ues in fearless children. He thinks "the hero and the psychopath are twigs on the same genetic branch." He says:
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 | | My theory of primary psychopathy . . . is that (at least some) primary psychopaths were born at the low end of the normal distribution of genetic fearfulness. Because most parents, teachers, and other socializing agents rely heavily on punishment in socializing kids, and because a relatively fearless youngster does not react well to punishment, many such kids do not develop an effective conscience, do not develop normal empathy, altruism, and responsibility. But they do well out on the street where their relative fearlessness makes them admired, a leader of the gang, and so on.
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| | A more fortunate child may have a skillful parent or parent surrogate who relies on positive reinforcement, who develops a warm, rewarding relationship with the child that the child values, and who manages to establish in the child a socialized self-concept'you are such a good boy, helpful, courageous, truthful, strong, smart,' and so onand who guides the child into activities where his relative fearlessness is an advantage but which are licit, and admirable, such as sports, acting, competitions, and so on. Even a relatively fearless child will work to avoid losing things that he values, such as that admirable self-concept, that warm relationship, the approval of people he admires. And such a youngster can grow up to be the kind of person one would want to have around when danger threatens, a cop, a soldier, a football hero, an explorer, an astronaut, etc.
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All children need loving guidance, and it is hard to overstate this need, especially when it comes to high-testosterone children, who have a greater-than-usual potential for heroism or delinquency. Although Lykken hasn't studied testosterone, research shows that bold and fearless children are likely to be high in testosterone.
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That makes his advice about child rearing especially important to parents with high-testosterone boys and girls.
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