It's the twenty-first century, and for many of those who tune into the wide variety of television channels on offer, death rages rampantly. It is the gruesome, gory and crazy deaths that television channels count on to attract large audiences, often being the main focus of a drama or series. Murders, suicides, serial killers; psychopaths. It's almost as if this term is used so commonly, so loosely, that one could easily forget the true meaning of the word "psychopath." Beyond that, television often devotes all its attention to gruesome deaths, but the killer typically remains a cloaked figure, metaphorically speaking. Little information is given about the killer, and his motives are usually unclear until the brief revelation. Overall, these typical detective series leave me wondering where the line is between someone who commits murder and a true psychopath, keeping in mind that these questions are focused on the real world and not a TV drama. Why are psychopaths the way they are, what characteristics classify them as psychopaths and, most importantly, what drives them? In this article I will review research materials that have adopted different psychological perspectives. The research data used in this article falls into the biological realm where genetic influences, brain chemistry, and the nervous system are discussed. The social-cognitive and behavioral parts of the learning perspective relate to where this article discusses the environmental factors that might encourage their psychopathic traits, along with the sociocultural perspective that psychopaths don't seem to agree with, when we take a look at look at how they function in society. Cognitively, actions and thoughts are questioned. And... middle of paper... all the causes of the characteristics that those who suffer from this disorder usually have. It might be easy to imagine more than a few TV identities that fall into these traits. They are the killers that television advertises them for, and the sex and money typically featured in the plot are not far from the truth. Works Cited Woodworth, M.; Porter, S. (2002). In cold blood: Characteristics of criminal homicides as a function of psychopathy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 490.Raine, Adrian; Lencz, Todd; Bihrle, Susan; LaCasse, Lori; Colletti, Patrizio. (2000). Arcigen Psychiatry. 2000;57(2):119-127. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.57.2.119.Caspi, Avshalom; McClay, Joeseph; Moffitt, Terrie E. (2002). Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 851-857.Wade, Carole; Tavris, Carol. (2009). Psychology. Psychological disorders, 537-539.