Do you remember "Hannibal Lecter “? He might be the most famous psychopath from the fictional world," says Gullhaugen. "His character in the books and movies is an excellent illustration of the cold mask some have thought that psychopaths have. Because it is a mask; inside the head of the cannibal the serial killer were tenderness and pain, deep emotions and empathy. The word "psychopath" directly interpreted by our mind as various icons of modern culture. Not everyone would adjust to the pathology that concerns us, but in general, cinema, television and literature are full of fictional and real characters that provoke fascination, fear, curiosity and rejection at the same time. Why do they attract us so much? What is in their minds and in their way of acting that catch us in search of possible explanations and justifications for them? Psychopathy is included in the group of personality disorders. That is, a way of being not able to feel guilt or remorse for what is done and manipulation to achieve their own interests. What is psychopathy? The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) calls psychopathy Disocial Personality Disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) classifies it as an Antisocial Personality Disorder. In order to be diagnosed with the Antisocial Personality Disorder one must be · At least 18 years old, three or more of the following factors must also occur: · Failure to adapt to social norms regarding legal behavior. · Carry out acts that are grounds for detention. · Dishonesty: lying repeatedly, using aliases, cheating · Impulsivity or inability to plan for the future. · Persistent Irresponsibility. · Lack of regrets Sebastián López (2013) emphasizes that the diagnosis of Antisocial Disorder focuses on criminal behavioral aspects in his eagerness to be as objective as possible. The author states that "the elimination of internal traits such as: the lack of regrets, emotions of guilt and empathy, makes it impossible for health experts to differentiate non-psychopathic from psychopathic people within antisocial persons." Are they mentally ill? Something that happens frequently is to confuse psycho with psychotic. The main difference is that the former does not present hallucinations or other forms of irrational thinking and does not lose contact with reality at any time. What do they feel, what do they think? Cleckley established 16 criteria. In his list we find poverty of basic emotional reactions, inability to love, absence of nervousness, charming personality, lack of feelings of guilt and shame, use of lies and an impersonal sex life among others. Actually, there are two types: primary and secondary. ü The former are insensitive, without regrets, manipulators, have deceptive relationships with others and can demonstrate arrogance. If they use violence, it is usually as an instrument to obtain benefit. ü The secondary, have difficulty tolerating boredom, act without thinking about the consequences, are impulsive and violent. Studies regarding the empathic capacity of psychopaths have shown that they have no problem empathizing with the happiness of others, but with fear. They have difficulty sympathizing with others. There is no emotional reaction. Are there bad people by nature? There are several theories, and some suggest that the main cause has biological origin. The Low level of Fear is one of them. Researchers took as a reference the experimentation of fear in situations of harm / punishment and the response with fear of signs of damage / punishment. It was concluded that primary psychopaths are reckless. If the fear of harm or punishment is not experienced from an early age, there is no emotional experience and therefore, it is difficult to respond with fear of signs of threat or danger in the future. This is very important to form awareness, which is acquired through the experience of fear and socialization throughout our development. It is known that such people respond poorly to images of fear, pain and suffering in the brain (low activation of the Amygdala, responsible for the processing and storage of emotional reactions). In fact, studies by Yang, Raine, D. Phil and collaborators, pointed out that they have this significantly smaller brain structure. Therefore, psychopaths have a weak conscience supported by biological differences with the rest of the population. The main investigations resolved that they have great difficulty in acquiring new fears associated with social norms, that they have a low fear of punishment and its consequences, and that they have greater difficulty in acquiring the damage / punishment avoidance component so important in our conscience.
