I need help with a Psychology question. All explanations and answers will be used to help me learn.

Dr. Hickey mentioned that psychopaths want to exert control and that no two cases are the same (Laureate Education (Producer). 2016f). Perri (2011) mentioned that interviewers need to be flexible with their interviewing techniques, otherwise it may make obtaining a confession or other valuable information impossible. When interviewers are unable to obtain a confession or valuable information, if a case goes to court, that fact an actually weaken the case for the prosecution (Perri, 2011). Dr. Hickey mentioned that Agent Ressler became scared of Edmund Kemper during their interview when Kemper mentioned that he could kill Ressler, and would be a hero in the prison, to which Ressler replied that he was trained in martial arts through the FBI (Laureate Education (Producer), 2016f). Ed Kemper knew at that moment that Ressler was scared of him and therefore he was in control (Laureate Education (Producer), 2016f). Orr (2013) interviewed “Jack” an alleged psychopath, who mentioned his lack of empathy for others, and mentioned that he could fake that empathy when it served him.

What I have learned from the resources this week, and what I have learned from my current job is that psychopaths are hyper-vigilant, and will use your words against you, and will twist and manipulate situations for the best results for them. A technique I find very useful that my clinical director has us practice often is putting questions back on your clients, or those you are working with, especially when we are being asked personal questions. Dr. Hickey also mentioned the defusing situations is important, and he gave the example of laughing off the information given from interviewees such as Ed Kemper with his ‘death threat’ to Ressler (Laureate Education (Producer), 2016f).

In an interview, it can be easy to appeal to someone’s emotions, and ready their emotional cues based on the information given, for me, has become easier the more I do interviews with felony probationers. As mentioned by Dr. Hickey (Laureate Education (Producer), 2016f), and Orr (2013) psychopaths do not have emotions like everyone else, and appealing more to what benefits a psychopath may yield better results. Perri (2011) mentioned that law enforcement are the population that are most likely to run into psychopaths or those who psychopathic traits, and yet do not have any real training to know how to deal with them effectively. Perri (2011) goes on to mention that law enforcement are taught to take control of an interview, but as stated above, psychopaths or those with psychopathic traits are also trying to gain control, which can be counterproductive. Perri (2011) asserted that interviewing psychopaths can be challenging, and one should be well trained in eliciting information from interviewees that is inconsistent, and implausible. This can be a great challenge, but the goal of the interviewer is to push against what a psychopath thinks to be real, or what they are trying to make an interviewer to believe is real (Perr, 2011). These inconsistencies will be important as it will show a pattern of behavior that can be used in court or used against the psychopath to elicit information or a confession.

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (2016f). Forensic insights: Story of Ressler and Kemper [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Orr, E. (2013). A psychopath describes his behavior [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu17Wuq3nI8

Perri, F. S. (2011). Case study: The flawed interview of a psychotic killer: What went wrong? Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 8(3), 41–57. doi: 10.1002/jip.128