Understanding ASPD: The Personality Disorder That Enables Cruelty Without Empathy

Psychologist Samanta Clara Elsener, S.Psi, M.Psi, Psikolog, has stated that certain personality disorders can cause a person to act cruelly towards others, even driving repeated violence without any sense of guilt. In psychology, this condition is known as Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), a term the public often associates with psychopaths or sociopaths. “In psychology, we recognise the term Antisocial Personality Disorder or ASPD, which the public commonly refers to as a psychopath or sociopath,” she said, as quoted on Thursday. According to Samanta, ASPD cannot simply be equated with being fierce, irritable, or temperamental. She describes it as a serious mental disorder that affects how a person processes emotions and relates to others. “This is not merely a fierce or irritable character, but a serious mental disorder. People with this condition have a different brain structure for processing emotions, so they lack empathy,” she said. Samanta explained that individuals with antisocial personality disorder are generally manipulative, struggle to empathise, and view others merely as tools to satisfy their own needs or interests. In this condition, a person can hurt others without feeling guilty. She highlighted that a lack of remorse is one of the most prominent characteristics. “They have no sense of guilt, or lack of remorse, no empathy, are skilled at manipulation, and see others not as fellow human beings but as objects to fulfil their own satisfaction or needs,” she clarified. “So, when they are torturing someone, they truly do not feel a moral compass telling them that the action is wrong,” she added. Samanta’s explanation emerged amid scrutiny of a case involving a 29-year-old woman who was a victim of confinement and severe abuse for three years. The woman from Bandung Regency was reported to have lost contact with her family since 2023. She was later found in critical condition in hospital after allegedly being confined and tortured by her boyfriend for three years. The victim told her father she had endured extremely cruel abuse during that period. Throughout that time, the perpetrator reportedly moved the victim from one boarding house to another in the Cileunyi area of Bandung Regency to avoid arousing suspicion from local residents. Samanta stressed that people with antisocial personality disorder may feel no moral barriers when committing violence. In her view, the absence of empathy and remorse means the victim is treated not as a human being, but as an object to serve the perpetrator’s interests. This explanation shows that repeated violence must be understood not only as a criminal act, but also as behaviour that can be linked to serious personality patterns. Nevertheless, handling cases of violence still requires legal process, victim protection, and professional examination to understand the psychological condition of the parties involved.