Describe some of the key characteristics of Hervey Cleckley's description of psychopathy? What are the key characteristics of the DSM definition of antisocial personality disorder?

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Answer 1

In his book, The Mask of Sanity, Hervey Cleckley described psychopaths as impulsive, self-centered, pleasure-seeking individuals who seemed to lack emotions such as anxiety, shame, and guilt. These individuals were also seen as intelligent and superficially charming, but also chronically deceitful, unreliable, and incapable of learning from experience. Psychopathy, as a diagnostic approach, places primary emphasis on emotional deficits and personality traits. The characteristics in Cleckley's definition were difficult to diagnose reliably. Consequently, DSM-III placed special emphasis on observable behaviors and repeated conflicts with authorities, including a failure to conform to social norms. Psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder are two different attempts to define the same disorder. However, they are sufficiently different in that they do not identify the same people. According to critics, DSM-III blurred the distinction between antisocial personality and criminality. However, Cleckley was clear on this point: all criminals are not psychopaths, and all psychopaths are not convicted criminals. DSM-5 criteria require the presence of the symptoms of conduct disorder prior to age 15. In addition, the individual must exhibit at least three of seven signs of irresponsible and antisocial behavior after age 15.