Flannery Kuhn

Ashlyn Williams
English 1102
13 March 2014

Introduction
Todays society has changed some of its focuses and started dipping its feet into a
much more psychological interest. Though we all have gathered some small bit of
knowledge in the area of pathology through books, television shows, psychology classes,
and old magazines, what do you we really know about what goes one in the pathology of
the mind in a psychopath? New Television shows have now portrayed their main
characters and people with different mentalities than your ordinary protagonist that gets
the girls and all the fame. Today shows like Breaking Bad, Sherlock, Dexter, House, and
Monk support the not so average Joe and create main characters that fascinate viewers
and increase their curiosity of the show which forces them to continue the time
consuming but ever so pleasing series they once tried to avoid. A show called Dexter
recently became popular on the website everyone uses these days called Netflix. The
show follows its main character that has a secret he has to hide from even the closest of
friends and family; he is a psychopath and serial killer.
Dexter is a forensic blood spatter analysis and works with the Miami Police
Department solving crimes and riding Miami of the turmoil throughout the show. This
show however, is not like any other crime scene investigation shows. The viewers learn
to be sympathetic towards Dexter for they see throughout the show how his past life has
made him who he is in his adult life. Found at a very traumatic crime scene at the age of
two, Dexter learns to cope with his so-called urges you see throughout the show, in
other words, his killing sprees. Because many are unaware of his true nature, he has to go
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:28 PM
Comment [1]: veiy uetaileu intiouuction.
Cleai anu piecise! It helpeu me iemembei
what youi obseivation was about.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:28 PM
Comment [2]: What goes "on"
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:29 PM
Comment [3]: What happeneu in his past
life. Naybe you coulu quickly claiify this foi
the ieaueis who have not seen the show.
through life hiding who he truly is underneath the good looking, sweet natured man that
works in the police department. Dexter exemplifies many emotions a psychopathic serial
killer may obtain and as viewers we gain more knowledge of how a psychopath my live
out his or her life on a daily basis. I was very fascinated with this show, and my
fascination for Dexter led me to my topic because not many of us really think about how
many kinds of psychopaths there truly are in the world and what they are capable of. I
conducted research on childhood traumas and the way they affect children in the long
run, the aspect of nature vs. nurture and how we are raised determines who we become in
adulthood, and then also I researched how psychopaths such as Dexter himself fit in to
society and learn how to function within a normal environment.

Literature Review
Terms:
Psychopathy: Psychopathy is a disorder found in a person and is hard to detect. A
psychopath may appear normal but they have very manipulative features that can often
lead to criminal-like actions. It is extremely resistant to treatment. Psychopaths and
Sociopaths are related terms, and in the 1800s doctors working with mental patients
noticed a abnormality about them which deemed them morally insane changing the
name to sociopath because of the damage they could have on society.
Psychopath: A psychopath is a term used to describe a person with the disorder of
psychopathy. It is someone that is affected by the personality disorder marked by
aggression, violence, antisocial thought and behavior and a lack of remorse or empathy
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:29 PM
Comment [4]: Nay live out his oi hei life.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:32 PM
Comment [5]: This is a ieally stiong
paiagiaph. It helps me easily unueistanu
the show anu youi line of inquiiy foi the
ieseaich papei.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:33 PM
Comment [6]: I'm not suie if you uiu, but
make suie to incluue youi obseivations
fiom Assignment 0ne. Bon't foiget to auu
in-text citations.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:29 PM
Comment [7]: Cleai uefinitions. They
helpeu me go back anu ielate to some of the
teims you useu in youi intiouuction.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:34 PM
Comment [8]: Each teim is thoioughly
uefineu anu I like how you auueu moie to
each teim to help us unueistanu it easiei.
Sociopath: A sociopath is another term used to describe someone with the
personality disorder.
Morally Insane: A state of madness consisting in a morbid perversion of the
natural feelings, affections, inclinations, temper, habits, moral dispositions, and
delusions.
Pathology: Pathology is the science of the causes and effects of diseases.
Childhood Trauma: Allen, Rosse, and Osofsky speak about the affects that childhood
trauma has on the future of the child. Because of the violence that children in the world
are introduced to at a young age, this triggers something in their minds they can cause a
defect on the child and change their perception on situations. Osofsky states that the
homicide rate among young people ages 15 to 24 has doubled since 1950 to the rate of 37
homicides per 100,000 people in 1991. Of course these traumas are across the board and
include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in young children and adults. Children
exposed to the use of guns, knives, drugs, and random acts of violence are more likely to
incorporate these same items and actions in their lives growing up. With children they
learn most of what they know by seeing how it is used or recognizing the reputation of
the item or action. Also, Allen and Rosse clearly explain that the vulnerability of children
to the effects of trauma may lead that child to have specialized interventions during there
recovery, or very exhaustive counseling for years following the traumatic event. These
children develop a higher risk for both short-term and long-term negative emotional
reactions. Studies have shown after events such as Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, parental
stress levels have affects childrens stress levels and have become more noticeable
variables when studying childrens stress levels to these events. Each article delves into
the idea of a child potentially having lifetime affects even after months or years of
therapy. Essentially, the parents reaction plays a major role on the childs reaction to
what ever trauma they have been around.
Childhood Trauma Leaving a Trace: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne,
Esterman, and Genius each had interesting things to say about what occurs to a child
when they are young. Each article agrees with the affect of childhood trauma and the life
of a child when they are adults. Many tests and experiments have been run and the results
have all been somewhat the same. They all say that any kind of harm on the brain to a
child whether it is psychical or emotions has a neurological effect on that child and in the
long run children have side effects. Many of these side effects include aggressive
behavior that can be caused from an abusive childhood and too much visual violence.
Due to the altercation in the brain, that alone adds difficulty to the therapeutic
rehabilitation.

