The Antisocial Personalities

The Handbook of Psychology for Forensic Practioners discusses some of the ways in which psychological research and methods can be applied by a wide variety of professional groups working with offenders. The book concentrates on the assessment of risk in forensic settings and the interventions designed to reduce risk in violent and sexual offenders. In three sections it looks at:what we know about offenders; the assessment of risk; and the applicationn of psychological assessment and intervention approaches. By illustrating theoretical practice with case examples and also practical guidance The Handbook of Psychology for Forensic Practitioners develops a very practical focus throughout the text. Each chapter of the book is also designed so that it can be read in isolation and still provide useful guidance. It can be used as an aid to day to day professional practice for those working in forensic settings including probation officers, social workers, nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction. Part I: Crime and Violence: Who Are the Perpetrators and Why Do They Do It? The Psychopathology of Crime. An Animal Model: The Bull Terrier. A Classification of Criminal Types. Part II: The Genetic and Evolutionary Background. Crime From an Evolutionary Perspective. Genes and the Mind. The Heritability of Criminality. Part III: The Psychopathic Personalities. The Psychopath: An Introduction to the Genus. The Classification of the Psychopathies. A Theory of Primary Psychopathy. Primary and Secondary Psychopathy. Further Contributions of R.D. Hare. Theories of Frontal Lobe Dysfunction. Other Theories of Psychopathy. Part IV: The Sociopathic Personalities. The Sociopath or Common Criminal. The Question of Race. Preventing Antisocial Personality.

About the Author :
David T. Lykken

Review :
"...this is a fascinating volume. It is just the kind of book that should be at the center of debates on public policy--consistently scientific and free from preconceptions or wishful thinking." —American Renaissance HOLD FOR PUBLICATION OF REVIEW!!!"...a sophisticated, tightly integrated work with multiple overlapping themes. This is a book that brings new perspective to a well-travelled literature and which yields fresh rewards with repeated readings. It is illuminating, entertaining, and at times outrageous. In short, it has the earmarks of a classic." —Psychological Inquiry "...original, variegated, intelligent, scholarly, and delightfully written....this book is dense and nutritious; few works are based on bodies of literature as diverse as those covered here, and there are fewer still that achieve the conceptual coherence that Lykken achieves. [He] is an expert in this long-term field, and his book is an encyclopedic compendium." —Aggressive Behavior After reviewing the literature on psychopathy, this book documents the claim that sociopaths, not psychopaths, are responsible for most crime. —National Institute of Justice "Lykken's newest book on the antisocial personalities rivals and then surpasses the classic by Cleckley by combining hard-nosed science, as skillfully as Sagan, with keen observations on humans in social settings garnered over some 40 years of experience with sociopaths. His theory about the 'primary psychopath' and his (usually) origins will irritate, agitate, and partially explicate, depending on the reader's previous exposure to sociology, behavioral genetics, and welfare policy. Lykken's challenges to conventional and received wisdom are both serious and entertaining. Your attitude toward crime and violence will NOT be the same after reading this book as it was before you started." —Irving I. Gottesman, Ph.D. Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrics, University of Virginia "This is the most exciting book on psychopathology I've read for years. The analysis is incisive and deep; the style is engaging; the synthesis of the author's encyclopedic knowledge in diverse areas -- clinical psychology, sociology, psychometrics, genetics, psychophysiology -- is creative and powerful. This book defines the research task for the foreseeable future." —Paul E. Meehl, Ph.D., LP Regents' Professor of Psychology, Emeritus, Member Emeritus, Minnesota Center fo "David Lykken, the Dean of the field of antisocial behavior, provides a badly needed, comprehensive, and insightful analysis of the complex causes of the marked and continuing increase in crime and violence. This highly readable book offers its own recommendations that are likely to stimulate a major political debate as to how to solve this critical societal problem. It is one of those rare books that presents an authoritative overview for professionals in the field, yet is written in a clear and entertaining style that makes it invaluable for the educated layperson." —Don C. Fowles, Ph.D. The University of Iowa "Your book on the antisocial personalities is wonderful....The topic is major, the writing is marvelously clear, and the argument is correct....your book is the high water mark in our efforts to develop a conceptual understanding of the issue." —Robert Hogan Hogan Assessment Systems