Behavior genetic studies of children, adolescents, and adults all report that the overlap of antisocial tendencies (broadly defined) with other psychopathic traits (e.g., interpersonal, affective) can be explained by common genetic factors.-Robert Hare, Ph.D.
The most profound things researchers say about reality are often so difficult to understand that the average person wants to turn and run away when the researchers begin to speak. The statement above might have that affect on you but stick around because I want to explain it this week. This statement gets to the heart of the most important controversies regarding sociopathy/psychopathy.
First I will give you a definition of antisocial behavior that one of my students came up with. I think it is very good:
Antisocial behavior means things people intentionally do that infringe on other people’s rights to live their lives. Antisocial behavior is hurtful.
Notice that antisocial behavior is purposeful and reflects the person’s underlying motives. The link to personality lies in this link to motives. Many personality traits are a reflection of an individual’s preferred motives and pleasures.
Antisocial tendencies don’t reflect a simple callous indifference, they reflect behavior that is motivated and goal directed.
With that out of the way, I will give you a simple translation of the statement:
People who hurt others a lot have similar personalities. The same genes produce both the hurtful behavior and the “hurtful personality type.”
The above statement appears in an article entitled, “The role of antisocial tendencies in the psychopathy construct.” In this paper Dr. Hare lays out an argument that antisocial tendencies and the psychopathic personality type are inseparable. You can’t separate habitually hurtful behavior from the personalities of the people who have this habit. Furthermore, the same genes play a role in the development of habitually hurtful behavior and the development of the hurtful personality.
I’ll say it again another way. You cannot separate the evil someone does from the evil someone is. It also appears there is an evil gene or more likely, evil genes. If you are wondering if a person you know is a “sociopath/psychopath” use this statement to guide your thinking.
If a child you love has the genes of a sociopathic/ psychopathic person you should be motivated to understand all of this. As I considered the implications of genetics for myself and my family I asked a number of questions.
1. Many papers say the “psychopaths” as diagnosed by a checklist interview (The PCL-R) are different from “sociopaths” or those who have “antisocial personality disorder.” Well if that is true, do they have different genes?
2. What do we know about the evil genes themselves and what they are doing?
With these questions in mind, I read the scientific literature looking for evidence that psychopaths have their own special genetics. In the end, I discovered what Dr. Hare says, that there are genes that increase the likelihood of antisocial behavior including its extreme- criminal behavior. There are also genes that link to the personality traits of hurtful people and criminals. The genes appear to be the same genes.
Furthermore, there is a genetic connection between hurtful behavior, addiction and ADHD. That is why I decided to subtitle my book “A guide to overcoming your child’s genetic connection to antisocial behavior, addiction and ADHD” and NOT “A guide to overcoming your child’s genetic link to a psychopath.”
The bad news is that since all these disorders are genetically linked we have to worry about our kids’ risk for ADHD and addiction in addition to their risk for sociopathy/psychopathy. The link between alcoholism/addiction and psychopathy/sociopathy has been known since the 1940s, early writers like Dr. Cleckley (author of The Mask of Sanity) commented on it.
Now what do we know about the nature of evil genes? In my book, I explain that studies seem to show that these genes code for certain temperaments. The list of temperamental traits I came up with is on page 166 of my book and is given below:
| Inborn Attribute |
Definition |
| Aloof | Difficulty forming and enjoying attachments |
| Impulsive | Defective impulse control |
| Fearless | Lack of fear |
| Outgoing | Strong desire to explore social and physical environment |
| Dominant | Strong desire to be at the top of the pecking order |
| Anger-Prone | “Hair-trigger” for anger |
I am always on the lookout for other people’s lists of the genetically determined temperamental traits associated with antisocial behavior and sociopathy/psychopathy. In their book, the Psychology of Criminal Conduct, Drs. D.A. Andrews and James Bonita discuss the search for the “crime gene.” They summarize the findings as follows:
“The findings from family lineage, twin, and adoption studies also converge and conclude that there is a genetic component to criminal behavior. It is not criminal behavior per se that is inherited but temperamental characteristics such as impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and negative emotionality that are inherited.”
