Certain Personality Disorders Can Lead to Cruel Behaviour, Says Psychologist

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Psychologist Samanta Clara Elsener, S.Psi, M.Psi, has stated that certain personality disorders can cause individuals to act cruelly towards others, including committing repeated acts of violence, without feeling guilt. “In psychology, we recognise the term Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), which the general public often refers to as psychopathy or sociopathy,” said the Indonesian Psychology Association (Himpunan Psikologi Indonesia) official on Wednesday. “This is not merely a fierce or irritable character, but a serious mental disorder. People with this condition have a different brain structure in processing emotions, resulting in a lack of empathy,” she explained. According to her, individuals with antisocial personality disorder tend to be manipulative, struggle to empathise, and view others as tools to fulfil their own needs or interests. Samanta added that people with ASPD can hurt others without feeling guilty. “They lack remorse, have no empathy, are skilled at manipulation, and see others not as fellow human beings, but as objects to satisfy their own gratification or needs,” she explained. “So, when they torture someone, they genuinely do not feel the moral compass telling them that the action is wrong.” A woman from Bandung Regency, who had been out of contact with her family since 2023, was found in critical condition in hospital after being held captive and abused by her boyfriend for three years. She told her father she had endured extraordinarily cruel abuse during that period. Throughout the three years, the perpetrator frequently moved the victim from one boarding house to another in the Cileunyi area of Bandung Regency to avoid arousing suspicion from local residents.