From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Mon Oct 18 1999 - 10:27:49 MDT
"Clint O'Dell" <clintodell@hotmail.com> writes:
> Phil Osborn wrote:
> >The sociopath often develops a very high capacity for analyzing other
> >people's states of mind, in order to manipulate them, sometimes for what
> >they believe to be their benefit,
>
> Everyone does this. The sociopath is better capable of it because (s)he is
> more intellegent usualy. Aren't sociopaths usualy more intellegent than the
> average person?
I think Madame Ubiquitious answer shows that this is not the case; I
also found the following medline entry:
Title
Cognitive imbalance and antisocial personality characteristics.
Author
Snow M; Thurber S
Address
Department of Psychology, Boise State University, ID 83725, USA.
Source
J Clin Psychol, 1997 Jun, 53:4, 351-4
Abstract
A cognitive imbalance, in which intellectual functioning is
elevated in the performance area in comparison to verbal IQ, has been
posited as an antecedent condition in relation to antisocial
behaviors. The current investigation was based on the notion of a
developmental arrest in which verbal, analytical, controlling brain
processes (analogous to verbal IQ) fail to develop commensurately with
the more impulsive actions mediated by the motor areas of the cerebral
cortex (analogous to performance IQ). The simple verbal IQ performance
IQ discrepancy index used in prior studies was reformulated as a
causal theoretical model consisting of shared and unique performance
IQ variance. The participants were 325 adults including 141 prison
inmates. They were administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) and the Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) and Mania
(Ma) scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2
(MMPI-2). These were the manifest (measured) variables in the model
tested by means of structural equation modeling procedures. Several
statistical indices suggested an excellent model-data congruence.
Overall, Hannibal Lecters seem to be rare, most sociopaths are simply
rude losers.
As a neuroscientist, I immediately think "Aha! Frontal lobe
dysfunction!" when I read the descriptions of antisocial personality
disorder. Most likely they suffer from bad programming (due to
upbringing and/or biological causes) in the frontal systems of
foresight, impulse control and social intellince. Unfortunately it is
likely hard to fix.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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