May 2011
35 posts
Not as much a question as a comment on Speck. The amygdala, when damaged causes something called Kluver-Bucy syndrome, and it sounds like at least some aspects of this syndrome applied to speck. Characterized by hyperorality, hypersexuality, and disinhibited behavior. Interesting.
Disinhibited behaviour? I think individuals with the syndrome are quite docile and not aggressive. Also, visual agnosia is a symptom, and I am not sure that he endorsed that. I’m not sure if all the symptoms are necessary to conclude the diagnosis.
When Speck committed the murders he was abusing multiple substances - drugs and alcohol - so unfortunately, that renders it pretty near impossible to come up with any accurate psychiatric or medical diagnosis to explain his murder spree.
I’m not sure if you are saying he may have exhibited symptoms of Kluver-Bucy at the time of his murder spree or later in life.
I don’t really know that many details about Kluver-Bucy, but I do know that on autopsy, Speck’s brain did show gross abnormalities in the hippocampus and amygdala. From what I can remember of Kluver-Bucy it is the temporal lobes and amygdala involved.
This question is a bit weird, but do you ever feel the urge to try things that the people you study about have done? Not to the point where you think about it every day and crave it, but do you ever have curiousity to know what it's like? Or sympathy for the people who do these things?
Well I can’t say I’ve never felt the urge to hurt someone, I’m sure most people have, but no, I do not feel the urge to ever do what these people have done. For the most part, my studies have focused on sexual predators, and I feel very little sympathy for them. The victims are who I feel sympathy for. An exception would be individuals who are clearly psychiatrically insane.
It is very difficult sometimes to read about the childhoods of these individuals, but unless there is a severe psychiatric diagnosis preventing them from thinking logically (such as schizophrenic delusions), then they are making conscious decisions and know full well the impact that their actions will have on their victims (and the victims’ families). They understand the consequences to themselves and others, and make the choice to hurt people anyway.
As John Douglas once put it - feel bad for the child but not the man.
Gamomania
a mental disorder that causes people to make sudden, outrageous marriage proposals
What do you have to study in college to become a forensic pathologist/ Psychologist?
To be a forensic pathologist you have to go to medical school. Once you graduate with your MD you need to do your specialty in forensic pathology - I’m not certain, but I think it’s at least another 4 years.
To be a forensic psychologist, it depends where you live. For ex. in Ontario, Canada we have the Regulated Health Professions Act, which governs the use of the title “Psychologist”. In most provinces, you have to have at LEAST a Master’s degree to be a Psychological Associate, and a Ph.D. to be a Psychologist. More and more schools are offering forensic psychology courses now, and some sociology/criminology courses can be pretty helpful.
I’m not sure exactly what education you need to call yourself a “Psychologist” in most states, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you need a Ph.D in most states.
However, you can work in the field of forensic psychology without being a “Psychologist”. I remember one time, about 15 years ago (so I don’t know what it’s like now) Pelican Bay (max. security prison housing the worst of the worst) was offering psych positions to people who only had a Bachelor’s degree because they were so desperate to fill the positions.
An Anatomy of Malignant Narcissism →
angelfire.com
In 1970, Otto Kernberg coined the term, “malignant narcissism”; he pointed out that the antisocial personality was fundamentally narcissistic and without morality. Malignant narcissism includes a sadistic element, creating, in essence, a sadistic psychopath. In this essay, “malignant narcissism” and psychopathy are employed interchangeably.
Spectrophobia
Spectrophobia or eisoptrophobia is a kind of specific phobia involving a morbid fear of mirrors and the dread of seeing one’s own reflection.
Essential Serial Murder Books
Thought I’d make this quick post - 3 books you MUST read if you are interested in serial killers and profiling, and want to study it. They’re older, but really a few of the first excellent academic books on the subject.
1 - Serial Murderers and Their Victims - by Eric Hickey
2 - Serial Murder - by Holmes and De Burger
3 - Hunting Humans: the Ride of the Modern Multiple Murderer - by Elliott Leyton (which a more sociological view of serial murder)
Play
Narcissism
Just a note since this confuses people.
In general, when we talk about narcissism, we mean someone is in love with themself.
In psychiatry, when we talk about it, or the diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, there is more to it. The person is very self-absorbed, you will find them always bringing conversations back to themself, and they like to highlight and exaggerate their achievements.
However, they do not have high self-esteem - they have very fragile self-esteem that is completely enmeshed with how they think others view them. They think that everything should be about them, and importance should be placed on them and making them feel good or better all the time - but they need this because they perceive it as being told they deserve it and they are great. They need these external cues to keep them from crashing. And they can be very rageful - there is, what is called, narcissistic rage, and if you piss off a narcissist, it can be a dangerous situation - a good way to do this is to make them feel unimportant, or like they aren’t the smartest or the best looking or the most deserving - of course, not all narcissists will go into a rage, and not every time their esteem is bruised, but it is common among individuals with the diagnosis.
Hope that helps clarify that for anyone who was wondering.