Essay Available:
Pages:
1 pages/≈275 words
Sources:
2
Style:
APA
Subject:
Psychology
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 4.86
Topic:
Mental Illness and Psychopathy
Essay Instructions:
Consider mental illness and psychopathy as spectrums. Is it possible to have mental disorders and not be mentally ill? Is it possible to have some of the characteristics of a psychopath without being a true psychopath? The terminology used to describe offenders has significant influence on their sentencing, treatment, and potential community reintegration. As forensic psychology professionals, it is imperative that you learn to avoid stereotypes and hyperbole and focus on the facts of each case, the offenders, and their victim-offender relationships.
Being able to differentiate between mental illness and psychopathy is a fundamental skill for forensic psychology professionals. It is easy to focus solely on the behavior of an individual, especially in cases of extremely violent behavior, and deem them to be crazy. However, although the behavior may indeed be crazy, the individual may not meet the legal standard to be considered insane.
For this Discussion, you will evaluate case studies to determine the Hare scale level of psychopathy of the offenders.
Post the following:
A description of the two case studies you selected from The Mask of Sanity
A comparison of the two cases, highlighting their similarities and differences
An explanation of which subject has the higher level of psychopathy based on the Hare’s scale
A numerical score for each subject based on the Hare’s scale and an explanation about your rating for each subject
Note: Your post should be substantial (1 paragraph or more for each bullet point above), supported with scholarly evidence from your research and/or the Learning Resources, and properly cited using APA style.
Essay Sample Content Preview:
Mental Illness and Psychopathy
Student’s Name
Institution of Affiliation
Course
Instructor
Date
Description of the Two Case Studies
Much of the information on real-life psychopaths can be found in Hervey Cleckley's book entitled “The Mask of Sanity." Such case examples include "Max" and "Roberta. " Max is a friendly but highly untruthful egoistic who uses all means to ascertain the outcome that is beneficial to him. Interpersonal relationships with people are not usually meaningful; they are simply means to an end for him. Most importantly, for Max, there is no evidence of any cognitive or affective characteristics generally ascribed to mental illnesses such as Schizophrenia or bipolar conditions such as hallucinations or illusions. That, however, cannot be achieved as he exhibits the traits typical for a personality disorder. On the other hand, Roberta is portrayed as the complete opposite; Roberta is a character who is entirely rebellious. While Max mind-games as a psychopath and maneuvers around people without guile, Roberta behaves as a spontaneous and loud psychopath. She acts aggressively and offends any social conduct. Among others, she has been involved in acts of violence like assault, arson, and other crimes, resulting in her record as a criminal.
Comparison of the Case Studies
Many traits associated with psychopathic personalities are also seen in both Max and Roberta to an extent; these include being charming, lacking empathy, being manipulative as well as being a violating of others' rights. However, how they display these traits is very different. Max is logical in his actions and is very much a planner in his thought process. It is a hard-core psychopathy more subtle, where the only way he knows how to ...
Get the Whole Paper!
Not exactly what you need?
Do you need a custom essay? Order right now: