Antisocial personality
In foreign psychological and medical literature, the terms “antisocial”, “sociopathic”, “psychopathic” personality are widely used to describe the delinquent behavior of adults (over 18 years of age).
These concepts are not identical to the familiar concept of “criminal personality.” Antisocial personality is a psychological type described through the deep psychological mechanisms of personality functioning.
N. McWilliams describes this type of personality through the expressed need to feel power over others. This can manifest itself as a desire to influence people, manipulate them, and “rise above” them.
The level of social adaptation may be different. A person with such an organization does not necessarily commit crimes, but his life as a whole is determined by specific motivations.
Thus, representatives of some professions - teachers, judges, managers, surgeons - to a greater extent than others, show a tendency to pressure and control, while combining their personal interests with the interests of society.
Individuals who have taken the path of breaking the law can be quite accurately described from the point of view of this psychological diagnosis. Interestingly, if a sociopathic personality has managed to avoid prison or self-destruction, then he tends to “burn out” by middle age (40 years old).
Sociopathic people openly brag about their victories, machinations, or deceptions if they think the listener will be impressed by their strength.
Law enforcement officials are continually amazed at how easily criminals confess to murder and calmly recount the grisly details while hiding lesser offenses or what they perceive as signs of weakness.
Researchers of deviance problems note the psychological heterogeneity of the “antisocial personality” group itself and propose to distinguish several diagnostic subgroups within it.
1 Antisocial personality disorder itself is characterized, first of all, by severe superego pathology: the inability to feel guilt and remorse; inability to become emotionally attached (even to animals); relationships based on the exploitation of people; deceit and insincerity; weakness of judgment and inability to learn from life experiences; inability to follow a life plan.
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Antisocial behavior in some cases can have an actively aggressive form (evil-sadistic), in others it can have a passive-parasitic (exploitative) form.
2 If antisocial disorder itself is not diagnosed, so-called “malignant narcissism” may occur, which manifests itself in typical narcissistic personality disorder (grandiosity, superiority of the “I”), in characterologically rooted aggression (in sadism towards others or directed at oneself) , paranoid tendencies and self-righteousness.
Unlike the antisocial personality itself, malignant narcissism retains the potential for attachment and involvement with other people or feelings of guilt.
Such people can accept others' moral beliefs, be realistic about their past, and plan for the future.
3 Antisocial behavior (mainly of the passive-parasitic type) can occur in individuals prone to narcissism.
4 Antisocial behavior in other, non-narcissistic personality disorders (infantile, hysterical, etc.).
5 In the case of neurotic personality disorder, antisocial behavior stems from an unconscious feeling of guilt, which can often appear as a personal drama (for example, a person steals small items at work, fearing discovery and dismissal).
6 Antisocial behavior can also be considered as part of symptomatic neurosis (adolescent rebellion, adaptation disorders, environmental influences that facilitate the translation of mental conflicts into antisocial behavior).
7 Finally, these may be dissocial reactions - uncritical adaptation to a social subgroup with antisocial behavior.
Thus, with all the diversity of the phenomenology of antisocial behavior, we can observe some general patterns in the etiology and functioning of individuals with delinquent behavior.
It should be noted that currently crime in Russia is one of the most painful social problems. By 1996-1998 The crime rate in our country has reached a record high (2.5-3 million crimes per year), although it has stabilized at these sad record numbers, possibly reaching the so-called crime saturation level.
Antisocial (sociopathic) personality
The dominant and most frequently manifested motives in a particular individual determine the overall orientation of the individual.
In foreign psychological and medical literature, the following terms are widely used to describe the delinquent behavior of adults (over 18 years of age):
“antisocial”, “sociopathic”, “psychopathic” personality.
These concepts are not identical to the concepts familiar to us - “criminal personality”, “characterological psychopath” - and cannot act as a medical diagnosis.
A sociopathic (antisocial) personality is a psychological type described through the deep psychological mechanisms of personality functioning.
The main contribution to the study of sociopathic dynamics has been made by psychoanalysis.
August Eichhorn
(1876–1949), known for his work with difficult adolescents, defines delinquency as “a dynamic phenomenon, the result of the interaction of mental forces that produce distortions” [2, p. 48].
