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Summary: A Social Disorder
Review: A Social Disorder Wolman explores the foundations of antisocial behavior: pathological narcissism, self-indulgent culture, and promiscuous parenting. In an age of political correctness and moral relativism, the author does not hesitate to point to ethical upbringing as the solution. He traces the psychodynamics of deviant behavior back to childhood abuse and trauma - though he regrettably emphasizes nurture almost to the exclusion of nature. The book could use editing - but it is a worthwhile contribution to the topic. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited".
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Summary: A lucid and comprehensive study of deviant behavior!
Review: Antisocial behavior is an extraordinarily well-written book. It reveals the psychological nature of the psychopaths. Moreover, Wolman makes an attempt to explain what factors give rise to antisocial behavior. Admittedly, he does this very well. Psychopaths are described as being indifferent, cunning, immoral, impulsive and insidious individuals. What is more, they usually show no signs of remorse for their gruesome deeds. The implication here is that they totally lack compassion for their fellow beings. Wolman unveils that psychopaths are narcissistic individuals; they have a tendency to think that they are entitled to other people's things and that they deserve to be loved. The above mentioned traits are thought to be characteristic of highly maladaptive individuals. However, Wolman also points to environmental determinants as possible causes of deviant behavior. Parents and teachers can sometimes contribute to the rise of antisocial and sociopathic behavior. Wolman emphasizes that hyper-permissive parents do not teach their children the importance of morality and consequently their children will fail to distinguish right from wrong. According to Wolman, the primary purpose of morality is to inhibit inborn instincts and impulses. Furthermore, the way that parents rear their children can be crucial. Parental rejection can adversely affect their children's self-confidence and self-reliance. Undeniably, these children will feel neglected and unwanted if their parents are not affectionate and considerate. Needless to say, abusive parents foster deviant behavior in myriad ways. Children of abusive parents are usually very aggressive, hostile and tend to hate their parents. These children cannot however behave aggressively toward their parents as they fear that they might retaliate. Instead, they behave aggressively toward weak people who are unable to fight back. In conclusion, I highly recommend this book to all students of psychology. It is very interesting and informative.
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Summary: Insightful, Yet Down-To-Earth!
Review: Dr. Wolman clearly is an expert at his craft. This book is packed full of valuable information. For the forensic professional it's a great "refresher," while at the same time the ordinary guy or gal can also certainly get something worth while (and understandable) out of reading it. The author makes a multitude of excellent points, such as when he concludes by writing; "Democracy means equal rights for all. Sociopaths demand all rights for themselves." (The Reviewer is the author of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, which is also on Amazon.com.)
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Summary: Best book on psychopathy I've read yet
Review: Dr. Wolman hits the nail on the head.
He is truly right when he says that declining morals and apathy are a few reasons why psychopaths (sociopaths/antisocials) are more and more prevalent in our society and the world in general. But the question is, how did it come to be this way?
Here is Wolman's basic theory: He ascribes this mostly due to what he calls our "Teenage Culture." Yes, the Teenage Culture, a relatively new phenomena (there was a time when children were expected to be "young adults") is what is creating a society of selfish, immature individuals, whether they're teenagers, young adults, or worse, 40 and 50 year olds who just want to "feel good" and live it up. (While there is nothing wrong with feeling "good" per se, what Wolman is describing is a total preoccupation with hedonism and greed, which contributes to our society being the most psychopathic on the planet).
This book will probably not be very popular, since there are so many selfish people in our society who only care about their net profits, their flashy cars, and sexual conquests, among other things of that nature, so I don't expect it to get a lot of good reviews. I think what we do need in our society though, is a sense of balance. We've become too wrapped up in our self-centred capitalist society. The only cure for a sociopathic society is to get rid of this "Teenage Culture" and for adults to behave like the mature adults they should be and show a good example. This includes giving our children a better example regarding the things we value in life. True happiness and social harmony, not Hummers and "sexual enhancement aids."
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Summary: Best book on psychopathy I've read yet
Review: Most people don't like this book I've found, because Dr. Wolman tells it like it is. He is truly right when he says that declining morals and apathy are a few reasons why psychopaths (sociopaths/antisocials) are more and more prevalent in our society and the world in general. Sure, perhaps some psychopaths are born, not made, but the majority it seems, ARE made by the society they live in. I recommended this book to all of my friends (who have all been victimised by psychopaths) and they all really liked what Dr. Wolman had to say.
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Summary: Psychology and the rise of the sociopath.
Review: The rise in sociopathic behavior among adults and children is troublesome, and this title by a leading psychologist discusses the trends, incidence and treatment of sociopathic antisocial attitudes. This not only explains the problem, it draws important correlations between causes and solutions which include social as well as personal approaches.
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Summary: Don't believe the title of this book
Review: This book does not live up to its title. The author presents a rambling and rather pointless meander explaining bad behavior in terms of societal breakdown. He spends half of his time lamenting the destruction of common moral and ethical traditions in American society. He spends the other half implying that a rise in the number of sociopathic individuals is responsible for the moral breakdown, while at the same time suggesting the inverse hypothesis that the moral breakdown is responsible for the rise in the population of sociopaths. At no time does he present any statistical evidence for the truth of his assertions. The book at times resembles more of a rant on sociology than a scholarly work on psychology. (I am a political conservative and for the most part agree with his assessment of social mores, but this type of evaluation does not belong in a book ostensibly about psychopathy, except as an aside.) He does not define his terms. He sprays medical terminology throughout the text implying that the reader is supposed to know the meaning without so much as a contextual reference to their meaning. The author tosses out these words like a namedropper at a party. This sentence is typical; "The phylogenic cultural and the ontogenetic individual maturation are intrinsically interlocked with inhibitions." I'm a medical professional and know the meaning of ontology and phylogeny, but I really do not see how they apply to his subject. He seems more interested in impressing the reader with his vocabulary than in educating them. There is no subjective structure to the book. Mental illnesses, as well as personality disorders (there is a difference) can be presented in an objective, orderly fashion. Each entity should be defined and given a consistent discussion of etiology (cause), distribution, treatment, and prognosis (likelihood of cure). This author does not do this. He presents his material in a haphazard fashion, interspersed with personal anecdotes that often seem to have nothing to do with the disease he is discussing. This author is a Freudian psychoanalyst and assumes Freudian (societal) causes for psychopathy. Other modern authors (I read a lot of them) seem to agree that the predisposition for this personality disorder is congenital (occurring at or before birth), but that the expression of the disorder is modified by early environmental factors. I believe that this author is out of touch with more modern assessments in the field. If you want a well written, orderly discussion of psychopathy, purchase "Without Conscience" by Robert D. Hare, PhD, or "Bad Boys, Bad Men" by Donald W. Black, M.D., which is particularly good if you are actualy in the throes of dealing with a problem individual.
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