In comics, it happens all the time: benevolent (or at least morally neutral) person meets with a horrible accident, usually related to some kind of research he was performing for the good of mankind, and apart from gaining superpowers he is also driven insane and turns to a life of crime. Doctor Octopus, Doctor Doom, Green Goblin, the list goes on.
Has there ever been a documented case of this happening in real life? Has anyone ever had a bowl of chemicals blow up in their face, permanently turning them evil? I’m not talking about chemical-bowl phobia or psychoses; I’m talking supreme egotism and lack of empathy.
Yes, although they rarely have their shit together like a supervillian. Phineas Gage is illustrative of what can happen to the personality of someone who undergoes massive trauma to the brain. Gage had a 3’ 7" tamping iron blown straight through his head and lived, but suffered unfortunate personality deterioration. Before his accident he was a very well liked and capable foreman, but afterwards he was “fitful, irreverent, and grossly profane, showing little deference for his fellows. He was also impatient and obstinate, yet capricious and vacilliating, unable to settle on any of the plans he devised for future action.” His friends sadly remarked that he was “no longer Gage.”
This deterioration can sometimes cause lack of impuse control and lack of empathy for others (not unlike someone with sociopathic personality disorder) that can lead to criminal behavior. A forensic psych teacher in college told me about a patient she was seeing that was slowly progressing towards becoming a sex offender due to a massive stroke. This person was formerly an upstanding family man and member of the community. I don’t want to give the impression that everyone who suffers brain trauma will show antisocial or criminal traits, but it does happen.
Also, some have posited that some serial killers become so, at least in part, due to brain trauma. Lucas was once hit in the head so hard as a child that he lay on the floor for several days semi conscious (it’s debatable, to what extent he truly was a serial killer, but he’s unquestionably a sociopath). Gacy had a similar childhood accident resulting in a coma.
All together now: Day-am!
Thanks, pravnik, that was very interesting. Are there any cases of personality changes without direct brain trauma? Anyone get acid in their face and go evil after looking in a mirror?
I know Gacy is John Wayne Gacy, but who’s Lucas? I tried websearching for Lucas+sociopath and Lucas+“serial killer” and the like, but found nothing relevant.
Henry Lee Lucas, formerly thought to be America’s most prolific serial killer, although it’s now belived that most of his confessions were B.S.'d.
As to drastic, sociopathic personality changes in adulthood without brain trauma, e.g. Harvey Dent, I’m not aware of any off the top of my head. Most of the time that sort of behavior has either manifested itself all on its own by that time or comes about due to injury to the brain.