The Criminal Mind

With something as intense as diagnosing a criminal mind, there will be differing opinions for sure. And adding children into the mix doesn’t make it any better. The idea that I could potentially foresee the chances of my children becoming a criminal is not something that I think I would be comfortable with. I don’t want my child to be raised in an environment that is focused on labels, let alone have to deal with the fact that his/her parents treat them like a little monster. My children will grow up in a home filled with unconditional love and acceptance starting day one. And if they want to know later in life, they can take those actions when they so choose.

But when it comes to me, I think it’s a different story.Based on what I want out of life, I would definitely take the test if I thought it would benefit me, family, and the people I surround myself with. Allowing me to know whether or not I have the potential to act in a criminal fashion could enable me to alter my life to ensure that those tendencies never become an issue. Or to take actions to prevent myself from doing something I would regret. 

The research that was performed to come to these conclusions seem to make a lot of sense to me. I thought that idea of observing twins was a good way to test specific hypotheses, such as how the home environment can affect the person you are and become. I’m sure there will always be new ways to test these theories and I look forward to learning about what they find out.

Predicting Criminals

This article is about how Dr. Adrian Raine believes he can predict if a child will grow up with violent tendencies or how likely they are to commit a crime. It was a very interesting article. Raine explains that people who have little reactions to a stress test, are less sensitive. These people seem to lack fear, which Raine theorizes can relate to a lack of fear of punishment for their behaviors. 
I think I would want to know if my child was predicted to have some of these violent markers. Raine believes that even with these markers, therapy or even a change in diet can change the brain and prevent violent actions. If I was able to do anything to prevent my child from committing a crime, I would want to do everything I could. However, I don't believe that the rest of society has a right to know if my child scored high on this test. If society knew which children could possibly be dangerous, the child would be treated differently. They could be labeled as a "bad seed," then become an outcast. This might promote the bad behavior and lead to the child become a criminal anyway. This would not be fair to the child. Treatment to prevent dangerous behaviors should be between the child, the parents, and doctors and psychiatrists.

February 11 Prompt

It is fascinating to read about studies that others are doing with regards to the brain.  The research in this article seems reasonable to think that there is a link between brain development and criminality.  Trying to understand why people do what they do, especially when it comes to bizarre and unacceptable behavior conducted by murders and pedophiles is necessary as we try to understand our how our brains really work.  I think biology does play into our lives, I also think that circumstances and life situations have just as much impact.   This specific area of study is a way to try to predict the future that is unpredictable. Life is dynamic and ever changing.  This kind of a number could give an excuse for bad behavior.  I could hear someone saying, “Well, I was diagnosed with cavum septum pellucidum when I was born, so I couldn’t control my actions.”  

As a parent, I would not want to know my child’s number because I think you would focus on trying to correct this behavior, possibly focusing too heavily on this and less on other aspects of development. Parents have enough to deal with.  Thinking that a child with this issue could possibly grow up to become a murder is pretty daunting.   I think this question to a parent would be no different than having a genetic makeup of fetus done.  It’s a personal decision that if results didn’t go exactly as you wanted, what would you do?  

Psycho killers, qu'est-ce que c'est

The research by Raine seems in depth and straight forward, although that part about shocking and antagonizing folks seems a bit immoral. With DNA sampling now able to link to hereditary lineage it would be interesting to see how far back the psychopathic personality goes, without shocking anyone. For example, what percentage do they have of say, Neanderthals, or Scandinavian ancestry? Some of the first humans and societies that needed to survive. Could the lack of size in the amygdala be a biological precursor to survival? Is the hole in the head creating a connection to the individual to simply thrive and survive? No guilt makes it easier to go on about your day...
Another interesting test would be an IQ test. I've heard of psychopaths being geniuses, are they really just more clever and adapt than the rest of us? What if they knew (as children) they were acting in the ways they were as a means of survival? Could they be persuaded into some sort of sublimation?

