Maya Grove Brian Hamlett AP Psychology. P5 May 19, 2023 American Psycho Hollywood has attempted to depict psychopaths through documentaries, horror movies, and even comedies, yet they often blur the lines between different psychological disorders and misrepresent their characters. However, this did not hinder the success of the famous “cult classic” American Psycho. Patrick Bateman, the main character, is adored by men and women around the country for being a complex character, representing the success everyone hopes for, and acting out his passions in a satirical manner. Throughout the film, Bateman narrates his daily life as he switches from an investment banker on Wall Street during the day to a crazed serial killer during the night. …show more content…
Sociopathy. Under the umbrella of Antisocial Personality Disorder there are different subcategories such as a psychopath or sociopath, this is an important distinction to make when considering treatment and determining the next actions of the main character. “A sociopath is a person with a personality disorder that is marked by traits of impulsivity, risk-taking, and violence. A psychopath is a person who has an antisocial personality disorder characterized by a lack of regard for the rights and feelings of others, controlled and manipulative behavior, the absence of shame, and an inability to form emotional relationships” (Ruhl). Bateman conveys traits from both of these categories, yet one cannot be both a psychopath and a sociopath. Some may argue Bateman is neither because of his connection with his secretary Jean and his inability to kill her. In addition to this, his helplessness and his being unable to remain in character when speaking to the private investigator. When being questioned, Bateman is freaking out, scared, and on the verge of passing out. These traits don’t exactly represent a psychopath or sociopath, but they do make for a good movie. However, it is clear that Bateman suffers from ASPD, so which is he? Sociopaths are known to have emotions, but they are shallow and fleeting, they can establish some close attachments, and are constantly lying (Ruhl). Psychopaths pretend to …show more content…
"Personality Disorders." Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th, ed. American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013. DSM-V, https://dsm-psychiatryonline-org.ruby.uhv.edu/doi/full/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm05. Accessed 11 November 2020. Harris, Grant T., et al. “The Construct of Psychopathy.” Crime and Justice, vol. 28, 2001, pp. 197–264. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1147675. Accessed 15 May 2023. Harron, Mary, director. American Psycho. Lionsgate Films , 2000. “Narcissistic Personality Disorder.” Mayo Clinic, 6 Apr. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662. Ruhl, Charlotte, and Charlotte RuhlMarketing Associate AnalystB.A. “How Sociopaths Are Different from Psychopaths.” Simply Psychology, 9 May 2023, www.simplypsychology.org/psychopathy-vs-sociopathy.html. “Symptoms and Causes.” Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353928?p=1. Accessed 15 May
Patrick Bateman is a serial killer from the book American Psycho, written by Easton Ellis. Bateman kills for the adrenaline, as if it’s a high for him, because he’s very into drugs. Whenever he gets the opportunity, he kills and the individuals he chooses are the ones who he discriminates against. He never plans ahead of time because it doesn’t give him the same feeling. The city he lives in gives him a lot of opportunities to catch an individual that he doesn’t agree with their way of living.
In her memoir, Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight, M.E. Thomas presents an objective view on the daily functions of a person diagnosed with an antisocial personality with the aid of modern research as well as her own experiences with her disorder. By utilizing anecdotal evidence as well as varied tone, Thomas effectively portrays an accurate representation of the life of a sociopath. Much of Thomas’s evidence is presented in the form of her experiential stories.
Sara Whobrey Professor McCrady English 102 24 January, 2023 The Psychopathy Behind the Columbine Killer, Eric Harris Psychopaths are people who are born unable to feel a strong emotion of humans, empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and feel for others and their feelings. Lack of empathy is only one trait of a psychopath. According to Crego and Widiger, the trait most attributed to psychopathy are antagonism, manipulativeness, dishonesty, and callousness. (Crego and Widiger 1.)
A psychopath is a type of personality trait with certain characteristics. Psychopaths also lack empathy, impulse control, and lie often. Psychosis is a complete mental breakdown. If a person is in psychosis, they have lost the ability to tell the difference between reality and fiction. Many mental health conditions can lead to psychosis including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
The Sociopath Next Door consists of an introduction chapter and then twelve additional chapters. The introduction is all about the reader trying to imagine themselves as being a sociopath by giving the reader the symptoms and asking them what they would do in certain situations. Symptoms included in the introduction are lack of a conscience, no feelings of guilt or remorse, no concern for the well-being of others, being selfish, harmful, glib, superficial charm, manipulative, and impulsive (Stout, 2005). The author goes on to say that the ailment of missing a conscience is referred to as sociopathy which is also known as psychopathy. Stout (2005) then compares sociopathy to antisocial personality disorder as defined by the DSM IV.
