The Mark of Cain is a collaboration of published papers written by several recognized psychoanalysts. The goal of editor, J. Reid Meloy, was to publish an "anthology of psychoanalysts' approaches to various facets of the psychopath, a book informed and balanced by what is currently known about psychopathy from a social, psychological, and biological research perspective." The book divides into two sections: "Development and Psychodynamics" and "Treatment, Risk Management, and Psychodiagnosis." Each published work encompasses one chapter and is in chronological order according to the published date. By doing this, the editor hopes to show the evolution of psychoanalytical analyses over the years.
             In the introduction of the first section, Meloy discusses whether "psychopaths are born or made," or as he puts it, "how nature and nurture shape each other over time." Meloy uses the metaphor of psychopathy as a house to illustrate how different functions of personality aide in the construction of a psychopathic person. Although Meloy states that the "'house of psychopath' is built on a psychobiological foundation of no attachment, underarousal, and minimal anxiety," it is important to understand that Meloy sees these characteristics as necessary predispositions among many factors which lead to the creation of the psychopathic personality. One of the other factors that Meloy discusses is the "development of the grandiose self-structure...as the scaffolding that continues the construction of the 'house of psychopathy'." According to Meloy, the grandiose self-structure is a pathological creation comprised of three things: a real self, an ideal self, and an ideal object. A person with a psychopathic personality usually has a high IQ. He has no values or moral responsibilities and sees himself as a predator while others are prey. Adults with psycho...