Criminality, cogniton, and personality lectures
Lecture 1 10.04.2018 introducton
There is a signifcant diference (heterogeneity) between ‘naïve’ and ‘professional’ criminals,
and also in the crimes that are commited (trivial vs. highly serious). Crimes of violence fall
under the category of highly serious crimes. Violent crimes include the injuring of victms (both
physically and psychologically), and the spread of fear through communites. A distncton can
be made between low-level aggression and premeditated violence. There is one partcular
group that commits a disproportonate amount of (violent) crimes: people with mental
disorders (mentally disordered ofender) / personality disorders.
Violence is a signifcant public health issue. Especially interpersonal violence is a major social
problem; causing ham to individuals, families, and communites. There are multple factors that
can explain violence, this course will focus on the individual-level explanatons.
Violence = a range of behaviours intended to harm a living being who is motvated to avoid
harm.
Acts that are accidental, consensual, or ultmately benefcial are not included in this defniton.
Violence vs. aggression:
Violence: forceful inficton of physical harm. Violence refers to both aggression and physical
violence.
Aggression: less physical harmful (threats, ignoring), but severely psychologically damaging. Can
be just as damaging as actual physical violence, and sometmes even more.
Individual diferences in proneness to violence: individual diferences (personality traits),
personality processes (cognitve), and personality disorders (problems with thoughts).
DSM-5 and ICD-10: diagnostc classifcaton systems
Defniton DSM-5 of ant-social personality disorders: an enduring patern of inner experience
and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectatons of the individual’s culture, is
pervasive and infexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over tme,
and leads to distress or impairment.
[Impairment: causing harm to others, or having difcultes/being unable to properly functon in
society and to maintain relatonshipss
Defniton ICD-10 of ant-social personality disorders: deeply ingrained and enduring behavior
paterns, manifestng themselves as infexible responses to a broad range of personal and social
situatons. They represent either extreme or signifcant deviatons from the way the average
individual in a given culture perceives, thinks, feels, and partcularly relates to others. Such
behavior paterns tend to be stable and encompass multple domains of behavior and
psychological functoning. They are frequently associated with various degrees of subjectve
distress and problems in social functoning and performance.
,DSM IV / 5? ICD-10 (equivalents)
Cluster A
1. Paranoid: distrust, suspiciousness 1. Paranoid: sensitvity, suspiciousness
2. Schizoid: socially and emotonally detached 2. Schizoid: emotonally cold and detached
3. Schizotypal: social and interpersonal defcits, 3. No equivalent
cognitve or perceptual distortons
Cluster B 4. Dissocial: callous disregards of others,
4. Antsocial: violaton of the rights of others irresponsibility, irritability.
5. Borderline: instability of relatonships, self- 5. Emotonally unstable
image, and mood - Opton 1: borderline: unclear self-image,
6. Histrionic: excessive emotonally and atenton intense, unstable relatonships
seeking - Opton 2: impulsive: inability to control
7. Narcissistc: grandiose; lack of empathy, need anger, quarrelsome, unpredictable.
for admiraton 6. Histrionic: dramatc, egocentric, manipulatve
seeking
7. No equivalent
Cluster C
8. Avoidant: socially inhibited, feelings of 8. Anxious: tense, self-conscious, hypersensitve
inadequacy, hypersensitvity 9. Dependent: subordinates personal needs,
9. Dependent: clinging, submissive needs constant reassurance
10. Obsessive-compulsive: perfectonist, infexible 10. Anankastc: indecisive, pedantc, rigid
DSM IV: categorical perspectve. Mult-axial system: Axis I: clinical disorders. Axis II: personality
disorders.
Axis II: divided into three clusters:
- Cluster A: odd-eccentric. Paranoid, schizoid, and schizo-typic personality.
- Cluster B: erratc-dramatc. Antsocial, borderline, theatrical, and narcissistc personality.
[positvely related to violences
- Cluster C: worried-anxious. Avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive personality.
[negatvely related to violences
Characteristcs of personality disorders: severe, persistent and rigid paterns of behavior and
inner experience startng in adolescence or early adulthood that deviate seriously from cultural
expectatons and result in permanent stress and limitatons in interpersonal relatonships and in
professional life and experienced by the patent as ego-syntonic.
General criteria for personality disorders. The essental features of a personality disorder are:
1. Moderate or greater impairment in personality (self/interpersonal) functoning.
- Self:
i) Identty: experience of oneself as unique, with clear boundaries between self and
others; stability of self-esteem and accuracy of self-appraisal; capacity for, and
ability to regulate a range of emotonal experiences.
, ii) Self-directon: pursuit of coherent and meaningful short-term life goals; utlizaton of
constructve and prosocial internal standards of behavior, ability to self-refect
productvely.
- Interpersonal:
i) Empathy: comprehension and appreciaton of others’ experiences and motvatons;
tolerance of difering perspectves, understanding the efects of one’s own behavior
on others.
ii) Intmacy: depth and duraton of connecton with others; desire and capacity for
closeness; mutuality of regard refected in interpersonal behavior.
2. One or more pathological personality traits (*see table below)
3. The impairments in personality functoning and the individual’s personality trait
expression are relatvely infexible and pervasive across a broad range of personal and
social situatons.
4. The impairments in personality functoning and the individual’s personality trait
expression are relatvely stable across tme, with onsets that can be traced back to at
least adolescence or adulthood.
5. The impairments in personality functoning and the individual’s personality trait
expression are not beter explained by another mental disorder.
6. The impairments in personality functoning and the individual’s personality trait
expression are not solely atributable to the psychological efects of a substance or
another medical conditon (for example severe head trauma).
7. The impairments in personality functoning and the individual’s personality trait
expression are not beter understood as normal for an individual’s developmental stage
or sociocultural environment.
*table pathological personality traits
Negatve Detachment Antagonism Disinhibiton Psychotcism
affectvity
Emotonal lability Withdrawal Manipulatveness Irresponsibility Unusual belief or
Anxiousness Intmacy avoidance Deceitulness Impulsivity experiences
Separaton Anhedonia Grandiosity Distractbility Eccentricity
insecurity Depressivity Atenton seeking Risk taking Cognitve or
Submissiveness Restricted Callousness Rigid perfectonism perceptual
Hostlity afectvity (lack thereof) dysregulaton
Perseveraton Suspiciousness
Especially the frst 4 categories (negatve afectvity, detachment, antagonism, and disinhibiton)
are things that everyone could experience. They are not quanttatve (?) diferent.
DSM-IV Axis II and DSM-5: antsocial personality disorder = psychopathy. Diagnosing
psychopathy by means of antsocial personality disorder criteria.
DSM-5 Axis III: antsocial personality disorder =/ psychopathy. Psychopathy specifer: low
anxiousness, atenton seeking, low withdrawal.