I found this test interesting. This test measures self-report, which is gathering information about people by asking them questions about a sample of their behavior. This test was suppose to measure specific sorts of psychological difficulties, but it predicts a variety of other behaviors. It can measure if college students will marry within ten years of graduating. It can also measure if a police officer will use his weapon (p. 410).
Psychopath and sociopath are two terms classified as antisocial personality disorders in the world of psychology. Although many people have heard of these two terms, quite often people do not know what sets them apart from one another. A sociopath is defined as a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience. The definition of psychopath is similar in being a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior. By looking at the definitions, these personality disorders appear very similar; however, there are specific attributes that are more specific to one of the two.
Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal, MedCrave Publishing, 25 Mar. 2019, Lovering, Cathy. “What Are the Causes of Antisocial Personality Disorder?” Psych Central, Psych Central, 23 Dec. 2021, https://psychcentral.com/disorders/antisocial-personality-disorder/antisocial-personality-disorder-causes. Smith, Jamie. “Antisocial Personality Disorder (Sociopathy): Symptoms and Outlook.”
When it comes to Psycho, written by Robert Bloch, there is a degree of misrepresentation, as the story is yet another example of using a mental health condition as a plot device. However, it also utilizes it as a form of explanation, even justification, for the character’s actions. Psycho tells the story of Norman Bates, who is a seemingly incompetent man living with his mother, Norma Bates, and running the Bates Motel. He is portrayed as nervous, reclusive, and
However, film critic, Robin Wood, argues that ‘since Psycho, the Hollywood cinema has implicitly recognised horror as both American and familial’ he then goes on to connect this with Psycho by claiming that it is an “innovative and influential film because it supposedly presents its horror not as the produce of forces outside American society, bit a product of the patriarchal family which is the fundamental institution of American society” he goes on to discuss how our civilisation either represses or oppresses (Skal, 1994). Woods claim then suggests that in Psycho, it is the repressions and tensions within the normal American family which produces the monster, not some alien force which was seen and suggested throughout the 1950 horror films. At the beginning of the 60’s, feminisation was regarded as castration not humanization. In “Psycho” (1960) it is claimed that the film presents conservative “moral lessons about gender roles of that the strong male is healthy and normal and the sensitive male is a disturbed figure who suffers from gener confusion” (Skal, 1994). In this section of this chapter I will look closely at how “Psycho” (1960) has layers of non-hetro-conforming and gender-non conforming themes through the use of Norman Bates whose gender identitiy is portrayed as being somewhere between male and female
A prime example of a forensic psychology concept, psychopathy, is a television series called "Dexter". Throughout the whole show, but specifically season two episode eleven, titled "Left Turn Ahead", Dexter Morgan, the show's protagonist, represents the nature of psychopathy. Psychopathy is defined as a neuropsychiatric disorder marked by deficient emotional responses, lack of empathy, and poor behavioral controls, commonly resulting in persistent antisocial deviance and criminal behavior. In this specific episode, the main character begins to worry that his adoptive sister was showing psychopathic tendencies that may have been brought out by him.
The typical sociopath is described as feeling close to no emotions, being smart, do not care, and are “violent, and impulsive.” Even if this is true we should not generalize everybody with antisocial personality disorder as violent murderers who enjoy committing crimes. The truth is completely opposite to this. The typical person with an anti-social personality disorder is usually a fully
Introduction I. Look around this school and think about exactly how many students are here daily. How would you feel if I told you that one out of every twenty five people are sociopaths(Pratt 2006).The fact of the matter is that not everyone who is a sociopath is a serial killer but oddly enough it has been proven that all serial killers are sociopaths. II. I have chosen serial killers that I found intriguing and that I thought not many people would know a lot about.
Exploitation and intimidation of others to achieve personal goals is considered greed and inhuman acts. All the characters in the novel American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, demonstrate the theme of greed at one point. The constant desires for money and power are shown through Patrick Bateman’s power dominance of women during sexual intercourse. Although he paid the women money, but he forced them to the point that it is abuse. This greed is especially shown as he is trying obtain power through his rape of women.
A Psychological Analysis of Forrest Gump. The movie Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) tells a story of a simple man and his journey through life. Forrest Gump’s story takes place during a time of historical significance in our country, The United States of America. His story began in the 1950’s, and ran through the 1970’s.