اختلالات فکری و روانی و پرخاشگری ابزاری: تکاملی، عصبی بیولوژیکی و دیدگاه های حقوقی

In the study of aggression, psychopathy represents a disorder that is of particular interest because it often involves aggression which is premeditated, emotionless, and instrumental in nature; this is especially true for more serious types of offenses. Such instrumental aggression is aimed at achieving a goal (e.g., to obtain resources such as money, or to gain status). Unlike the primarily reactive aggression observed in other disorders, psychopaths appear to engage in aggressive acts for the purpose of benefiting themselves. This is especially interesting in light of arguments that psychopathy may represent an alternative life-history strategy that is evolutionarily adaptive; behaviors such as aggression, risk-taking, manipulation, and promiscuous sexual behavior observed in psychopathy may be means by which psychopaths gain advantage over others. Recent neurobiological research supports the idea that abnormalities in brain regions key to emotion and morality may allow psychopaths to pursue such a strategy—psychopaths may not experience the social emotions such as empathy, guilt, and remorse that typically discourage instrumentally aggressive acts, and may even experience pleasure when committing these acts. Findings from brain imaging studies of psychopaths may have important implications for the law.

Psychopathy is a disorder involving a pronounced lack of guilt, remorse, and empathy (Hare, 2003). Psychopaths are said to be impervious to the distress of others. They also lack fear of negative consequences of risky or criminal behavior and demonstrate insensitivity to punishment (Patrick, 1994). In addition, psychopaths are often described as superficially charming, glib, manipulative, conning, and grandiose (Cleckley, 1941); they are often able to take advantage of others because they first present as likeable and well-meaning. However, these individuals often display severe aggression and high rates of criminal recidivism (Hare, 2003), making the study of psychopathy an especially important issue for the criminal justice system.