Describing a psychopath as a person who has no feelings may not be entirely accurate, and they also lack many other traits that could characterize them. In this article we share some data that research on psychopaths reveals:
1. We all have a little bit of psychopaths. Psychopathy is a spectrum, and we are all somewhere on that spectrum. If you have ever shown a lack of guilt or remorse, or felt no empathy with someone, or used your “charms” to get what you wanted (remember that last job interview?), then you have displayed a psychopathic trait. Maybe you are not afraid in certain situations or have taken big risks, these are also psychopathic traits.
2. Psychopaths are not all “Psycho.” Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs are typical representations of psychopaths in popular culture. While it is true that most serial killers are psychopaths, the vast majority of psychopaths are not serial killers. Psychopaths comprise approximately 1% of the general population and can be productive members of society.
Their lack of emotions, such as anxiety and fear, helps them stay calm in scary situations. Experiments have shown that they have a reduced startle response. If someone scared you while watching a horror movie, you probably had an “exaggerated startle response.” Psychopaths react much less intensely in situations that provoke fear. In any case, they remain calm. This can be a useful trait if you are a soldier, surgeon, or part of the special forces.
Psychopaths can also be very charming (if only superficially) and have the ability to confidently take risks, be ruthless, goal-oriented, and make bold decisions. This makes them well suited for environments such as Wall Street, a boardroom, and parliament.
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3. Psychopaths prefer cities to life in small towns. Psychopaths are more likely to be found in large towns and cities. They prefer what psychologists call a “.” That is, they focus on increasing their opportunities for short-term sex and the number of sexual partners rather than investing a lot of effort in long-term relationships, parenthood, and life stability. This strategy is linked to greater risk taking and selfishness. Additionally, cities offer psychopaths better opportunities to find people to manipulate. They also offer greater anonymity and therefore a lower risk of being detected.
4. . Although psychopaths are similar in many ways, some studies have found differences in women. For example, female psychopaths appear to be more prone to anxiety, emotional problems, and promiscuity than male psychopaths.
Some psychologists argue that female psychopathy is sometimes diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, characterized by poorly regulated emotions, impulsive reactions, and angry outbursts. This could explain why most studies show that rates of psychopathy are lower in women.
Research shows that female psychopaths seem to prefer dating non-psychopathic men on a short-term basis, perhaps as a plaything or to allow for easy deception and manipulation. But for long-term relationships, a psychopath woman will look for another psychopath.
5. Psychopaths have feelings… or some feelings. While psychopaths show a specific lack of emotions, such as anxiety, fear, and sadness, they can feel other emotions, such as happiness, joy, surprise, and disgust, in the same way that most of us do. we would feel So, although they may have difficulty recognizing fearful or sad faces and are less receptive to threats and punishment, they can identify happy faces and respond positively when rewarded.
However, studies show that they can feel happy and motivated if the rewards are high enough. Of course, they can also become angry, especially in response to provocation, or frustrated when their goals are thwarted. That is to say, you can hurt a psychopath’s feelings, but they are probably different feelings and for different reasons.
Study references:
Benning, S.D., Patrick, C.J., & Iacono, W.G. (2005). Psychopathy, startle blink modulation, and electrodermal reactivity in twin men. Psychophysiology, 42(6), 753-762. https://doi.org/
Colins, OF, Fanti, KA, Salekin, RT, & Andershed, H. (2017). Psychopathic Personality in the General Population: Differences and Similarities Across Gender. Journal of Personality Disorders, 31(1), 49-74. https://doi.org/
Dolan, M., & Völlm, B. (2009). Antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy in women: a literature review on the reliability and validity of assessment instruments. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32(1), 2-9. https://doi.org/
Garofalo, C., Neumann, C.S., Zeigler-Hill, V., & Meloy, JR (2019). Spiteful and contemptuous: A new look at the emotional experiences related to psychopathy. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 10(2), 173-184. https://doi.org/
Viding, E., McCrory, E., & Seara-Cardoso, A. (2014). Psychopathy. Current Biology: CB, 24(18), R871-R874. https://doi.org/
Watts, AL, Rohr, JC, McCauley, KL, Smith, SF, Howe, KL, & Lilienfeld, SO (2019). Do psychopathic birds of a feather flock together? Psychopathic personality traits and romantic preferences. Journal of Personality, 87(2), 341-362. https://doi.org/
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