This distortion is primarily associated with a violation of the relationship between the Ego and the super-Ego. The super-ego (as a critical authority) may not be formed, in other cases it may be overly harsh - punitive. Finally, the ego ideal (as part of the superego) may contain antisocial identifications [15, 30].
N. McWilliams [18] describes a sociopathic personality through a pronounced need to feel power over others.
This can manifest itself as a desire to influence people, manipulate them, and “rise above” them.
Many authors note that this character is associated with a basic incapacity for human affection.
The level of social adaptation may be different. A. Eichhorn introduced the concept of explicit
and
latent delinquency.
If in the first case antisocial actions take place, then in the second this state exists, but does not manifest itself outwardly.
A person with an antisocial personality organization does not necessarily commit crimes, but his life as a whole is determined by specific motivation. Representatives of some respected professions are undoubtedly more likely than others to exert pressure and control (teachers, judges, surgeons), combining their individuality with the interests of society.
Individuals who have taken the path of breaking the law can even more so be described quite accurately from the point of view of this psychological diagnosis. An interesting fact is that if a sociopathic personality has managed to avoid prison or self-destruction, he tends to “burn out” by middle age (by the age of forty), often reaching the level of a “model citizen.”
Psychoanalysis views delinquents as those who are unable to resolve their internal conflicts
[15, 18].
Antisocial people break with reality and escape from internal reality by taking prohibited actions, suppressed by the state and prosecuted by law. The main psychological defense of sociopathic people is omnipotent control.
They also use projective identification, a variety of subtle dissociative processes, and acting out.
The need to apply pressure,
as McWilliams points out, is of primary importance [18, p. 199]. It protects against shame (especially in violent psychopaths) or distracts from the search for sexual perversion (which may also underlie criminality).
Projection is often used in delinquent behavior
on society of personal negative qualities. At the same time, society illusorily looks worse than it really is, and representatives of law enforcement agencies are reduced to “cops” with the most negative characteristics.
Famous lack of conscience
in sociopaths indicates not only a defective superego, but also a lack of primary mutual attachments to other people.
For an antisocial personality, the value of other people is reduced to their usefulness, which is often determined by the latter’s explicit or unconscious consent to endure “slaps.” Sociopathic people openly brag about their victories, machinations, or deceptions if they think the listener will be impressed by their strength.
The law never ceases to amaze how easily criminals confess to murder and calmly talk about it in gruesome detail, while hiding lesser offenses or what they perceive as signs of weakness.
For example, in a television interview with the NTV channel (October 1998), serial killer Anatoly Onoprienko emotionally said that his purpose was to kill, that he was not afraid of anything, and that he had surpassed God himself. The criminal formulated his goal as “to cause fear,” explaining that even when he was in custody, he caused animal fear in people. In most ordinary cases, when explaining criminal actions, there is a tendency to minimize one’s role, to downplay one’s responsibility: “we just had a quarrel, thought badly, etc.”
The fact that delinquents do not suffer discomfort due to their behavior
constitutes one of the main difficulties of social and psychotherapeutic influence on them.
Thus, the main mechanism of self-regulation of a sociopathic personality is acting out.
internal tension and negative feelings.
At the same time, such people have an immediate impulse to action. They also have no experience of increasing self-esteem through impulse control. Sociopaths are often viewed as not caring enough.
N. McWilliams [18, p. 202] explains this circumstance by immediate acting out in combination with a refusal to acknowledge “weak” feelings. This means that if a sociopath experiences anxiety, he acts it out so quickly that others do not have time to notice it.
The mechanism of formation of antisocial orientation is not entirely clear. It has been proven that babies differ in temperament from birth. In this case, the constitutional prerequisites for sociopathy may be, for example, greater basal aggression or reduced reactivity of the nervous system (higher arousal threshold). Indeed, to feel energized and good, a sociopath needs a sharper, more jolting experience. Special constitution
may explain the constant desire of such people for thrills, their reduced ability to perceive pedagogical influence and learn socially acceptable behavior, their inability to enjoy things that are common to other people - music, nature, good work. A child who is congenitally hyperactive, demanding, or absent-minded needs significantly more involvement from a father figure than is typically expected. A child, with much more energy than his parents, can learn that he can ignore the needs of other people, doing whatever he wants, skillfully managing the behavior of others.
