Psycho

The wildly popular masterwork of Alfred Hitchcock, detailing a series of murders (including the famous “shower scene”) at a small hotel, is perhaps one of the most famous horror movies ever made, sitting beside classics such as The Shining and The Silence of the Lambs. It’s also one of my favorite movies. But despite its brilliance, it has one minor flaw: it isn’t actually about a psychopath at all.

Because of its treatment in pop culture and the elusive nature of its diagnosis, the term psychopath is difficult to define. There is no true “traditional” definition -- the way we categorize these individuals evolves as science and understanding of mental illness does, and it is impossible to settle on one definitively right answer. However, the most common profile of a psychopath involves patterns of manipulation, callousness, lack of empathy and remorse, and emotional or physical violation of others. While there is no doubt that Norman Bates has some pretty significant issues -- dissociative identity disorder most prominent among them -- he does not fit that profile. The title character from American Psycho, however, looks like the textbook case. Patrick Bateman is cold, calculating, and prone to engaging in violent sexual behaviors. One line in particular is enough to convince me of his psycho status: after breaking up with his fiance of many years, he says “You just aren’t that important to me.” Ambiguous ending aside, Patrick Bateman falls directly into the category of individuals that would be termed psychopathic.

A professional psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of sex offenders told me in an interview that psychopaths are beyond saving. For those whose brains came damaged in certain key areas, there is no hope of change, no hope of rehabilitation or a life colored by empathy for his fellow man. And while that may be true today, that does not mean that in time a treatment based around correcting the neurological deficiencies of psychopathic individuals cannot be developed. The importance of the research I am studying is self-evident -- with it, we are able to come to an understanding of how their minds work, and with that comes the hope of a future where psychopaths can live normal, emotionally fulfilling lives.

A semester spent immersed in the proverbial dark side might not sound immediately appealing, but taking a semester sabbatical into the minds of psychopaths has been blossoming into an extremely rewarding experience that is absolutely fascinating, if not a little morbid. Examining where, exactly, the brains and behaviors of these people veer away from the morally-steered norm is something that cannot be fully explored in a semester, but a start, at least, is something.

~Erin