Types Of Psychopaths: The Aggressive, The Destabilized And The Withdrawn
Today we talk about the three types of psychopaths If you still don’t know exactly what psychopathy is, we recommend that you take a look at the article “Psychopathy: what happens in the mind of the psychopath?” before you start reading.
Types of Psychopaths: the aggressive (primary), the destabilized and the withdrawn (secondary)
Psychopathy has long been and continues to be an enigma for psychiatry Due to a failure in the processing of feelings, individuals without morals emerge who often end up becoming middle-class and, apparently, normal criminals.
They represent a great challenge to understand due to the complexity involved in trying to delve into the motivations of someone who seems to feel nothing. Below we will describe the different types of psychopaths categorized by Lykken.
1. Primary psychopath
It is the one that best fits the definition of the term psychopath, which means “psychologically damaged.” His main feature is a deviation in his temperament that is very difficult to control since childhood. Despite how dedicated parents may be, they are not to blame for how complex it can be to deal with their offspring.
It is also worth mentioning that there are subjects that can be considered psychopaths and sociopaths at the same time, since in addition to having these temperamental characteristics from birth, they do not have good family support or a facilitating environment that allows them to channel their behavior. Therefore, their origin can be both humble and middle class.
Even though they can enjoy normal socialization, they suffer from an organic disorder that, when it manifests itself, unbalances them to the point of being considered less responsible for the antisocial behavior that they will incur during the duration of said episode.
Epileptic equivalents
Some brain injuries (tumors, for example) can cause abnormal and even antisocial behavior. David T. Lykken also suggests in this section the idea of a “short circuit” that would occur in the sex and aggressiveness mechanisms of the brain of these individuals. He proposes that “(…) the biographies of some serial killers begin with obtaining sexual pleasure when they tortured animals as children and clearly suggest the existence of a kind of short circuit between the motivational systems in the brain architecture” (p .63).
choleric type
It includes those who suffer outbursts of anger. Those who occupy the upper end of the normal distribution would be classified in relation to their predisposition to anger and its intensity. Despite venturing to give a taxonomy of psychopathy and its causes, the author recognizes how little is known about the relevance of individual differences in these types of issues, wondering if the anger experienced by people who get angry more ease is more intense, or if greater irascibility also causes a greater explosion of fury.
Hypersexuality
In the same way as with anger, there would be a tendency towards a more intense sexual appetite. But questions also arise as to whether the frequency of arousal predicts the maximum intensity of sexual appetite; or if the intensity of sexual arousal during intercourse will determine the number of orgasms needed to be satisfied. As with the members of the previous subgroup, those we would find here are also in situations of constant risk due to being at the upper peak of the normal distribution of sexual appetite and intensity.
They feel the need to satisfy illicit or morally reprehensible pleasures by engaging in risky actions. Various stress situations stimulate the secretion of endogenous opiates that help support pain and also contribute to experiencing the so-called “high.” In individuals with greater susceptibility, crimes (and especially violent ones), these endorphins only produce a pleasant state as there is no pain or discomfort to mitigate. Therefore it is easy to conclude that for them, “the crime itself is its reward” (p.65).
hysterical type
The basic characteristic here lies in the duality between indifference between the actions committed by these people and the remorse or anxiety that they may feel at another time. Despite being well socialized, a young person who thinks about doing something forbidden and feels discomfort when reflecting on the consequences, is also more vulnerable to being tempted, because he can repress this discomfort. However, this repressive action is prone to exhaustion, so in the periods in which it is not active, this type of psychopath will feel resentment and guilt for what he may have done.
3. Secondary psychopath
Similar to the primary ones in terms of impulsivity, aggressiveness and low socialization, but with a marked tendency to blame and withdraw According to the neurophysiological model of Fowles and Gray, impulsive and psychopathic behavior can be due to a poor ‘behavioral inhibition system’ (BIS) or an excessive activation in the ‘behavioral activation system’ (BAS).
The first case would lead to primary psychopathy, while the second to secondary psychopathy. The latter feel overwhelmed, stressed and are dissatisfied with themselves and their lives. In the same way as those in the other group, They carry out crimes motivated by their impulses but they differ in the remorse and subsequent stress they suffer, which can be even higher than that of ordinary people.
