Dr. Whitney Whitaker spoke to instructor Matt Brooks’s G4 Psychology class through Zoom on April 22 about psychological disorders.

Whitaker started by asking the class about their previous knowledge of psychological and personality disorders before moving on to talk specifically about Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Whitaker used the example of the murderer Dennis Rader, also known as BTK, to introduce Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Whitaker remarked on the way Rader “was able to trick or fool people, leading this dual life.”

Then, Whitaker went through the differences between psychopathy, or psychopaths, and sociopathy, or sociopaths, both of which are the more well-known classifications of Anti-Social Personality Disorder.

Whitaker said that psychopaths are more manipulative and “skilled at making you think they care” while sociopaths cannot feel certain emotions and usually commit “crimes of passion” due to their impulsivity. Whitaker also pointed out that psychopaths are typically “born,” while sociopaths are typically “made.”

Whitaker then showed a video about a young boy named Johnathan. Whitaker pointed out the high possibility of mistake when diagnosing children with psychological disorders, but Johnathan had all the signs of an Anti-Social Personality Disorder. He was violent, impulsive and did not feel pain as most “normal” people do.

After the video, Whitaker discussed it with the class and encouraged further thought and consideration of psychological disorders.

“Maybe you can all continue the discussion,” Whitaker said.