Notice the overlap between their list and mine. Outgoing and sensation-seeking are the same thing. Being anger-prone is part of negative emotionality.
If you have read my book, you know that it paints a picture of hope for the kids that carry these genes. Just look at the list for yourself. Probably the most worrisome temperamental trait on the list above is aloofness. However, an inborn tendency toward aloofness does not have to translate into antisocial behavior. If a detached child can be taught to engage in prosocial goals, then the detachment won’t be as much of an issue. For example, there are many interesting occupations that do not require a lot of social interaction. These are ideally suited to those with a tendency toward being aloof.
An awareness of the list of temperamental traits a child may have been born with is an important first step in guiding that child. If you know the list, you know what to look for and you can come up with strategies to make the best of your own child’s temperament. Rather than trying to make a child into someone he/she is not, it is better to try to work with who he/she is.
Notice that several of the traits are also associated with leadership potential. So the same list of genetic traits can lead to the development of a contributing prosocial person or an antisocial person depending on environmental factors. Genetics plays a role in antisocial tendencies and psychopathic personality traits but a person is not only the product of genes. Parenting, adult mentors, peers, educational opportunities and physical health may all make a difference.
A child with poor impulse control does not have to live with a high level of disability any more than a dyslexic child has to live with an inability to read. Both groups of children require special education to overcome their genetics.
The radio just quoted “a joke” from the late night talk show host Conan O’brien, “They have had a hard time finding jurors for the upcoming OJ Simpson armed robbery trial”¦ They are having a hard time finding a jury of his peers”¦ those who have gotten away with a double murder.”
OJ Simpson exemplifies all the writings about inborn temperaments, antisocial behavior and psychopathy. He has a history of antisocial behavior including domestic violence and more. He also has psychopathic personality traits. No one will deny that the man has a number of gifts that likely have a strong genetic basis. These gifts range from athletic talent to interpersonal charisma. It appears from my vantage point that all of these gifts have been used directly and indirectly for evil.
To summarize then, the temperamental traits that lead to the evil a person is and the evil a person does can also can lead to the good a person is and the good a person does. The direction that any given person’s life takes is influenced by many things including parenting, peers, trauma and perhaps most importantly, personal choice. Genetics puts a person at risk but does not necessarily determine his/her destiny.
For more on guiding and parenting children with genetic risk see Parentingtheatriskchild.com and my parenting blog.
BloggerT7165, really? Wow. That’s wild.
The cells spit out the dopamine, but with amphetamines, the cells keep the dopamine in. I wonder what it is in the dopamine transporters? Ca2+ transporting?
I’ll look it up, but if it’s a matter of ion gradients, then that’s a whole other thing, and probably treatable — with amphetamines. (Duh.)
I wonder if the ADHD behaviors can be parsed out (like, in Dr. L’s above post – anxiety or agitation or novelty seeking), and then each one has a different dopamine-aspect (or, my guess, serotonin, too).
As far as the criminality aspect, the whole affiliative behavior gene thing seems to be important – vasopressin, oxytocin, bonding trust, etc. The vasopressin receptor mutations related to lack of bonding (this was in the news recently – the men-who-cheat-genes) probably play a role in criminality.
I mean there may be a genetic predisposition to thinking it’s ok to steal from people in your life, because even if they kick you to the curb, you aren’t bonded with them.
Dear Swivel and BloggerT,
VEry interesting information. I have a son who is ADHD, and my bio-father who is also a HIGH LEVEL VIOLENT psychopath is very “HYPER” but not attention deficit. I tend to be “hyper” but not attention deficit (AT LEAST NOT UNTIL LATELY, when I got PTSD after my husband’s plane crash/death (I was a witness) now, I have distractibility, though it is improving with treatment for the PTSD.
I can trace the P genes through both sides of my family, and for several generations, and my sons’ grandfather’s are both Ps. Of my two biological sons, one is ADHD and the other is NOT ADHD but is very Psychopathic. He is currently in prison for murder.
