ASPD & Psychopathy A Part of Human Evolution Research

ASPD & Psychopathy A Part of Human Evolution
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ASPD & Psychopathy A Part of Human Evolution
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a malfunction of the human body that is associated with long-term patterns of disregard for the rights of other people and always crossing the line resulting in a frequent violation of the rights. People with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) have always lacked the feeling of empathy towards other people and in most cases, do not see a problem in breaking the law or infringing others’ rights as long as their needs are met. The disorder develops from childhood all through to adulthood of an individual’s life. In popular cultures, ASPD is referred to as psychopathy or sociopathy although the names are not professionally recognized. People with the disorder due to the lack of empathy tend to be cynical, callous and contemptuous of the feelings, sufferings and the rights of others (Mendoza, 2014). Traditionally, superficial charms, lack of empathy and undermined self-appraisal are common features that define psychopathy with the individuals found to be exploitative and irresponsible in their sexual relationships. The enduring pattern common among psychopaths are seen mostly in cognition or impulse control; the patterns are inflexible across a wide range of social and personal situations. The disorder conventionally results in significant distress in sociality, work or other aspects of human life. The diagnosis of the disorder can only be made when the patterns are at their optimum levels; when an individual is over fifteen years. The common symptoms include the failure to conform to the societal ethics as indicated by frequent arrests (Kantor, 2006). The second symptom is deceitfulness as seen by frequent lying and use of aliases or conning others for personal gain. The other characteristics include the failure to plan ahead, irritability and aggressions, reckless disregard, consistent irresponsibility and lack of remorse (McCallum, 2001). The essay seeks to confirm that ASPD and psychopathy are products of evolution, which allow individuals in hostile (both physical and mental) environments a way to cope with their surroundings.
Evolutionary Perspective of ASPD and Psychopathy
ASPD and psychopathy are believed to be developmental disorders an implication that during its normal course of development, the human brain experiences biochemical change and stress which may not be favorable for proper neurological growth. In behavioral psychology, it is believed that serious abuses on a child are the greatest contributors behind the disorders. On the other side, neuroscience believes that the disorders are as a result of improper development of some regions of the brain (MacDonald, 2005).
The environment that an organism exists is essential in the development process due to its role in the transfer of genetic characteristics from one generation to another. In an environment that has particular genes which favor the creation of an organism, then there will be a high tendency of the genes to be reproduced and transferred to the following generations. In other scenarios, the genes support certain behavior within the habitat that enhances reproductive success and in turn allowing passage of the genes (Ferguson C. , 2010). Assuming that a child’s behavior is as a result of abuse and trauma, then the environment will be the contributor and not only a selecting factor but also a causal agent. However, it is not all children that are exposed to abuse and trauma that develop ASPD and psychopathy probably due to the genetic connection.
A child that has particular alleles, then the effect of the environment could either be promoted or hampered. From science, it is evident that changes in the genetic components for monoamine oxidase have long term results on violent character; where MAO is the enzyme responsible for breaking down monoamines that include serotonin among other neurotransmitters (Colman, 2007). The variations of particular genetic components of SNAP proteins have been found to contribute to psychopathy and ASPD and also involved in synaptic vessels docking during neurotransmission.
An environment that presents stress to an individual theoretically alters the rate of transcription by changing the tagging that occurs on promoter regions of specific genes; a phenomenon referred to as epigenetics characterized by modification of mRNA molecules and other histone groups by the changes in the underlying DNA environment. The outcome of the interactions is a higher or lower value of genetic proteins like MAO which in return result to ASPD or psychopathic behaviors (Ferguson C. , 2010). Above all, stressful environments affect the protein levels in the human body, but not the structural uniqueness. Research on rodents, which are believed to have similar genetic components to humans showed that stress hampers neurogenesis and could be the reason why in psychopaths, there is a lack of grey matter in the frontal lobe or amygdalar abnormalities (MacDonald, 2005). Although various research has been undertaken, none has been able to successfully find a relation between the neural abnormalities that are seen in psychopaths in their behaviors, although speculations are easy to make considering the role played by frontal lobe and amygdala in the processing of fear or morality.
Psychopathic Evolution and Adaptation
The objective of any evolutionary characteristic is always to maximize the chances of survival of a particular species. Looking at the animal kingdom, ants live in societies that are organized on a caste system whereby ants with different responsibilities differ physiologically from the others. The differences eliminate the element of selfishness since each ant depends on the other for survival; aspect scientists believe that humans would not survive if they were an altruistic society (Colman, 2007). Human beings have always been known to set personal goals with the aim of surviving, although the means of achieving the goals are selfishness and the lack of appreciation towards other people. For an individual to survive, the person must be strong both physically and mentally depending on the environment. The process of evolution in most cases is slow but gradual, resulting in a manner that enhances survival of a species.
From evolution, human behaviors are determined by genetic predispositions although they are subject to change due to the environmental impacts. The aspect of inherited genetic predisposition is the core basis for psychopathy; where psychopathic individuals are always characterized by a lack of remorse and guilt, cunning and resourceful and a selfish character that is aimed at personal satisfaction. The number of psychopaths that exist in a society is difficult to ascertain considering that they rarely seek assistance voluntarily, although the majority of those diagnosed with the disorder are in prisons (Glenn, 2011). Theoretically, psychopaths can be stated to have evolved from normal human beings and achieved better characteristics for survival through evolution, a probable reason why there has been a rising number of psychopaths in the society.
Studies show that there is a high correlation of psychopathy in monozygotic twins, and slightly lower in dizygotic twins. The research also indicates that adopted children whose biological parents were psychopaths exhibited higher rates of mental disorders compared to the children of the adoptive parents, a confirmation that psychopathy is a genetic factor and not a result of the environment. However, genetic predisposition of the disorder indicates that its growth can be changed to the better through good parental care, although in other cases may result in exacerbation with predisposed individuals (Black, 2013). Considering the cases of a criminally adoptive parent, there will be minimal chances that the parent will influence the character of the child, although the effects will be adverse if the biological parents were criminals.
Psychopaths are found to be well designed and prepared to execute their deceptive capabilities as a product of evolutionary stresses through which a complex interaction with the environment and the hereditary factors exist leading to the person leading a life full of deception and manipulation. This is an implication of the effects of the environment on psychopathic development. Competitively disadvantaged people have been found to employ cheating strategies such as rape or theft in order to meet their sexual and material needs respectively (Black, 2013). The cheating strategies are commonly used by psychopaths in their daily lives and have been particularly found to successfully work for them more so in finding mates and re...