Perhaps with how quickly we have socially morphed from "cave dwellers" to "penthouse royalty" the brain hasn't been able to keep up with the demands. It would have been only natural to fend off those that threatened your survival. Which can be taken in many different ways, especially to overstimulated children, adolescents, as well as adults who may have never passed the oral stages of development. That empirical trust thing. Let's not forget these psycho killers parents.

What made "modern" humans the intelligent folk they are today? Nutrition, right? The addition of calcium, iron, magnesium, omega-3-6-9's, etc. Its sort of a "no-brainer" to see why we have a continued issue with psychopathology, the food sold in stores today isn't nutritious enough to help the brain have optimal functioning power (which is also relative). In urban areas, its even worse. Gas station nutrition= sugar, caffeine, carbs, artificial colors, preservatives. Its gross. If we want to help change those small amygdalas, maybe start with identifying the real problems, like how greedy and out of control the super powers have become, like the pharmaceutical industry, food industry, etc. Some may even argue the educational construct.

What if the lack of a wall is creating new synapses that make the person decidedly understand something like the depth of pain, and lack thereof, in order to survive. How far back do these genetic markers go? Are these first human type DNA strands harbored in order to ensure their tribe survival? Maybe they are actually more intelligent. Are they actually smarter than the rest of us by trying to be the only survivors? Would IQ even be the right type of test? How would these people survive on an island, all Hunger Games style. Maybe it was part of the evolution of humans to eliminate the competition and these psychopaths have brains that allow that. Personally, I don't agree with them but I would get tested and also test my children. 

February 11 Prompt

The article "Criminal Minds" raises several interesting arguments both for and against assigning people a number associated with their likelihood of becoming a criminal. The idea that a person’s likelihood to commit a crime is linked with their basic biology is a bit unsettling. It is very easy for us in Western culture to blame a person’s poor mental health on things that they can actively control, namely their environment. I do like that the article suggests that poor biology can be remedied with a more positive and healthier environment, but the article also articulates that a few of the study participants environment did not affect their violent tendencies later in life. The studies done were not experimental, and therefore we cannot say that bad biology or a smaller than normal amygdala causes criminality. I would love to know my own personal score, but I do not think we should be assigning people these scores publicly. One may argue that society should be warned of a potential criminal, but I believe that the experimenter expectancy effect may carry over into real world situations if we did. This phenomenon explains how an experimenter’s bias on a participant can change the behavior of that participant in a lab. This is usually due to the experimenter treating the participant differently according to their bias. In a real-world situation, I can see parents formulating a bias on their kid's number, and possibly even treating them differently. Society would be much less compassionate than even parents, and if they expect a kid to become a criminal then they will likely treat that kid like a criminal. One could argue that knowing a child may be at risk can improve your chances at helping that child. While this may be true in some cases, I believe the negative outcomes of assigning people numbers far outweigh the positives.

Feb. 11 Criminal Minds

The article “Criminal Minds” was very interesting, and honestly quite unsettling. The claims that he made about being able to predict ones criminality is a large claim. I do not know if I trust that it is the truth. Raine did bring up the fact that “the brain changes”. There are different things that happen in someone’s life, which can change their criminal destiny. This would skew the predictions and results of how likely someone is to become a criminal. 

The question concerning whether or not I would want to know if I was going to be a criminal or not was difficult for me to settle on. Some side of me would want to know, but when thinking of the effects it could have on my life I decided against knowing. I think if I found out that I was going to be a criminal I would worry my whole life about it. I also would not like to know the fate of my children, or have them know. If they knew they were prone to psychopathy they could possibly start hanging out with different kids who are also prone.

It could be good for providing data of the percentages of these people, and how many of them actually act on it. It could be very good if it could protect the victims of the crimes people could commit. If there was a way to stop criminality in people, then I think this information would be extremely useful. This could prevent many friends and family from the heartbreak of losing someone that was a victim, or losing them to the prison system. 