The attitude towards such children on the part of parents is characterized by: instability, lack of discipline, indulgence, emotional misunderstanding, exploitation and sometimes cruelty. The childhood of antisocial people is often characterized by neglect, an abundance of dangers and chaos (a chaotic mixture of harsh discipline and overindulgence; a weak mother and a hot-tempered, sadistic father; alcoholism and drugs in the family; family breakdowns). In such unstable and threatening circumstances, the child does not receive a sense of security
at the necessary moments of development, which may prompt him to spend the rest of his life searching for confirmation of his
omnipotence
.
It is generally atypical for families of antisocial individuals to understand and articulate their feelings (the phenomenon of alexithymia). While most of us use words to express our personality, sociopathic individuals use them to manipulate. Parents find themselves unable to respond to the child's emotional needs. They may also unconsciously show defiance and hatred of authority, reacting with indignation when teachers or others restrict their child's behavior. In general, parents become deeply involved in the child's display of power, and the sociopath has serious difficulty in gaining self-esteem in the normal way through experiencing the love and pride of his parents.
In the stories of the most destructive, criminal psychopaths, it is almost impossible to find a consistent, loving, protective family influence. S. Freud pointed out that: “The credulity of love
is the most important and very first source of authority" [28, p. 24]. The antisocial individual has probably simply never experienced a normal degree of affection and mutual love. He did not identify with those who cared for him. Instead, it turned out to be possible to identify with an “alien self-object”, which is experienced as predatory.
Quoting Meloy, McWilliams writes about “the lack of deep
and
unconscious identifications
initially with the primary parental figure and especially archetypal and guiding identifications with the society and culture of humanity as a whole" [18, p. 204].
Subsequent contacts of the child with adults outside the family circle also do not enrich his personality with the necessary identifications. People around you are loved as long as they contribute to satisfaction, and hated as soon as they deny it.
Due to the absence of a full-fledged superego, there are no internal demands that would cause a feeling of guilt. Although there is an intellectual understanding of the consequences of behavior, the emotional understanding is lacking. Momentary pleasure is more important than the threat of displeasure in the future [30, p. 31].
Thus, disruption of early object relations leads to serious personality disorder, experienced as an inability to establish attachments and accept authority.
Despite the obvious similarities, O. Kernberg [7] notes the psychological heterogeneity of the “antisocial personality” group itself.
and proposes to distinguish several diagnostic subgroups in it.
Antisocial personality disorder proper
characterized primarily by severe superego pathology. This is the inability to feel guilt and remorse; inability to become emotionally attached (even to animals); relationships based on the exploitation of people; deceit and insincerity; weak judgment and inability to learn from life experiences; inability to follow a life plan. In some cases, such behavior can have an actively-aggressive form (evil-sadistic), in others it can have a passive-parasitic (exploitative) form.
malignant narcissism may occur
It manifests itself in typical narcissistic personality disorder (grandiosity, superiority of the self), characterologically rooted aggression (sadism towards others or self-directed aggression), paranoid tendencies and self-righteousness. Unlike the antisocial personality itself, malignant narcissism retains the potential for attachment and involvement with other people or the feeling of guilt. Such people can understand that others have moral beliefs, can have a realistic view of their past, and can plan for the future.
Further, antisocial behavior (mainly of the passive-parasitic type) can occur in the structure of simply narcissistic personality disorder
with a predominant inability to form long-term deep attachments. It can manifest itself in the form of sexual addictions; irresponsibility; emotional or financial exploitation of others.
The next group includes antisocial behavior in other personality disorders
(infantile, hysterical, etc.).
In the case of neurotic personality disorder
antisocial behavior stems from an unconscious feeling of guilt, which can often appear as a personal drama. For example, a person steals small items at work, fearing exposure and dismissal.
Antisocial behavior can also be considered as part of symptomatic neurosis
in the form of teenage rebellion, adaptation disorders under the influence of the environment, facilitating the transfer of mental conflicts into antisocial behavior.
Finally, these may be dissocial reactions -
uncritical adaptation to a social subgroup with antisocial behavior.
Thus, such a psychological reality as delinquent behavior of an individual contains both general patterns and pronounced individual uniqueness.
When dealing with delinquent individuals, it is advisable (as far as possible) to ignore both their distrust and provocations of punishment. It should be assumed that “they do not know how to restrain themselves, but have a passionate, distorted desire for affection” [2, p. 184], unsatisfied in early childhood.
