[Kizzy]

I' going to use that word.... trigger.

With psychopathy there has to be an event or series of events that turns on this part of the brain within the psychopath.

Could these games do it?

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

I' going to use that word.... trigger.

With psychopathy there has to be an event or series of events that turns on this part of the brain within the psychopath.

Could these games do it?

Does there? I wouldn't have thought so really. I would say its always there. Some chose to act on it (maybe for superficial reasons..most common seems to be rejection by a romantic partner) and some don't. I genuinely cannot imagine how playing a violent videogame could be a 'trigger'

I am apparently a sociopath. Which means (according to the internet and searches I have done since having this revealed to me) I could have psychopathic tendencies. But I watch endless gory films and such and have never felt the urge to hurt someone badly. I know I could hurt someone badly and feel no guilt (I have hurt people 'not badly' and felt no guilt, I have done some very bad things and not felt guilt too, I am very manipulative also when I want to be and never feel bad for that) as I have thought about it a lot and how I would actually take it and have come to the conclusion that I could actually kill someone and not care at all. All I would care about is the possibility of getting caught and going to prison. But still, as I said I watch a ridiculous amount of gory films, I watch real beheadings and such on the net, and still never this 'trigger' has happened to me. Hmm. Though it does concern me a lot that I have thought enough into it to come to the conclusion that I could kill without regret.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Does there? I wouldn't have thought so really. I would say its always there. Some chose to act on it (maybe for superficial reasons..most common seems to be rejection by a romantic partner) and some don't. I genuinely cannot imagine how playing a violent videogame could be a 'trigger'

I am apparently a sociopath. Which means (according to the internet and searches I have done since having this revealed to me) I could have psychopathic tendencies. But I watch endless gory films and such and have never felt the urge to hurt someone badly. I know I could hurt someone badly and feel no guilt (I have hurt people 'not badly' and felt no guilt, I have done some very bad things and not felt guilt too, I am very manipulative also when I want to be and never feel bad for that) as I have thought about it a lot and how I would actually take it and have come to the conclusion that I could actually kill someone and not care at all. All I would care about is the possibility of getting caught and going to prison. But still, as I said I watch a ridiculous amount of gory films, I watch real beheadings and such on the net, and still never this 'trigger' has happened to me. Hmm. Though it does concern me a lot that I have thought enough into it to come to the conclusion that I could kill without regret.

This neuroscientist was shocked to discover he was... as he had no idea, he could only assume that due to to his life experiences he hadn't been 'triggered'.
Unless you do kill someone then I guess being a psychopath is nothing to be ashamed of?

I can't watch beheadings or anything, gory films terrify me and yet faced with a real life situation involving serious injury doesn't phase me at all.
I identify with the manipulative and charismatic part I suppose.
The most telling being how I need to 'rest' after being around people.... it's just so draining.

If I'm being perfectly honest I wouldn't trust myself to act rationally and revenge for major slights was sweet, as I've joked before I don't know how my ex is still alive... he must have a cast iron stomach. That was for hitting my son, I remember it as clear as day it was like a switch, all the love I had for him vanished in an instant and I just wanted him dead.

Too much mario cart 64 maybe? haha!

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...f-a-psychopath

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

This neuroscientist was shocked to discover he was... as he had no idea, he could only assume that due to to his life experiences he hadn't been 'triggered'.
Unless you do kill someone then I guess being a psychopath is nothing to be ashamed of?

I can't watch beheadings or anything, gory films terrify me and yet faced with a real life situation involving serious injury doesn't phase me at all.
I identify with the manipulative and charismatic part I suppose.
The most telling being how I need to 'rest' after being around people.... it's just so draining.

If I'm being perfectly honest I wouldn't trust myself to act rationally and revenge for major slights was sweet, as I've joked before I don't know how my ex is still alive... he must have a cast iron stomach. That was for hitting my son, I remember it as clear as day it was like a switch, all the love I had for him vanished in an instant and I just wanted him dead.

Too much mario cart 64 maybe? haha!

https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...f-a-psychopath

From that article I searched for this hare psychopathy checklist..as the wiki link didn't have the actual questions. I found this

http://uk.businessinsider.com/hare-p...ficial-charm-1

And I score 17/20 on it

So thats scary.

So maybe psychopath instead of sociopath. Which is nice...

Only ones that don't apply to me are
Do you have a grandiose sense of self-worth? (though I do very often feel that I should have more than I have, even from not working for it...so maybe?)
Have you had many short-term "marital" relationships?
Do you have a "parasitic lifestyle"? (though this one does kind of apply to me at the moment due to illness. But when I am not ill its a no so I don't think its right to apply this one for sake of the test)

One of the comments on the guardian link is interesting to me 'I've often wondered if psychopathy could not be treated with MDMA (ecstasy), a drug renowned for massively increasing empathy.'. As my own experiences with MDMA made me feel like a complete different person, which is why I was so heavily into it as a teenager as it was so...alien to me.

[DemolitionRed]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Does there? I wouldn't have thought so really. I would say its always there. Some chose to act on it (maybe for superficial reasons..most common seems to be rejection by a romantic partner) and some don't. I genuinely cannot imagine how playing a violent videogame could be a 'trigger'

I am apparently a sociopath. Which means (according to the internet and searches I have done since having this revealed to me) I could have psychopathic tendencies. But I watch endless gory films and such and have never felt the urge to hurt someone badly. I know I could hurt someone badly and feel no guilt (I have hurt people 'not badly' and felt no guilt, I have done some very bad things and not felt guilt too, I am very manipulative also when I want to be and never feel bad for that) as I have thought about it a lot and how I would actually take it and have come to the conclusion that I could actually kill someone and not care at all. All I would care about is the possibility of getting caught and going to prison. But still, as I said I watch a ridiculous amount of gory films, I watch real beheadings and such on the net, and still never this 'trigger' has happened to me. Hmm. Though it does concern me a lot that I have thought enough into it to come to the conclusion that I could kill without regret.

