Is It Possible To Determine Whether A Child Is Likely To Grow Up To Be A Psychopath? Part 1

April 7th 2014 – Part 1 Of Annotated Bibliography

News.com.au 2013, Is Your Child A Budding Psychopath? Now There’s A Way To Find Out, viewed 7/4/14 <http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/is-your-child-a-budding-psychopath/story-fnet08ui-1226634514379> 

“Is Your Child A Budding Psychopath? Now There’s A Way To Find Out” is a compelling article that assesses biological studies of young male brains in relation to psychopathic traits. The article considers the differences in boys’ brain activity when being exposed to stimulus (images), that do and do not present pain. 

Despite the article being written in an informal colloquial language, it explores the study taken with clear explanations without bias. The article is short and concise, allowing the reader to be informed appropriately without confusion. 

It should be noted that the study present in the article is only based around that of boys, and does not consider girls, therefore not assessing gender differences. The information provided is recent being written in 2013, therefore allowing for a fresh perspective on the topic. 

Dolan M 2014, Psychopathic Personality in Young People, viewed 7/4/14 <http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/10/6/466.full> 

The text “Psychopathic Personality in Young People” considers a large variety of aspects and views on this controversial topic. Dolan considers biological factors (the brain and its activity), emotional traits (in relation to personality), parental influences and different ways of assessing and measuring psychopathy in young people. 

Dolan informs the reader in a clear and precise manner that is organised and easy to read. Dolan takes a variety of approaches to the question and explores them in detail remaining absent from the text, allowing for no detectable bias. The text however is at time convoluted when discussing more complex approaches and becomes un-succinct. 

Despite the informative text, there is a lack of justification in terms of relating the ideas to performed psychological experiments, which questions the reliability of the claims made. The text is recent, and allows for a modern perspective on the topic.