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Old 07-11-2008, 05:57 PM   #286
Ellis Amdur
 
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Location: Seattle
Join Date: May 2003
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Re: Very Disturbing news about Clint George

"seems to fall..." in other words, looks like. I want to be clear that I am not equating OCD - the clinical dx - with the compulsive behaviors of some sexual predators." However, I would recommend the work of Anna Salter in this area. Listed on the book list on my website.
I, on the other hand, LOVE the term psychopath, because the equivocations of Anti-social personality disorder do not do justice whatsoever to the behaviors of the individuals. The APA is at least a decade behind current research. It is my understanding that the next version of the DSM will have a psychopathic subset to anti-social personality disorder (this latter term is, in essence, a criminal - whereas the psychopath, be they the serial killer or the corporate raider like Ken Lay, is something quite different).

I'm on the road, so don't have my library close at hand. But the best work on psychopaths is that of Robert Hare. Hare is able to show, thru a fascinating exam with a PET scan a brain organization in children as young as four years old that is uniquely psychopathic (in short, the individual remains in the visual cortex, no matter how violent or pathological the images they are exposed to, whereas the non-psychopath shifts to limbic system reactivity when exposes to horrible images).
The terms psychopath and sociopath reflect a debate of nature vs. nurture, where the reality is that it is both. So the terms, for most, are synonymous. The controversial Lykken, however, uses psychopath for those who seem born that way, and sociopath for those primarily a product of a pathological culture/environment.
P.S. This is a brief response to your questions. The thread could easily get hijacked - so if you would like more discussion in this vein, feel free to PM

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