective facets, more regularly show modest associations between Facet 1 and low anxiety, boldness and fearless dominance (especially items assessing glibness/charm and grandiosity). When both psychopathy and low anxiety/boldness are measured using interviews, both interpersonal and affective facets are both associated with fearlessness and lack of internalizing disorders. The importance of low anxiety/fearlessness to psychopathy has historically been underscored through behavioral and physiological studies showing diminished responses to threatening stimuli (interpersonal and affective facets both contributing). However, it
7380-503: The type of intelligence assessment (e.g. verbal, creative, practical, analytical). A large body of research suggests that psychopathy is associated with atypical responses to distress cues from other people, more precisely an impaired emotional empathy in the recognition of, and response to, facial expressions , body gestures and vocal tones of fear , sadness , pain and happiness . This impaired recognition and reduced autonomic responsiveness might be partly accounted for by
7470-464: The unsent letters, Christine shoots herself in the head . The gunshot is heard by a neighbor, who breaks into the apartment and saves Rhoda. Christine dies in the hospital while a heartbroken Kenneth returns home. With all evidence of her actions destroyed, Rhoda is free to kill again. In the decade the novel was published, juvenile delinquency began to be far more common, or at least more extensively reported and documented. Compared to earlier history,
7560-455: The year the award was given for books published in the prior year. Thus, the award year 1950 is for books published in 1949. For 1980 to 1983 this list covers the paired "Fiction (hardcover)" and "Fiction (paperback)" awards in that order. Hard and paper editions were distinguished only in these four years; none of the paperback winners were original ; in their first editions all had been losing finalists in 1979 or 1981. From 1980 to 1985 there
7650-779: Was American psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley . In his classic monograph, The Mask of Sanity (1941), Cleckley drew on a small series of vivid case studies of psychiatric patients at a Veterans Administration hospital in Georgia to provide a description for psychopathy. Cleckley used the metaphor of the "mask" to refer to the tendency of psychopaths to appear confident, personable, and well-adjusted compared to most psychiatric patients, while revealing underlying pathology through their actions over time. Cleckley formulated sixteen criteria for psychopathy. The Scottish psychiatrist David Henderson had also been influential in Europe from 1939 in narrowing
7740-583: Was also one award for first novel or first work of fiction and in 1980 there were five more awards for mystery, western, and science fiction. None of those are covered here. 1983 entries were published during 1982; winners in 27 categories were announced April 13 and privately celebrated April 28, 1983. 1984 entries for the "revamped" awards in three categories were published November 1983 to October 1984; eleven finalists were announced October 17. Winners were announced and celebrated November 15, 1984. The National Book Awards for 1935 to 1940 annually recognized
7830-461: Was deemed accidental, he had unexplainable crescent-shaped marks imprinted on his face. Christine learns that, before his death, Rhoda quarreled with the boy over a medal award for perfect penmanship that he won, but which Rhoda believed she deserved. Rhoda’s chilling indifference to the boy’s death causes Christine to reevaluate troubling incidents from the past, such as the mysterious deaths of her pet dog and Rhoda’s elderly babysitter. Disturbed by
7920-498: Was not always egocentric, callously disregarding of feelings or lacking impulse control, and there is no proof he could not learn from mistakes. Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets. Completely lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they selfishly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without
8010-636: Was related to more violent and non-violent offences but not more sexual offences. For child molesters , psychopathy was associated with more offences. A study on the relationship between psychopathy scores and types of aggression in a sample of sexual murderers, in which 84.2% of the sample had PCL-R scores above 20 and 47.4% above 30, found that 82.4% of those with scores above 30 had engaged in sadistic violence (defined as enjoyment indicated by self-report or evidence) compared to 52.6% of those with scores below 30, and total PCL-R and Factor 1 scores correlated significantly with sadistic violence. Despite this, it
8100-490: Was revised in 1991 (PCL-R), and is the most widely used measure of psychopathy. There are also several self-report tests, with the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) used more often among these in contemporary adult research. Famous individuals have sometimes been diagnosed, albeit at a distance, as psychopaths. As one example out of many possible from history, in a 1972 version of
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