I’m a retired Advance Practice Nurse, but also have a degree in biology and have bred and raised several species of animals (cattle, horses, dogs etc) and have thought for most of my life that “personality” was inherited. By culling my cattle herd for “disposition” I easily eliminated “flighty” and “crazy” cattle for more docile ones. Aggressive behavior has deliberately been bred into the Spanish fighting bulls, and in to various breeds of dogs, so if it works in animals, why would humans be “different”?
My P-son, who has never met my P-bio-father, is so much like him that it is spooky. He doesn’t really “look” like him, but his facial expressions, his manner of speech, and his hand writing are very very similar. My ADHD son is a look-alike for my P-bio father but has none of his mannerisms at all.
Though there is still some controversy over how effective it is, when my ADHD son,. C was young (1st grade) I chose to put him on the Feingold diet (certain foods eliminated, and all artificial colors and artificial flavors, chocolate eliminated) He did very well on the diet, and though I never told him it was about his behavior (I told him it was for his nasal allergies) he voluntarily stayed on it) He is a well functioning human being today, holds a very complex job and is a highly thought of employee. He has a functioning conscience and I am very proud of how well he has done and the kind of man he has become. And sure’nuff in contrast to his P-brother.
I have worked professionally with other ADHD children who are “budding” Ps and by age 10 or so are uncontrollable and dangerous. Medications help a bit, but even in patient treatment seems to have little benefit on these children who seem “bent on destruction.”
Dr. Leedom also put a thread up here about the correlation of Bi-polar and Psychopathic behavior. Something in the neighborhood of 1/3 of Ps are also bipolar. Or vice verso (CRS kicked in).LOL
So . . . what are the candidate genes, then? I don’t understand the delay. Is it that we don’t have the numbers for a normal base? Are they using the nonsensical DSM-IV as a selective device? Do they want huge numbers in the s/p selection? In my opinion, start by analyzing the genetics of “Clark Rockefeller” or Thomas Capano or Wayne Williams.
http://pathwhisperer.wordpress.com
Path there is no one gene that is the cause. And genetics is only part of the issue. It is a combination of genetics and environment that brings this all to fruition.
I don’t doubt that there’s no one gene. However I can’t agree that environment is an equal component. I don’t doubt that ennvironment plays a role, but not always, in determining whether a p/s takes a criminal path. But it would play no role in whether a p/s is a caring, empathic individual, in my opinion.
It’s worth noting that Thomas Capano and Ira Einhorn would generally have been considered responsible, upstanding citizens if they hadn’t resorted to murder in response to the insult to the s/p ego (i.e., lovers wishing to leave).
Path a while back a group of identical twins who were up for adoption were deliberately separated at birth into different adoptive homes and followed. One of the interesting things was that in 80% (or thereabouts) of the cases if one child turned out to be psychopathic the other identical twin did as well, though raised in an entirely different environment.
There is also a high correlation between all children of psychopaths that are adopted out being more apt to be psychopathic than a child who had no parent who was a psychopath but was adopted out, even though they are not raised in an environment with a psychopathic parent.
Even the concept of “personality” being heritable in humans (although it is obvious it is in breeds of ainmals) is actually a fairly “new” concept to professionals it seems. For years people believed a baby was a “blank slate” on which environment wrote, but now there is a great deal of evidence that we are NOT blank slates when we are born, but have tendencies for many things. Environment can alter some of them and some of them it won’t. But we are a combination of genetics and environment, not a product of one OR the other, but of BOTH.
Just like all dogs came from wolves many generatons ago. If you take a wolf pup off its mother the second it is born and rear it on a beagle say for example, when it grows up it will NOT BE A BEAGLE, it will be a maladjusted wolf. If it had stayed with its mother and the pack, it would have been a well adjusted wolf because its environment would have matched its genetics that were developed in that environment over many generations.
