Bad to the Bone: Behavioral Genetics and the Nature of Evil

Barbara Oakley, PhD, PE Associate Professor Oakland University

Human genome? That was easy!

The human phenome, which is referred to as the . . .manifold human phenotypes from molecule to mind. . . is a big place.

Seven-level schematic illustrating genome to syndrome hypotheses for phenomics research.

Phenomics: The Systematic Study of Phenotypes on a Genome-Wide Scale, R. M. Bilder et al, Neuroscience (2009), doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2009.01.027

A collaborative knowledge base for cognitive phenomics, F. W. Sabb, et al, Molecular Psychiatry, 2008, 12, 350-360

Broadening the Scope

Our cultures and individual behaviors are so successfully diverse that humans are more like an entire ecosystem than a single species. David Sloan Wilson

Moms Dream

Moms Dream

Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia

Feted as a peacemaker and an all around great guy.

The mystique of being clinically diagnosed means that:

Deeply

dysfunctional people are often not studied.

Why?
Malignant narcissism Elements of two

common personality disorders can intertwine

Psychopaths

Look normalbut
Lack of remorse or empathycan easily rationalize hurting others. Lies and cons otherssometimes just for fun. Irritability, irresponsibility, and aggressiveness frequent physical fights.

A REVOLUTION in neuroscience

Nature or nurture?

Essi Viding Kings College

In antisocial 7-year-olds with callous and unemotional traits, Viding found, the antisocial behavior was strongly genetic in origin (a group heritability of 80%).

Borderline personality disorder

A devastating disease of the emotional toolkit poorly regulated emotions impulsivity impaired perception and reasoning markedly disturbed relationships

Borderline Personality Disorder

Genetic effects explain 35 to 45% of the variance in borderline personality disorder and borderline personality features. A diminished top-down control of affective responses, related relate to decreased responsiveness of specific midline regions of prefrontal cortex, may underlie the affective hyperresponsiveness in this disorder. Serotonin appears to play a key role in this affective disinhibition.

Peering into the brains of borderlines

Peering into the brains of borderlines

Often regret their troubled, hurtful behavior

Long/long serotonin genotype

Short/short serotonin genotype

Borderline Personality Disorder

Gaslighting Projection and blame shifting Its all about ME Chameleon behavior Black and white thinking Control issues Situational competence

Unfortunate Confluence of Psychopath and Borderline

Borderpath

Borderpaths exist in small percentages in all social structures and populations

Good looks Charm Memory

The brains wiring profoundly affects every aspect of our personality

Some people have more free will than others

Environment and genes act together to influence personalities

We Can Change Our Brains!

Sadists dont come in for

treatment! Motivation is the catch-22. We cant change themwe can only change ourselves.

In closing
It

is empowering to recognize one of the ego's evil little lies: That all our behavior is decided by us. Gavin de Becker

Homology

Research has established that the genomes of people and rats are ~95% homologous.

Therefore when people behave like rats, it is just in their genes.