Concluding this chapter, I would like to note that crime in Russia currently represents one of the most painful social problems. By 1996–1998 The crime rate in our country has reached a record high of 2.5 - 3 million crimes per year, although it has stabilized at this level, possibly reaching the so-called crime saturation level. Along with the quantitative growth, extremely dangerous trends have emerged: an increase in the share of serious crimes; increase in juvenile crime; growth of organized crime. For example, in 1997, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation registered more than 12 thousand organized criminal groups [14].
The problem of antisocial behavior exists not only as an abstract social phenomenon. Everyday life poses difficult tasks for each of us: not to be influenced by the crime situation, to avoid fear, to protect yourself and your family, to educate law-abiding children, to help people (who have taken the path of breaking the law) to return to society. The assigned tasks require enormous efforts on the part of the state and its citizens. At the same time, solving the problem of crime is closely connected with a serious scientific understanding of illegal behavior as deviant behavior of an individual.
Recommended reading
1. Antonyan Yu.M., Guldan V.V.
Criminal pathopsychology. – M., 1991.
2. Eikhorn A.
Difficult teenager. – M., 2001.
3. Grishchenko L.A., Almazov B.N.
Running away from home and wandering. – Sverdlovsk, 1988.
4. Deviance and social control in Russia (XIX–XX centuries): Trends and sociological understanding. – St. Petersburg, 2000.
5. Dolgova A.I.
Social and psychological aspects of juvenile delinquency. – M., 1981.
6. Drozdov A.Yu.
On and off the screen: Social and psychological aspects of the influence of television // Psychologist. newspaper. – No. 37, October 1998.
7. Kernberg O.F.
Aggression in personality disorders and perversions. – M., 1998.
8. Kovalev V.V.
Childhood psychiatry. – M., 1979.
9. Kondrashenko V. T.
Deviant behavior of adolescents: Socio-psychological and psychiatric aspects. – Minsk, 1988.
10. Korolev V.V.
Mental disorders in adolescent offenders. – M., 1992.
11. Criminal motivation / Ed. V. N. Kudryavtseva. – M., 1986.
12. Kudryavtsev V.N.
Genesis of crime: Experience in criminological modeling. – M., 1998.
13. Kudryavtsev V.N.
Legal behavior: Norm and pathology. – M., 1982.
14. Kudryavtsev V.N.
Modern problems of combating crime in Russia // Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences. – 1999. – T. 69. ‑ No. 9. – P. 790–797.
15. Cooter P.
Modern psychoanalysis. – St. Petersburg, 1997.
16. Lichko A.E.
Psychopathy and character accentuations in adolescents. – L., 1983.
17. Luneev V.V.
Crime of the 20th century: World criminological analysis. – M., 1997.
18. McWilliams N.
Psychoanalytic diagnostics. – M., 1998.
19. Mozhginsky Yu.B.
Aggression in adolescents: Emotional and crisis mechanism. – St. Petersburg, 1999.
20. Behavioral disorders in children and adolescents. – M., 1981.
21. Olkov S.G.
Social diseases. – Tyumen, 1996.
22. Crime and delinquency (1993–1997): Statistics, collection. – M., 1998.
23. Psychosocial correction and rehabilitation of minors with deviant behavior / Ed. S. A. Belicheva. – M., 1999.
24. Psychotherapy of children and adolescents / Ed. X. Remschmidt. – M., 2000.
25. Rutter M.
Helping difficult children. – M., 1987.
26. Rean A.A.
Characterological features of delinquent adolescents // Questions of psychology. – 1991. ‑ No. 4.
27. Remschmidt X.
Adolescence and adolescence: Problems of personality development. – M., 1994.
28. Freud Z.
Essays on the psychology of sexuality. – M., 1989.
29. Fromm E.
Anatomy of human destructiveness. – M., 1994.
30. Encyclopedia of Depth Psychology / Ed. A.M. Bokovikov. – M., 2001.‑T. 2.
Antisocial norms
Under the auspices of introducing social norms for the consumption of water and electricity, there is a banal taking of money from the population.
Establishing the number of watts from which the population will not be charged an increased fee was given to the regions. Will this make things easier for Russians? Or is this a cunning maneuver that transfers the discontent of the masses from the center to the subjects of the federation?