In a dog-eat-dog world where human genetics were developed, the P-genes probably had some survival advantage or there wouldn’t be any left, but in our society today (at least in western society) where there is more or less enough food and other resources to go around so that people don’t regularly starve to death in our world any more, or die of malnutrition, it is NOT adaptive in any way I can see, yet those genes persist and are passed on. In fact I think the males tend to spread their seed far and wide by haivng children with many differnet women and moving on to leave the women to raise the child without the father’s help, sort of like some kinds of birds lay their eggs in other bird’s nests then move on, leaving more offspring than if they had built their own nests.
I have a Psychopathic son, a psychopathic biological father, and other psychopaths in my family. I was not raised by my P-father, and my P-son has never met my father, but their personalities are almost carbon copies. My son is in prison by the way for murder. His most recent crime was to try to have me murdered by one of his friends he met in prison.
I don’t think anyone said it is an equal component. With 6 billion people on the planet there is going to be a a number of factors that are different for each unique case. And genetics are not destiny/fate in regards to this. We may be predisposed to alcoholism yet never become alcoholic. We may be predisposed to aggression yet not lash out.
Environment plays a bigger role than some think because of something that many do not consider. My shoe strings example hits on it somewhat. The more you do something the more it becomes a habit, the more your brain physically changes to match it, the more it becomes you. Why do you tie your shoes the way you do? Because you just do. Why do you act X way? Because you just do. The more you do something and the longer you do it often makes it harder to stop or change that later.
Plus you have to take into account that there may be mutations of genes that affect how people react to environmental factors.
And if we believe that psychopaths are completely genetic then they are not really responsible for their behaviors are they? It means there really is no choice involved if it is purely genetic. I highly doubt that it is 100% responsible.
Ox – It’s not really a new concept its just that with WWII and what occurred there, many people got scared off talking about or even thinking about genetics in regards to these various traits.
I am a firm believer in the MBTI personality traits descriptions. Several of the personalities are much more amenable to sociopathic behavior. Check it out sometime, they are a great help to understanding your family members, I think.
Blogger,
Yes, I know what you mean about people being “scared off” of talking about genetics, but there once was a time when it was “politically correct” to believe the world was FLAT but it didn’t change the shape of the world or the FACTS. LOL
People who are geneticly inclined to be tall make better runners than people like my sons who are short and stocky, but my sons can lift weights for two days and look like a body builder and the tall skinny guy can lift weights for years and still not be Pumped up. LOL There are just some things that are genetic and environment has an effect on how those things are DEMONSTRATED. If the child is starved before birth from the mother’s malnutrition or starved after birth it will have an effect on how tall or how muscular or how strong the bones are in that child regardless of what his genetics are.
If a child is badly abused it will have a big effect on how that child’s mind and personality develop, etc.
Not only that but if the mother takes drugs, alcohol, or is under great stress when she is pregnant it will have an effect on that child’s development.
No, I do not believe that psychopaths are 100% genetic, or 100% environmental but a combination of both, but I put MORE weight on the genetics for at least SOME of the psychopaths than on environment. With the identical twin studies turning out 80% P or Non-P I think that puts a pretty good weight on genetics, but it does give HOPE to parents of children who have one psychopathic parent that they can possibly avoid their child becoming one.
Ox,
We are on the same page then 🙂 I am one of those that believe in the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath. I am also one of those that think to many lay people are ready to call someone a P,S, or N when they are really just jerks (who have traits of the P,S, or N).
I also agree that we are influenced by genetics a lot more than some care to consider. But I also know that, unlike my dog, humans have the ability to overcome these things. The problem is that this is not so for everything. Your example about height is one.
I also fear (and in a way am happy I won’t be around for it) for the future. With advances in genetics it is only a matter of time before people will want to try selective breeding via genetic manipulation and that is a path that is very dangerous to everyone. One of the problems I fear is that many of the traits people would try to eliminate are not, in and of themselves, bad. Aggression and Anger are not bad. Manipulation is not bad. The list goes on and on. It is what people do with these things that causes the problem. By trying to eliminate some of these things we run the risk of turning into uncreative compliant drones and that worries me more.