Psychopathy: Ells, Harris, Bower, Killing and Rice all speak about the hardwiring of the
common psychopath. In Harriss article he claims that the psychological construct of the
mind has gone through many changes over the decades to get to where we are in modern
day. It has existence in woman, men, children, and all racial and ethnic groups. Since its
manifestation in todays world has increased, these so-called psychopaths or mentally
disturbed and morally insane folk have comprised a natural class of individuals. Ells
makes a claim that psychopaths are often hard to point out from ordinarily normal people.
They also easily harm those that they are closest with because they have made
connections with them throughout their lives. Of those men, women, children, and racial
groups, only a small population actually fit the psychopathic personality profile of the
population of those in prison. Each article explains the difficulties in curing this disorder.
Some have deemed it incurable and permanent. Their emotions are so strong and so
wide-ranging that they need extra care when placed in hospitals. In Bowers article he
states that there are two varieties of psychopaths. They are manipulative and quite
charming, however in their manipulative and charming ways they take what they want do
as they please. Due to their actions, some psychopaths are put in jail, which seems fair to
those that harm is done upon. But, in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology researchers
have made reports that a separate breed of psychopaths has developed from
imprisonment. This so-called breed has been said to express little emotion when
interviewed for research. Also in recent studies on psychopaths or sociopaths, they have
difficulties in planning ahead, thinking flexibly, and controlling their impulses, which had
an overall affect on each person. Not to mention the beginning stages of psychopathy in
young children.
Nature vs. Nurture: In Santaularia, Esterman, and Geniuss articles they seek the nature
vs. nurture aspect in a psychopaths life and how DNA plays a role in peoples
psychoses. Esterman shares in his article that the idea of Nature vs Nurture was not
only popular when the Greek philosopher, Plato stated that our morality and capability
of intelligence was inherited but is also a common idea today. Being aware of the saying
the apple doesnt fall far from the tree demonstrates to us the idea that in a psychopaths
mind, something occurred for them to become who they are today. In other words, our
DNA plays a role in the way we are, so essentially, the way we are raised and what is in
our genetic code give reasons to be sane and insane. In Santaularias article he shares that
in the show Dexter, Dexter this psychopath, claims he does not know what made him the
way he is. There are plenty of reasons that back up his psychotic state of mind, some
relation to the trauma he witnessed in his childhood, some from his genetic makeup and
then some from the way he was raised. Supporting the Nature vs. Nurture aspect once
more.

Entering the Conversation:
If I asked you to tell me what you know about the pathology of a psychopath based on
what television and the media has displayed for you, what would you say? Most of us
have gathered our information on what we know about psychopaths based on numerous
television shows such as the classic CSI, NCIS, Dexter, Sherlock, and many more crime
scene investigation shows. You would probably tell me that psychopaths are insane,
mentally ill, manipulative, dangerous, unstable and you shouldnt associate yourself with
them. I would have to agree with all of these descriptions that go along with your general
psychopath. Over the past few decades, television shows with violence have increased
and managed to gain the fascination of teenagers and young adults. But how far will they
continue to go until it becomes excessive?
In popular shows on television these days main characters have been given
pathological illnesses because it strays away from the normal protagonist of a series,
which grasps the viewers attention and creates an interest in that specific character. We
begin to ask ourselves, what will they do next? Will they harm someone they love? Will
they harm themselves? These characters leaves us questioning their every move in
anticipation that some twist will occur in the next five minutes of watching.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:30 PM
Comment [9]: I ieally like the way you
stait youi intiouuction off. It ieally catches
my attention.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:34 PM
Comment [10]: Nake suie to incluue a
sentence uesciibing youi line of inquiiy.
I believe that the increase of all of these shows and movies about people with
psychopathic issues will soon have a higher demand of a large population of viewers.
Excessiveness of this portrayal will become an issue. I personally think that the amount
of exposure of corrupt standards has become too popular in the media and on television.

So What?/Conclusion
There are many sides to one single person. Despite some psychical ailments of a person
you do not know what goes on in the mind of that one person until you get to know them.
They could be the sweetest person or perhaps the rudest, most atrocious human you have
ever met. Many of us have a solid mind and good head on our shoulders, could you say
the same for a psychopath or a sociopath? We learned over the years that these types of
people could be harmful and we should keep our distance, but what about psychopaths
that mean well they just are judged to harshly by society? As I spoke about Dexter
previously, we know he is a psychopathic serial killer but what I failed to mention is how
kind and gentle his heart truly is. Now, not every psychopath out there can be sweetheart
like Dexter but it was the way he was raised despite the trauma he went through as a very
small child. We are all affected by what we see, have seen, the unknown, and known. We
are also affect differently be each. This paper focuses on the affects of childhood trauma
can cause in adulthood, that pathology of the psychopathic mind such as Dexters and
how our surroundings and the people we surround ourselves with affect the person we
become in the future. Think about the fear we all have with fitting in, we all want to
belong. Like Dexter, we look for that happy place where we can be ourselves and for him
that was something that was very hard to find. You can act normal on the outside and be
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:31 PM
Comment [11]: Youi conclusions was
gieat! I ieally like how you seem to be
talking uiiectly to me insteau of just wiiting
a papei.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:35 PM
Comment [12]: This paiagiaph is veiy
stiong as well. I like how it captuies the
concept of the papei anu basically
summaiizes it into one paiagiaph.
Flannery Kuhn 3/23/14 2:36 PM
Comment [13]: Consiuei moving this
sentence in youi "Enteiing the
Conveisation" poition of youi papei. Since
this sentence uesciibes youi line of inquiiy.
completely insane on the inside. The psychological interest of todays population can
change what researchers desire to focus on.