Examlex

Solved

Explain Why Most Researchers Believe Psychopaths Cannot Be Treated

question 15

Essay

Explain why most researchers believe psychopaths cannot be treated.Describe one well-known study that lends support for this notion.
This question would be worth 3 marks (1 mark for explaining why psychopaths are not believed to benefit from treatment,and 2 marks for describing Rice,Harris,and Cormier's (1992)study involving treatment outcomes of psychopaths).
-Psychopaths see nothing wrong with their behaviour,often don't feel anxiety or distress,and usually only participate in treatment when it is to their benefit.
-Rice,Harris,and Cormier (1992)conducted a study on violent psychopathic and nonpsychopathic forensic psychiatric patients to evaluate the effects of an intensive therapeutic treatment program.
-Patients were followed for 10 years after release.
-Untreated nonpsychopaths had a violent reoffending rate of 39%
-Treated nonpscyhopaths had a violent reoffending rate of 22%
-Untreated psychopaths had a violent reoffending rate of 55%
-Treated psychopaths had a violent reoffending rate of 77%
-These findings contributed to many clinicians concluding that psychopaths should not be treated as their recidivism rates are higher when this is attempted.


Definitions:

Quantitative

Refers to measurements or data that can be expressed numerically, allowing for precise and objective analysis.

Mesozoic

An era of Earth's history between 252 to 66 million years ago, known as the age of dinosaurs and significant geological and evolutionary changes.

Geologic Timescale

A system of chronological dating that relates geological strata to time, used by geologists to describe the timing and relationships between events in Earth's history.

Quantitative Data

Numerical data that can be measured and written down with numbers, used to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other defined variables.

Related Questions