I've got to go with what Kizzy says here. Its not always there. Whilst its true that sociopathy/psychopathy is usually predisposed to the gene pool, its not always the case. Frontal lobe injuries often cause the recovered person to show sociopathic traits that weren't previously there.

But back to being born with sociopathic genes. Modern thinking say it’s the environment that is often the catalyst that nurtures those genes. Therefore, a child born with a sociopathic genes, brought up in a healthy environment is less likely to exhibit traits as an adult but a child brought up in an abusive environment is more likely to go through the ripple effect that can lead to psychopathic behavior.

Its interesting what you say about your self diagnosis. There are a lot of people with sociopathic traits amongst us but don’t have enough traits to have a diagnosis and are therefore not sociopaths.

[Withano]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

I' going to use that word.... trigger.

With psychopathy there has to be an event or series of events that turns on this part of the brain within the psychopath.

Could these games do it?

Well.. anything hypothetically could do it. Tripping on a twig could hypothetically do it, but lets not ban oxygen and water. Theres a long line of issues that would need to occur before anyone attempts to murder.

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

I' going to use that word.... trigger.

With psychopathy there has to be an event or series of events that turns on this part of the brain within the psychopath.

Could these games do it?

That's probably the issue here.

There's a world of difference between a trigger and a cause.

A trigger sets off something already wrong, and can come from a multitude of things. A cause is something different and suggests something like a video game can cause a mentally healthy person to change.

I believe they can trigger, like many things in life can trigger unwell people to do irrational and violent things. I don't believe they're a cause in any way shape or form.

Out of the millions upon millions of people who have watched Chuckie of all ages and backgrounds, 2 kids using it as inspiration for the despicable acts they'd have committed with or without it is no evidence that horror movies or video games cause these things.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Mariah_Carey

That's probably the issue here.

There's a world of difference between a trigger and a cause.

A trigger sets off something already wrong, and can come from a multitude of things. A cause is something different and suggests something like a video game can cause a mentally healthy person to change.

I believe they can trigger, like many things in life can trigger unwell people to do irrational and violent things. I don't believe they're a cause in any way shape or form.

Out of the millions upon millions of people who have watched Chuckie of all ages and backgrounds, 2 kids using it as inspiration for the despicable acts they'd have committed with or without it is no evidence that horror movies or video games cause these things.

I did't put forward the chuckie analogy.

Could it not be a trigger for those who do have issues and a cause for those who don't?

[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

I did't put forward the chuckie analogy.

Could it not be a trigger for those who do have issues and a cause for those who don't?

I genuinely do not believe that playing violent videogames can turn an otherwise normal person into a killer. I really don't. Is this what you mean by this?

[Marsh.]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

I did't put forward the chuckie analogy.

Could it not be a trigger for those who do have issues and a cause for those who don't?

I never said you did. I used the point about triggers vs cause to add my thoughts to the threads conversation which included the Bulger case.

In answer to your question, no I don't think so. As I've never come across any such crimes committed by people without issues and I've never come across anyone nor have any studies highlighted an individual who became mentally unbalanced due to a video game, movie or other.

I agree with Vicky on the Scream quote.
Movies and games might give psychos ideas but they were a psycho beforehand. Bulger's killers were apparently influenced by Chucky, if that film didn't exist they'd have used other methods. Chucky didn't make them kill.

It's like the other point someone made about kids play fighting. Kids use their imaginations and play make believe anyway. So if they didn't have the idea from watching TV to play "Power Rangers" for example, they'd be messing about and playing something of their own creation.

The same goes for psychos IMO.

[Tom4784]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

I did't put forward the chuckie analogy.

Could it not be a trigger for those who do have issues and a cause for those who don't?

No game, film, book, song, TV show etc can make someone a killer, they can (like all things) can TRIGGER violent behavior in violent individuals but they are never the cause of violent incidents.

Blaming video games for violent behavior is essentially vindicating violent people for their actions.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

No game, film, book, song, TV show etc can make someone a killer, they can (like all things) can TRIGGER violent behavior in violent individuals but they are never the cause of violent incidents.

Blaming video games for violent behavior is essentially vindicating violent people for their actions.

Well we won't go into that whole cause and effect debate again

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Christmas treeza

Well we won't go into that whole cause and effect debate again

It's not a debate though, a psychologically healthy individual can't be prompted to commit murder by an external source like a movie or game. It's just not even a realistic claim. An already disturbed individual might be "triggered by", or get specific ideas from, something like a game, movie or book but that's sort of a moot point... because the same could be said of myriad sources. They could be triggered by or get ideas from the 6 o'clock news, or something as simple as a word-of-mouth story. Should we ban news broadcasts and conversation?

In fact - if you care to have a look into some of the world's most notorious serial killers - there are a very large numbers who were inspired by other real-life killers more than anything else... so, by reading the news, basically. Mass shootings and things like that, especially, are often inspired by the infamy of previous mass-shooters, and the vast amount of media attention.

I maintain that there are far more disturbing and horrific stories in the real world / real news every single day than I have ever seen in any movie or video game.

Potential triggers of all sorts of things are absolutely everywhere, and you can't even fully identify each one until hindsight. Some people may be tempted to "ban everything!!" in an attempt to remove those triggers and keep people "safer" but not only would it be logically impossible - it would also be ineffective. If it's not one thing, it'll only be something else that no one had considered.