These questions were answered by the head of the State Duma Committee on Housing Policy, Galina Khovanskaya, who is an ardent opponent of the introduction of social norms, which are scheduled to come into force on July 1 throughout the country without fail.
If the governors act in the same way as in the Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod regions, when they established a monthly social norm for electricity of 50 kW, then, of course, people’s dissatisfaction will not be avoided. In Russia, the average social norm is 100 kW and above.
There is no point in introducing so-called social norms now, which, by the way, are not such. We must also take into account emerging situations. So one family recently installed a water meter. They thought they would pay less. It turned out the other way around. Due to the fact that they have to drain the water for 40 minutes to finally get hot water, the fee has only increased. And this is not the only result of poor quality services and evidence of the presence of pipes in poor condition.
Why, in my opinion, will the introduced social consumption standards not fulfill the stated task of protecting the poor? I would prefer to call the process not the introduction of social consumption standards, but the transition to a double energy consumption tariff, where consumption above a certain level is subject to increased taxes.
But we already have social norms for water consumption. When calculating subsidies and targeted assistance, the social norm for electricity consumption is taken into account. Since the authors of the new version of social consumption norms are so concerned about people with low incomes, then they just need to increase this already existing social norm. There is no need to go to any other categories - families with many children, etc. Well, there is already a list of the poor. Help them. After all, a lack of money happens not only in families with three children, there can be two children. If a mother sits with the children because there are no places in kindergarten. And the washing machine is constantly spinning, the iron is working, water is pouring, something is cooking, steaming. Because children are children. At the same time, the poorest part of the population has old household appliances. This means that it consumes twice as much electricity as a modern one.
We already have a day and night rate. The principle is the time of day. And the proposed new one is based on the principle of volume. That is, simply a two-part tariff. And these are not social norms!
What can I say to those who believe that social norms should be introduced, at least so that cottage owners pay more than ordinary citizens?
How many of them do we, these owners, have? 3–4%? And the remaining 96–97% are the owners of a peasant house and vegetable garden. They need to water and warm the houses. Are we really going to squeeze them, the villagers who live in this garden, too? After all, they need additional electricity in order to simply exist.
Let me give you another example. It is cold now. Pipes are bursting. What should people do in this case? Of course, they are forced to turn on the heating appliances. Since the batteries don’t heat up at more than minus 20. It turns out that in this case there is a choice - to freeze or to pay the last for electricity?
In Finland, the average level of electricity consumption is 4 times higher than ours. In Germany - 2 times more. And this is among the very frugal Germans. So what kind of warm floors for children and the elderly can we talk about? If we set a standard for the poor of 50 kW per month with a gas stove and 70 kW with an electric one.
People often ask me: why did we suddenly come to this kind of life? What, our state is completely impoverished?
No. It’s just additional income for electric power companies and resource supply organizations.
After all, they were told that the energy tariff would not be raised to a level greater than inflation minus 70%, for a total of 4.2 rubles/kW. From whom then should they take profit? Of course, from the people. And from whom else?
At the same time, in this way the problem of cross-subsidization is partially solved. Because now citizens pay less for electricity than enterprises. Although all over the world it’s the other way around: wholesalers pay less than individuals.
But I don’t know if the game is worth the candle. What is the special effect of this whole story?
They write there: we need to pay special attention to large families, families of disabled people, and families of pensioners. This means that a WHOLE STAFF OF OFFICIALS will work throughout the country in each district, who will calculate which families have pensioners, etc. Separate coefficients will be introduced for them.
I am a supporter of targeted protection. We have a targeted assistance system. It would be better if they strengthened it and didn’t overdo anything. Following the example of Moscow, we would create a federal standard throughout Russia. In Moscow, if a family pays more than 10% of their income for housing and communal services, then the rest is subsidized. In poor regions - 22%. This is what we should do. The regions have the right to reduce this figure, but there is no money in the budget for this.
For some reason, in America this is a problem for the federal authorities, while in our country it is a problem for the regional authorities.
What, in my opinion, should definitely be avoided? I don’t want those who receive subsidies today to end up in a worse situation because of the introduction of these so-called social norms. Or he sits at home, does not work due to circumstances (health conditions, presence of children, etc.).
Because if they exceed these standards that are used for subsidies - 50 and 70 kW per month, then they will fly to the next level, where the subsidy is no longer provided.
Source: https://www.aif.ru/realty/opinion/1096080
