Would Tumblety Have Assumed That He Was Being Followed?

[mklhawley]

And I believe all of that, though Narcissism is such a mystery in so many ways that I'm not sure anyone boils down to that checklist, and that checklist alone.

But we all fear, unless our amygdala is crapped out. We are all driven either by hope, fear, or we are not driven at all. And the core of narcissism is paranoia. Narcissists are driven by terrible fear and the belief that they have enemies who want to destroy them. Enemies make them feel powerful (every hero needs a villain), and explains their failures. And nothing unleashes paranoia like challenging the narcissistic delusion. And the entire disorder is developed to mask or answer consuming fears of inadequacy or failure, or in response to a major trauma. Narcissists are built, not born. And they don't acknowledge these fears, but they are there. Usually very powerful.

I'm sure he would be furious at being challenged. But he would have to come up with a reason WHY they were challenging him. Why they would dare. And if he can't admit his mistakes, and narcissists can't, then he has to assume malice. He has to assume they are out to get him. Or someone else is and set him up, or turned him in. And then he has to wonder what will be next. He would see it as "being careful". Protecting himself. In reality it's the core of his disorder.

How interesting you commented upon the amygdala, Errata. I heard of a recent study about psychopathic (not sociopathic) serial offenders with underdeveloped amygdala.

Sincerely,
Mike

[mklhawley]

It's not like London was the only city in the world that had prostitutes that he could kill. Why take a chance on killing Kelly if he believed that he was being followed? Yes, you can argue that people do irrational and stupid things but...

c.d.

It's true Tumblety stated he was being followed, but his statement suggests he later discovered this. This was a man who made it a habit to vanish. We also don't know if Scotland Yard informed him of their continued suspicions on the Whitechapel murders. I suggest they didn't until later.

Mike

[Errata]

How interesting you commented upon the amygdala, Errata. I heard of a recent study about psychopathic (not sociopathic) serial offenders with underdeveloped amygdala.

Sincerely,
Mike

Did they try them on SSRIs? Because those can ramp up amygdalae activity. Well, usually just the left. But given that's the one you want for thought instead of action, it might be a good start.

[mklhawley]

Did they try them on SSRIs? Because those can ramp up amygdalae activity. Well, usually just the left. But given that's the one you want for thought instead of action, it might be a good start.

Here it is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2737612/

Mike

[Errata]

Here it is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2737612/

Mike

None of that is particularly surprising, though it's an older study so that may be why.

But then there was this:

"although one study reported a deficit in disgust recognition in criminal psychopaths when responding with their left hand, but not their right (Kosson et al., 2002)."

Which I find terribly interesting. There's a hemisphere argument. I always knew there was a problem, but I didn't know that one side had information the other side didn't. And could act on it when deemed necessary. We think of psychopaths as a collection of things that aren't there. Empathy, emotion, self control. But if there's a hemisphere conflict (barring any damage), those things may all be there on the wrong side of the door.

There may be so many other problems that in the end it doesn't matter, but how psychopathic are they if their left hemisphere is activated, instead of using their whole brain? Are they more psychopathic doing jumping jacks than they are writing out their biography?

One side couldn't recognize disgust. The other could and did. In a brain that does not recognize censure. Except it did. Not anger, not fear, but disgust. And it's not reflective. Psychopaths don't express fear, but they do express anger. If they were reflective they would identify that as well. But it was disgust. Why disgust? Why does that tiny part of their brain keep that one tucked away mostly unused, but not the others?

I don't know what it means, but it's interesting.

[mklhawley]

Fear Switch

Great dialogue, Errata, and this part pertains to the thread. Fear Switch

Dr. Adrian Raine, Ph. D., professor of criminology, psychiatry, and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, stated two points just recently:
1. Murderers exhibited decreased function in the prefrontal cerebral cortex, the area of the brain that determines good from bad.
2. Abnormalities of amygdala, area that controls fear. An underdeveloped or damaged amygdala may have impaired the offender's 'fear switch', possibly leading to violence or reckless behavior.

Your point on the sides of the brain is also intriguing, especially since I'm a lefty!

Sincerely,

Mike