Week 6 Psychoanalysis Testing

  

After reading the article, Criminal Minds (Fischman, 2011), I feel like there is a lot of potential in the idea of identifying individuals at a young age who may have mental disorders then attempting to correct the problems the individual might have. However, I feel even with all of the thorough data and tests it is still somewhat subjective; it isn't a concrete objective process/method due to many potential variables/identifiers. It's also good to point out that the use of a polygraph test isn't the best tool to use to identify objective answers/data. One should note that Adrian Raine used a polygraph device for some of his data/theory when he studied incarcerated individuals; The American Psychological Association [A.P.A.] doesn't believe polygraph testing is accurate (A.P.A., 2004). I would be interested to find out what my PET scan results would be, but I wouldn't want the rest of the world to know regardless of the conclusion! I have many antisocial tendencies, but that doesn’t/shouldn’t insinuate that I’m a psychopath. I test out as an INTJ (“The Architect”) from multiple Myers-Briggs tests, and my O.C.E.A.N. score is Openness-68%, Concienciousness-91%, Extraversion-1%, Agreeableness-36%, Natural Reactions-86%.   

I believe society struggles with misinformation, and ignorance when talking about mental illnesses or mental health in general currently. "Labeling" or classifying people in this way would do greater harm than good. For example, a large majority of people do not know the difference between a sociopath and psychopath. People who struggle with depression, bi-polar disorder, and anxiety are generally classified as weak and a drag on society. I also think applying this concept to a clinical approach would give us more research data to identify mental abnormalities, and likelihood of creating better treatments for individuals. From a previous post I said I fear potentially creating a monster raising a child, I'd definitely have my child tested with a preventative health care approach to correct potential psychological complications.

References

American Psychological Association [A.P.A.]. (2004, August 5). The Truth About Lie Detectors (aka Polygraph Tests) . Retrieved from American Psychological Association Web site: https://www.apa.org/research/action/polygraph

Fischman, J. (2011, June 12). Criminal Minds. Retrieved from The Chronicle of Higher Education Web site: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Can-This-Man-Predict-Whether/127792/

February 11th Prompt

After reading this article, my curiosity peaked.  I never knew that one could determine a person's future as either being a psychopath or not.  With this being said, I would definitely want to know my number, including my child's number.  Knowing my child's number, I would be able to seek the help that they need in order to lessen their future anger/aggression that the number indicated.  Knowing my own number, I could also do the same.  This research was eye-opening and I believe it was very encouraging for others to know their number to decrease the risk of violence in our world.  Overall, the whole idea of knowing your "number" is beneficial to lessening the numbers in the criminal area of the world.

Feb. 11 Prompt

Signs of having a troubled child can arise far before they start acting out.  I wouldn't want to know my number, nor would I want others to know my number.  When it comes to my kids, I would like to know their number to see if there are any preventative measures I can take so they don't act out when they are older.  The research overall peaked interest in me because it is interesting that you are able to notice signs of a "problem" child before they start acting out severely irrational and try to hurt others or cause harm to others

Week of February 11 prompt

After reading this article my mind was blown. The research done in the article is research I never personally would have thought of. It talks of how you can find out how a person may act way before the actions take place. Parts of a persons brain is linked to psychopathy and can be detected very early in life. A question asked is would you want to know your number? I personally would not want to know my own number, but I would want someone trusted to know my number. I also wouldn't want society as a whole to know my number, because in this day in age people are quick to judge and I feel like releasing numbers could create a state of panic and fear. Also I believe that if a person find out their number it may just lead them down a path of denial. I would want to know my child's number. It says in the article that if you know your child's number that it could help in seeking treatment, or finding help before real problems occur and it could even save lives. If you could prevent a problem before it occurs why wouldn't you try? Overall very interesting read.

Prompt for the week of February 11

An interesting article (found here) popped up in the Chronicle for higher education a few years ago. This article is interesting for several reasons, not the least of which is that it does a fairly good job of summarizing our current views on psychopathy. One of the more fascinating questions asked is the fundamental "would you want to know?" This is sometimes balanced with the question of "should society be warned?" After reading the article, what do you think? Would you want to know your number? Your child's? How do you feel about the research?