Psychopatia – czym jest, czym nie jest, co wiemy, a czego jeszcze nie, Łukasz Barwiński

In his lecture, Dr. Łukasz Barwiński will discuss how contemporary science understands the phenomenon of psychopathy, its specificity, sources, and consequences for the individual and their environment. Historical and contemporary approaches to psychopathy will be discussed, taking into account both clinical and subclinical perspectives. Drawing on current research, we will examine the pop culture myths and stereotypes that permeate this area. In particular, we will analyze the mechanisms that contemporary psychology and neuroscience consider as the basis for the key deficits of this disorder. We will examine the nature of a profound lack of empathy, impaired self-regulation, and a puzzling difficulty learning from one's mistakes, coupled with high impulsivity. We will also consider the social vectors of psychopathy: what determines why the same personality traits—such as emotional coldness or a talent for manipulation—lead to criminality in some individuals while becoming a strategy facilitating spectacular success in others, and whether the latter can truly be considered success. Dr. Łukasz Barwiński is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Psychology at SWPS University in Krakow. He specializes in clinical psychology and is a clinical neuropsychologist. He is a certified specialist in community therapy and a community therapist with the Section of Community Psychiatry and Rehabilitation of the Polish Psychiatric Association. This material was created as part of the project: "It's complicated. Popularization of science during the rise of pseudoscience," which is implemented by the Copernicus Center Foundation with the support of grant 63222 from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation. Thumbnail: detail of the painting "Portrait of the journalist Sylvia von Harden" by Otto Dix (1926, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris).