Categories
True Crime

Psychopathy: Genetic OR Taught (Environment)?

There are several times throughout various texts where the question begs, “What is Psychopathy?”

According to Andrea L. Glenn and Adrian Raine (2014), psychopathy describes individuals with certain personality traits which include “self-importance, self-centeredness, and grandiose. They also remind us that the socio-economic factors support on-set psychopathic behaviors. Mostly what this means is that a person who is already genetically wired as a psychopath will usually follow through with psychopathic violence when their home-life is unsatisfying (Glenn & Raine, 2014; Groat & Shane, 2020). Remember that an unsatisfying home life does not always equate to a lower socio-economic environment.

Look at the Mendez brother’s, they presented psychopathic behaviors without being raised in a “poor” environment. They had money, but did they have the ‘love’ they craved from their parents? We may never know for sure.

Psychopathic behaviors can include violet responses toward people who get in the way of these grandiose and self-valued perceptions (Groat & Shane, 2020). Some of the violent responses take place when the psychopath views his/her victim as the person who is challenging their self-value.

In other words, a surrogate will have to do until the psychopath actually finds and harms their intended victim (Delisi, Drury & Elbert, 2020). If the correct victim is not present, the psychopath will need to improvise until they get the chance to harm their intended victim (Delisi et al., 2020; Groat & Shane, 2020). However, there are other factors which contribute to psychopathy.

Biological factors are present in psychopaths. Is a person born to be a psychopath? With every type of mental disorder, there is what is known as ‘nature vs. nurture.’ Psychopathic behavior stems from both (Glenn & Raine, 2014). Therefore, biology is simply part of the diagnosis.

Psychopathy can create violence and other criminal behavior (Delisi et al., 2020). However, it is also known to be present in people who show signs of verbal aggressiveness (Glenn & Raine, 2014). We all know at least one person who demonstrates psychopathic behaviors.

This might seem scary, but when you think about psychopathy as it is defined, you can see that not all psychopathic behavior is dangerous to others (Glenn & Raine, 2014; Groat & Shane, 2020). Just remember that we all have the psychopathic tendency and can display it differently (Delisi et al., 2020; Glenn & Raine, 2014). Therefore, watching people and responding to them appropriately can ease some of the tension.

Again, for another recommended text on psychopathy: I recommend Psychopathy: An introduction to biological findings and their implications by Andrea L. Glenn and Adrian Raine (2014).

On the lighter side of things, this past week has seen several changes occurring. Refer to my About Page for my Blogging Schedule.

I am working with an expert bloggiest who is helping me to create structured and sound blogs for the future. Hopefully, the blogs you have enjoyed are structured and sound, but they will only get better with the help that I am receiving over the next several weeks.

Categories
Research

A New Series of 8-10 Books Named The Psychology Of…

…with different focused subjects in each text will be out soon.

I have been working on these texts for over five years but have actually “put pen to paper” over the past two or three months. So far, the first of the series will be The Psychology of… FUN.

I will share the power and necessities for remembering to have fun, especially when you need to find your creative side.

The messages will include various ways to have fun. And then use the noticeable bursts of energy to create the written words you have stored in your head.

One of the main components to my The Psychology Of… series is the play on the word FUN as an anagram. The F = Focused, the U = Unchecked, and the N = Navigation. Putting these together creates a self-navigational way to have fun and record the creative points found in your mind.

Next, there are seven stages in each text. For The Psychology Of… FUN the seven stages of Creativity = The Seven Es of Creativity.

For example:

Eager

Ecstasy (no, not the drug lol)

Efficient

Elated

Eloquent

Emotive

Empathetic

These are The Seven Es of Creativity.

Now can you have fun without them?

Of course, but why would you want to?

I will delve into the best ways to have FUN Creatively and share it in your authorship work[s]. It is not that difficult to have fun anymore.

Do you remember twirling around, just to make yourself dizzy and then looking up into the skies and finding a cloud that looks like Snoopy or another animal?

That is creative FUN!!!

Who says you have to be a kid to do this?

The naysayers might but we don’t have to listen to them.

We sometimes need to have fun to find our creative flow. I can’t just sit here and be creative without anything else happening in my life.

There are times to be creatively “outputting…” Writing

And then there are time for “inputting…” Having FUN; Getting Creative

We need to learn to celebrate, jump around, end even dance when we need to get our creative juices flowing.

Sitting at our desks is what we do, for the most part. However, to accomplish anything while at these desks, we need to fill ourselves with what it is that we would like to share with our readers. 

Any creative mind knows that if things are not being put into our minds, we tend to have droughts… am I right?!

Therefore, let’s get out there and have some FUN and turn our droughts, struggles, writer’s block, etc. on their brainless heads! (I know, I know, it’s a play on words lol… FUN, Huh???)

Creatives UNITE!!!

Creatives have FUN!!!

Next week we will return to The New Creations Manor and the journey I have created for my readers… hopefully that will include you 😀

Blessings and honor to you all,

Christine C Sponsler
C. C. Sponsler
Chrissy Sponsler
Sponsler Ink and Chris’ Custom Coaching

Categories
True Crime

Studying Psychopathy for Education: Psychopaths Are People Too… Right?!

I know that most every person on earth has heard of the word psychopath.

However, do any of us know what it truly means?

Do we know what to look for in a person?

Are we quick to judge someone who has the psychopathic behaviors?

Can we be misjudging people too rapidly?

Who’s the psychopath[s] in the images above?

The answers to these questions lie inside of several textbooks.

For a “must read” on psychopathy I suggest Psychopathy: Antisocial, criminal, and violent behavior (Millon, Simonsen, Birket-Smith, & Davis, 2003). In this text we discover the true meaning behind the word psychopathy.

As a PhD/Forensic Psychology student, I have studied various texts which pertain to psychopathy. Some are what is labeled as “True Crime” tombs. While others are actually used as textbooks in forensic psychology courses.

One of the most interesting facts about psychopathy is that most psychopaths are not violent. Some are simply psychopathic when it comes to business (Millon et al., 2003). You know the type, Joe Smoe who knows how to get under your skin just enough to look good in front of the boss, but all the while nudging you to lose it in front of the boss…

…that’s a psychopathic behavior on their part.

Since psychopathy is a personality disorder (Durand, Metcalfe & Arbone, 2019), it is difficult to determine whether people with such a disorder will turn out to be violent.

There are several studies which help forensic therapists determine whether a person has the personality disorder. However, the studies are relatively new (Durand et al., 2019) and are only so helpful.

When I began my journey into forensic psychology, I became determined to conduct the proper research into why the signs are so difficult to point out early-on in the person’s lifespan. Hopefully, after researching for my dissertation, I can shed a little more light into the personality disorder which is known as “psychopath.”

In two weeks, I will discuss the research behind the word psychopathy and answer any questions that you pose to me about psychopathy.

However, for next week’s post I will be addressing the Psychopathy: An introduction to biological findings and their implications by Andrea L. Glenn and Adrian Raine (2014).

I will also be working toward discussing such texts which focus on the criminal aspects of psychopaths.

Even though this was a more serious post, I hope the contents were to your liking, please “Like” and “Share” this post if it was interesting to you.

Also, please let me know if you would like more details about psychopaths in these posts.

Blessings,
Christine C. Sponsler
Sponsler Ink and Chris’ Custom Coaching

Categories
The New Creations Manor

TNCM Blog 3: The Adventures Continue with This Next Entry about The New Creations Manor Series, So Have a Blast

These past two weeks have been very interesting. The New Creations Manor is jumpin’ and the characters are getting into their grooves.

I have decided to record the Outline through using Scrivener and One Stop for Writers together with my trust and handy-dandy white boards.

The outline that I am using is the workbook and text by K. M. Weiland Outlining Your Novel. This is a very useful tool and gathers the proper information to produce and introduce a beautiful story.

One Stop for Writers is an excellent tool because it causes the author to show, not tell the story and to introduce characters as if the author and the reader are inside of the book.

The ‘Resident Librarians” for One Stop for Writers are Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman. Their desire is to help writers to maintain their novel structures in one handy place… and they deliver here, for sure!

Back to The New Creations Manor…

The first six chapters are drafted because the outline carried over well, from chapter one to six.

I will be working toward another set of outlining sessions with both the Weiland workbook and One Stop. I am hoping to achieve another ten chapters in the next two weeks (at least).

I have finally found the (idea) pictures of nine of the characters so that as I am writing I can picture them in my mind’s video of the story.

I envision The New Creations Manor…

… as I write and now, I can envision several of the characters at the same time (I might show them to you all next time).

After conducting an Enneagram for each of the main characters, I was better able to structure the story, theme and plot around them. This part is most difficult to explain here, you will have to read the Books 😀

I clocked around 16 hours per week (average) and will continue to work toward 20+ hours in the upcoming weeks.

Next time I will share the outlining and structuring processes on the white board through pictures and text.

Please let me know what you would like to see in the upcoming blogs about The New Creations Manor and I will do my best to follow everyone’s requests, in the future.

Remember the Series name is The New Creations Manor and Book 1 is “Dem Bones.”

May you be blessed
Christine C Sponsler
C. C. Sponsler
Chrissy Sponsler
Sponsler.Ink and Chris’ Custom Coaching
cc@sponsler.ink

Categories
Poetry

Movement in the Skies

Gradually the movement in the skies
Held me close and captured my eyes

As He came across on a cloud
I remember thinking aloud

Why does He love me so much?
His love is comforting to the touch

He guarantees he will love me to the end
And that His love is not simply a trend

He ultimately sees me for who I am
He calls me His, he calls me a gem

I wonder what it was that I could have done so right
That He took away death and the terrors of the night

All in all, He loves us all
He shows us how to heed His call

His love I knew not so long ago
He could have left me and let me go

His choice to embrace me and love me more
Makes me wonder what heaven has in store

For you and for me and all we know
If faith is a part of us and we grow

He carries us into the secret realm
As He steers the ship, He has the helm

We carry our burdens and troubles no more
Because we know the Lord and his open door

He leads us into His glorious and great place
That we might always gaze upon His glorious face.

Be blessed by His love, now and always,

Christine C Sponsler
C. C. Sponsler
Chrissy Sponsler
Sponsler Ink and Chris’ Custom Coaching

Categories
Research

The Art of Research

How many of us enjoy the research part of writing?

Is it something that gets us stuck or excited?

Why do we need to research anyway?

Well, research does not have to be a daunting task. I would argue that research is exciting, and we should learn to enjoy it.

When research causes us to get stuck, we need to prioritize what needs to be discovered first.

Do we begin with a person, place or a thing?

Enjoying the art of research is the focus for this post because I want to encourage all the authors out there to find their joy in research.

If the joy is not present, maybe the subject needs to be tweaked or changed completely.

Maybe the research subject is the place we are getting stuck.

What can we do to un-glue ourselves from being stuck?

We can hire someone to conduct our research… but will they do as good a job as us? Maybe! But probably not!

We can find a different subject and make sure we are interested in this subject. Finding a subject that will keep our interest through the low times and struggles in life is a key component to research success. We need to love our subject, at least 88% (made up) of the time.

We can figure out whether we are actually interested in the subject we are researching.

Test yourself right now…

How often do you wake in the morning and say, “Yay, I get to research _________?” If it is not very often, change subjects and (possibly) come back to the current one later. If you wake up excited to conduct research, you are probably on the right track to taking this subject all the way to the Press.

Here’s the deal, we will conduct the proper research of something if we make it interesting to ourselves. We can change the subject all together, or we can change our attitude toward the subject at-hand (especially if we have been studying it for a long period of time). Negotiate with yourself to better understand if the subject is the issue or your own attitude toward it is the issue.

Conducting research has almost always been fun for me. I say almost always because I have been working toward my PhD/Forensic Psychology and some of the “required” courses almost cause me to gag. However, when I realize that I cannot do anything to change the “requirements,” I change my attitude and make sure to have fun with the necessary research.

I have an Essentials of Leadership Coaching Certification and had several subjects during these sessions which caused me to doubt my being a coach. However, after changing my mindset to happy and joy-filled thinking, I accomplished this certification and truly enjoy coaching.

Guess what, you are not (all) students right now and are not obliged (unless traditionally publishing) to research any particular subject. Now I say this with a grain of salt as the “trends” in readership do shift and sometimes we must shift with them. Plus, we are all students of something, even if it is life itself.

I know that when I am writing a novel, I need to understand what it takes to write one that will intrigue my readers. Therefore, I study you guys and what you like… this is fun to me. I will begin interviewing certain authors about their own journeys very soon.

When I am writing a novel which contains criminal behavior, I study criminal behavior through psychopathy, forensic science & psychology and even abnormal behavior. I may even throw in addiction research, depending on the characters of my novel/s.

Research needs to draw our full attention. It needs to be something we will not lose interest in. When we find ourselves drifting and losing motivation, it’s time to adjust the research subject/s.

AND… remember that next week I will take us all back into the writing processes and character examinations of The New Creations Manor (TNCM) series.

What do you all do to keep yourself interested in the research subject for your books?

Please let me know in the comments below and if you like this post, please mark the ‘like’ button near to the comments.

Blessings and honor to you all,
Christine C Sponsler
C. C. Sponsler
Chrissy Sponsler
Sponsler Ink and Chris’ Custom Coaching

Categories
The New Creations Manor

TNCM Blog 2: Join the Journey Into the Characterization of The New Creations Manor Series

Well, here we are one week into TNCM series Outline.

I have the Characters listed… this probably took the longest because I included their personality traits and a couple of blurbs each (30 characters, in all, thus far; Only 3 main characters; 10 sub-characters, etc.).

Yikes, this is not a difficult task, simply a time-consuming task. But it is also so much fun to meet my characters, finally 😀

I enjoy meeting characters in the books that I read. When this stage is done well, you can begin to relate to the characters and even empathize with them.

It is however not always done very well, and I am praying that I continue to interview my characters so that you (my beautiful readers) will empathize, relate and love (or hate) the characters of TNCM.

The most difficult part was gathering the personality traits. I used an Enneagram and filled in the traits for each character to better introduce them to you all.

I also have the chapter outlines finished and am looking forward to sharing these characters with you all.

I am about halfway through the Prequel (“short story” of Charlotte’s backstory) and plan to release this just before the launch of TNCM.

This is so much fun!!!

TNCM is going to be a series of 5-6 full-length books (60k to 80k words each) where right around Book number 4 I will introduce the next series which will be a psychological thriller/mystery by the name of The Dangston Chronicles (TDC).

The mysteries will include the main character of TDC, Vera Lee Dangston, and will allude to her story.

Vera’s background story will be a “short story” released just before Book 1 of TDC.

I clocked around 12 hours this week and plan on working my way up to 20 hours per week on TNCM. I do hope to release the first Book by the end of summer.

I hope you will continue to read these fun blogs on my progress and be on the look-out for Book 1, The New Creations Manor: Dem Bones, very soon.

May you be blessed,
Christine C Sponsler
C C Sponsler
Chrissy Sponsler
Sponsler.Ink and Chris’ Custom Coaching
cc@sponsler.ink

Categories
The New Creations Manor

The New Creations Manor (TNCM) Blog 1: The Setup

This is the first of a series of blog posts on The New Creations Manor.

Tomorrow begins another journey for us here at Sponsler Ink. I begin my Outline for the series The New Creations Manor (TNCM). In this series we will follow the story pertaining to Charlotte (Charlie) Charmaine-Brimley.

She used to be a criminal and now she houses hundreds to thousands of criminals each year. She is the CEO of TNCM. She is a mom, a sister, a daughter and a widow. Her life was rockier than the entire range of the Rocky Mountains. However, she ventured into jail and found God.

I know, I know, every single inmate “finds God” in jail. However, for Charlie, she fought her urges to “need Him” in her life until she could no longer look away. Her determination turned toward her desire for helping people find hope and a future.

