personality disorders. Cluster C gathers together ‘anxious and fearful’ types with personality disorder diagnoses of avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive and passive-aggressive types” (Deary et al., 1998: 647).
The name antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a bit misleading for it does not mean that people who have the disorder avoid social interaction. What it does mean is that, even though they can be sociable, friendly and charming on the surface, they reject the widely accepted social norms in society that regulate the morality and behavior of most individuals. In other words, the ASPD individual does not exhibit a similar level of conscience as most individuals. ASPD individuals routinely violate the rights of other people and often use their social skills only to elicit liking or loyalty from those they wish to exploit, “The antisocial personality disorder is marked by impulsive, callous, manipulative, aggressive, and irresponsible behavior that reflects a failure to accept social norms. Since they haven’t accepted the social norms they violate, antisocial personalities rarely feel guilty about their transgressions” (Weiten, 1989).
ASPD individuals can range from prison inmates to the highest echelons of society. While a convicted felon may not channel his ASDP behavior within the constraints of the law, some ASPD personalities do and work as cutthroat executives, corrupt politicians, unethical lawyers and con artist evangelists. Individuals with this disorder rarely show genuine affection for others, but they are quite skilled at manipulating others with superficial social charm in order to exploit them. They are predatory and promiscuous when it comes to sexuality and irresponsibility and impulsivity rule their character. Most ASPD individuals lack self-discipline as a result and become very frustrated easily and exhibit low levels of tolerance. They are people who pursue immediate gratifica...