Hervey M. Cleckley
Hervey M. Cleckley was born on September 7th, 1903. Hervey passed away January 28th, 1984 at 80 years old. Hervey M. Cleckley was born in Augusta, GA, USA.
Hervey M. Cleckley was an American psychiatrist and was a pioneer in the field of psychopathy.
He defined the term a bit more broadly than it’s understood today, as referring to someone that behaves in a destructive manner despite lacking the overt signs of neurosis or psychosis. This is reflected in his term “mask of sanity”, derived from his belief that a psychopath is able to appear normal and even engaging, however that their “mask” conceals a mental disorder.
He earned his MD from the University of Georgia Medical School in 1929. Hervey spent several years of psychiatric practice in the Veterans Administration, and became a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Medical College of Georgia and, in 1937, the chief of neurology and psychiatry at University Hospital in Augusta.
In 1955, he was appointed clinical professor of neurology and psychiatry at the medical college and became the founding chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior. He then served as a psychiatric consultant to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Augusta and the US Army Hospital at Camp Gordon.
By the time he died, he was better remembered for this vivid case study of this female patient, published in 1956 as a book and adapted into a movie called
The Three Faces of Eve in 1957. His reporting on the case repopularized the diagnosis of multiple personality disorder in America. The concept of psychopathy is still influential through forming parts of the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, public perception, and the Psychopath Checklist.
The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality was originally published in 1941, and is an influential book that became a landmark in psychiatric case studies and got revised, expanded, and reprinted numerous times.
This book is distinguished by its central thesis that psychopath exhibits normal function according to the standard psychiatric criteria, but privately engages in destructive behavior. The book had been intended to assist with detection and finally diagnosis of the elusive psychopath for purposes of palliation and offered no cure for the condition itself.
The idea of a master deceiver secretly possessed of no ethical or moral restraints, yet behaving in public with excellent function, electrified American society and led to a heightened interest in both psychological introspection as well as detection of hidden psychopaths in society at large. It led to a refinement of the word itself into what was perceived to be a less stigmatizing term, that of “sociopath”.
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Hervey M. Cleckley: F.A.Q
When was Hervey M. Cleckley Born?
Hervey M. Cleckley was born on September 7th, 1903.
When did Hervey M. Cleckley die?
Hervey M. Cleckley died on January 28th, 1984 at 80 years old.
Where was Hervey M. Cleckley Born?
Hervey M. Cleckley was born in Augusta, GA, USA.
What was the first book Hervey M. Cleckley wrote?
The first book written by Hervey M. Cleckley was The Mask of Sanity, published in 1941.
What was the most recent book Hervey M. Cleckley wrote?
His most recently released work was Medical Mafia on September 16th, 2015.
How many books has Hervey M. Cleckley written?
Hervey M. Cleckley has written 4 books. All of his books are Non-Fiction Books.