So this got me thinking, do sociopaths enjoy romance novels
or would they see them as examples of tools to manipulate people?
It’s an interesting question. MRIs show that when sociopaths talk about
emotions, they use the language part of their brain rather than the feeling
part. It’s actually part of the
diagnostic criteria for declaring someone a sociopath, I believe. The implication is that they don’t actually
feel the emotions but react intellectually to emotional situations. (Side note, it would be really interesting to
do a comparison study of actors playing a part.
Do their emotion centers light up or would it be more language?)
If you’ve never experienced love, would you enjoy a
vicarious portrayal of it? Do you need
to be able to relate to something in order to enjoy it? If they did get something out of it, could it
help to moderate less social impulses? A
sort of physiotherapy for the heart. Or
maybe a prosthetic would be a better analogy.
There’s lots of interesting evidence that having the brain
chemistry of a sociopath does not mean you end up becoming a sociopath. One particular researcher discovered he had
the same brain patterns as the serial killers he was studying. But he was raised in a compassionate, caring
home and had a loving wife and children of his own. So clearly he felt emotions. If one takes his research as a given, then
you need both predisposition and environment
to get a sociopath.
Looking at it that way, there might be something to the
theory that exposure to empathy in various creative forms (TV, movies, books,
music) might actually be able to help.
It suggests that even psychopaths are born with a kernel of empathy, one
which could be squashed or nurtured by those around them. The time to do it is obviously in childhood
and adolescence. Adults are generally
set in their ways and it’s rare to get a real change in personality and
patterns without extensive professional help and effort.
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