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2017 ‫מועד אפריל‬ - 41 - ‫ פרק ראשו ן‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Text II (Questions 18-22)

(1) Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a psychological condition that affects
about 3 percent of men and 1 percent of women in the United States. Some experts
estimate that up to 80 percent of prisoners convicted of violent crimes have APD.
Ironically, people with APD are usually sociable and even charming. Beneath this

(5) veneer, however, they are often irresponsible, uncaring, and dishonest. APD sufferers
tend to be impulsive and rarely stop to consider the consequences of their actions.
While they may apologize for their behavior, they do not feel regret.

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) studied 21 men who
had been diagnosed with APD, all of whom had committed violent crimes. They found

(10) that their subjects had extremely low nerve cell volume and decreased neural activity in
the area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. Responsible for self-restraint and the
ability to predict the outcome of actions, the prefrontal cortex is central to the
development of conscience and social sensitivity.

Adrian Raine, a psychopathologist from USC, warns against overstating the
(15) relationship between biology and violent behavior. A deficiency in the prefrontal

cortex, according to Raine, is not the only determinant of violent behavior; social and
environmental factors must also be taken into account. "Some people who have
prefrontal deficits do not become antisocial, and some antisocial individuals do not have
prefrontal deficits. Biology is not destiny."

Questions

18. The main purpose of the text is to -

(1) discuss a personality disorder and its relation to violent behavior
(2) summarize the behavioral characteristics of APD
(3) describe a USC study on violent crime
(4) present two opposing theories about antisocial behavior

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬

.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