The Antisocial Personalities

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing study of antisocial dysfunction
Review: David T. Lykken, in his highly absorbing and comprehensive exposition, attempts to define the various types of antisocial dysfunction. Although he also takes into account behaviourist and biologistic explanations of the origin of antisocial disorder (such as frontal-lobe brain disorder and the low Serotonin hypothesis), his main argument is that sociopathy is principally a result of inadequate parenting and poor socialisation. He justifies this assertion by quoting statistics which prove that the majority of fearless, aggressive, manipulative impulsive criminals with low I.Q. and little sense of commitment towards jobs, family or others -- (those who are responsible for raising America's crime rate) -- are mainly the result of being brought up in often single-parent households, or else reared by incompetent parents. This leads to delinquency in early youth, as the potential young offender finds no sense of discipline or authority at home, thereby gravitating towards dubious peer groups, such as gangs, who are usually presided upon by older, more mainipulative, though no less intelligent, gangleaders. Lykken also offers some engrossing insights on the possibility of a genetic component in fluencing psychopathic behaviour, leading him to devote several chapters on the hereditability of crime, a topic that has remained highly controversial in criminological circles since Lombroso. Though he denies the existence of a precise gene for "criminality", thus avoiding the untenable view that criminals consititute a fixed "type", he argues that genetics do indeed predispose certain individuals towards psychopathic and sociopathic activity. They may, for instance, be more venturesome, more aggressive, more competitive, more egoistic and more impulsive than other children, though these susceptibilities can only develop into criminality due to environmental inputs: - which, as Lykken claimed, are related to inadequate socialisation and defective parenting styles. His chapter on the relationship between race and criminality -- (in view of the black minority's disproportionate responsibility for over half of America's crimes) -- is evenly and impartially argued. Lykken charges that the same genes, given differing environmental conditioning, can be responsible for breeding either a criminal psychopath or a zealous crime-fighter, and he substantiates this claim by quoting a number of twin studies. Lykken's recommendations on the prevention of sociopathy are controversial. He believes that prevention is far better than the cure, and calls for much needed tax-payer funding for licensed "parenters" to become the wards of parentless or potentially delinquent children. Otherwise, he contends that the majority of psychopathic personalities are incurable, and the only solution would be "biological-prophylactic" legislation...

Rating:
Summary: Not a good book on antisocial personality disorder
Review: If you like nurture arguments more than nature, read this book. He actually uses sociopath and psychopath meaning one who is socialized into becoming a psychopath versus one who is born. I don't agree with it, nor do the foremost experts on the subject. If you enjoy sociobiological explanations for rape and murder and psychopathy, then it's probably for you. For those of you who think, however, read Without Conscience by Hare, he is a foremost expert on the subject and doesn't meander through an essay on why he thinks people are psychopaths, but gives portraits of psychopathy and doesn't shy away from the fact that much of antisocial disorder and psychopathy occurs randomly. This is NOT a good book. It's full of irrelevant information and just plain wrong conclusions.

Rating:
Summary: The heterogeneous nature of antisocial behavior
Review: Lykken does a nice job of explaining the etiological differences between various types of antisocial behavior. In his analysis, he explains that while various forms of antisocial behavior appear the same on the surface, there is, in fact, variation in how that antisocial behavior developed. He explains that some variants of antisocial behavior stem from biological/psychological differences among individuals, but that antisocial behavior might also result from poor, inadequate socialization. Such differences are of fundamental importance because they suggest a need for different prevention and intervention policies, depending on which type of antisocial behavior exists. Too often, antisocial behavior is not differentiated into subtypes, which leads to inaccurate information. Researchers, teachers, and policy makers could benefit from this work.

Rating:
Summary: Valid
Review: Valid evaluation of antisocial personalities and their foundations in family and society.

The author rises critical and non-political correct questions. Nevertheless we need academic scholars who investigate the dark sides of human nature.

Recommended for psychology and sociology undergraduate students and teachers.