Case_Study_O.J._Simpson

Case Study of O.J. Simpson Russell Mock PSY/410 9/14/10 Adam Yerke Case Study of O.J. Simpson This paper is a case study of an individual with an alleged abnormal personality disorder. An overview of this particular case will be stated. In addition, an explanation of the biological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components of the disorder will be a main focal point. Moreover, questions will be brought forth to ponder. This discussion is about a case study of O.J. Simpson, the famous football hero and even more famous subject of the most infamous murder trial in contemporary American history. Orenthal James Simpson was the subject of a California trial regarding a brutal murder of his wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Both victims were horribly murdered, the ferocity of these murders was apparent with the fact that Nicole Brown Simpson and Mr. Goldman’s heads were almost completely severed from their bodies. Truly, whoever commited this crime was a sociopath with no cognition of the normality’s that our society consider right or wrong. Yes, the question remains if Mr. Simpson committed this horrible, psychopathic act, this paper will delve into the scenario that he did, although he was figured innocent (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009) The disorder in question is sociopathic, so what is a sociopath' Also known as Antisocial Personality Disorder, the definition is: Psychopaths have a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy combined with abnormally immoral conduct despite an ability to appear normal. In lameness terms, psychopaths have an ability to live among social structures yet posses little or no emotion or empathy towards others married with extremely violent tendencies (U.S. National Library of Medicine, Marc) Biologically speaking, Simpson could have inherited abnormal behaviors from birth. Simpson’s father was noted as having issues with sexuality and the inability to deal with normal life situations, Simpson’s father left his family and clearly could not deal with his obligations to them. Severe anxiety disorder and the inability to cope with normal life situations have been proven to be genetic (Hansell, 2009) Moreover, sociopathic behavior has been linked to brain abnormalities such as; hippocampal volume and prefrontal-temoro-limbic circuitry, i.e.; regions that involve emotional and learning processes, which is definitely inherent. Who knows, O.J. could have these or other related brain abnormalities (Hansell, 2009) O.J. Simpson’s cognition was and is keen. In the past, and current, his cognition to reality and his ability to speak and interface with others is highly stylized and progressive. Sociopaths like Simpson often have the ability to engage normal social structures and variables but a stated before lack empathy and do not connect emotion with immoral and or violent conduct (U.S. National Library of Medicine, Marc) Simpson’s environment as a child although not ideal by any means does not seem to have been horrific. Could the fact of a missing homosexual father been a trigger to a sociopathic mind' Possibly a combination of inherent biological abnormalities in conjunction with environmental challenges caused a multiple causality scenario. The question arises; can we really call O.J.s behavior just sociopathic' Substance abuse played a significant role in his life as well as a codependent marital structure. In addition, severe and uncontrollable outbursts of anger and violence suggest further issues of abnormal behavior other than just sociopathic. Did the admiration and praise throughout his adult life feed an already intensely narcissistic mind eventually evolving into a sociopathic mind' The opinion of this paper stands behind the theory multiple causality. If O.J. Simpson committed this crime then multiple reasons brought him to a sociopathic way of thinking. Combinations of biological, cognitive, environmental factors, slowly built a murderer. Years of public admiration may have been a helping factor causing a twisted and unrealistic sense of entitlement. Professional intervention, psychological and psychiatric, with possibly medication may have prevented these murders. References Hansell, J. (2009). Abnormal Psychology (3rd ed.). New Yorl, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Meyer, R., Chapman, L., & Weaver, C. (2009). Case Studies in Abnormal Behavior (8th ed.). New York, NY: Allyn & Bacon. U.S. National Library of Medicine. (March 2010). Antisocial Personality Disorder. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih/medlineplus/enct/article