I will give clues and hints to Charlie and the entire TNCM series in the next few weeks.

I will be sharing my processes in the research of the characters, the settings, the theme, the plot and finally, the publication processes.

For now, let’s take a look at what I will begin doing tomorrow evening:

  1. I have an outline based off of K. M. Weiland’s Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success. It will contain several levels of character interviews, character personality traits, and figuring out the setting.
  2. I will be recording my word count and pictures of the whiteboard collaboration. Each day will contain a hint or a trait revelation.
  3. Finally, I will ask for feedback and suggestions with character development.

This series is loosely based on an addiction program that I attended over 19 years ago. Therefore, the series will contain some truth mixed into story telling.

I hope you will join me for this entire journey. I think it will be fun and informative.

May you be blessed now and always!

Christine C Sponsler
Sponlser Ink
cc@sponsler.ink

Categories
Poetry

Heaven’s End

With the screams that blast through my head
Where will I go even when I am dead

Who is to say we’re in this alone
I know He hears me when I groan

The best is yet to come they say
How do they know through their shades of gray

Why are we here, why who knows
All love can change and heavenly grow

My dad and mom were not my light
They tried and tried to get it right

I know you’re wondering, I am too
What makes this real what makes this true

My only love comes from above
And from above I found true love

Explain to me the issues of life
It all seems too real and full of strife

I no longer find the will to see
Exactly what might be

Where I go and where I am
I need you Lord until the end!

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, NLT
Categories
True Crime

Researching Psychopaths

After years of researching subjects such as political science, theology, psychology, criminal pathology, forensic psychology and forensic pathology, I finally am completely focused on a subject matter that should matter to us all…

Psychopaths and Psychopathology

How many of us realize that our next-door neighbor could be a psychopath?

Is there really any danger that s/he is one?

Not necessarily…

I just read a chapter in the Psychopathy: An Introduction to Biological Findings and Their Implications by Andrea L. Glenn and Adrian Raine which suggests there are such people as “successful psychopaths.”

These psychopaths simply have yet to have been incarcerated, or even convicted of a crime, have managed to escape detection or they are people amongst the “high society” realm (Glenn & Raine, 2014).

I’m sorry, but I feel as though we should be worried since none of the above criteria excludes violent behavior.  

Okay, instead, we at least need to know who our neighbors are… right?!

I’m sure that’s what Ted Bundy’s and Jeffrey Dahmer’s neighbors thought.

Just kidding, I hope, let’s get real here. It’s not going to be very often that we are going to find psychopaths living among us. So, we can rest assured that we are safe… right?!

Yes, and here is why we can count ourselves as safe…

1. If someone acts strangely in our neighborhood, we will pay close attention as to why we feel they are acting strangely. Maybe they are strange, but does strange = psychopath? Nope!

2. When we are looking into moving into a new neighborhood, we will check things out during the morning, the afternoon, the evening and on the weekends. Maybe we are the weirdos of the neighborhood now 😀

3. If someone new is moving into our neighborhood, we can go introduce ourselves and ask simple questions and notice their reactions to these questions… are they uncomfortable? That’s okay. Are they quiet? That’s okay. However, if they get really upset, is it us or them who are the psychopath? Am I right?

4. I like to meet new neighbors with baked goods. This way they feel welcome, and I can feel safe because “who would kill the nice lady who brought over those yummy cookies,” right?!

5. Try to be nice to new people anyway. Hopefully this makes them more likely to be nice to you.

All joking aside, I have found that such research about psychopaths has led me to be more suspicious of certain types of people. However, I am usually wrong… I hope!

And on a more serious note, I am a Forensic Psychology-PhD student who enjoys making people smile because the subjects I read on a daily basis attempts to take my humor away from me.

I hope this post at least put a smile upon your face.

If not, I apologize for trying to make ‘light’ of such a serious subject.

This section of my blogging posts will eventually contain my research study processes… and those are serious subjects.

Blessings,
Christine C Sponsler
Sponsler Ink & Chris’ Coaching