Characteristics Of A Psychopath

“Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by an inability to form human attachment, aggressive narcissism, and antisocial behavior defined by a constellation of affective, interpersonal and behavioral characteristics, most of which society views as pejorative” [1]. Some of these characteristics include irresponsibility, grandiosity, cunning, deceitfulness, selective impulsivity, sexual promiscuity, lack of empathy, etc. People who are psychopathic display not only antisocial behavior but also emotional impairment such as the lack of guilt. They are able to prey on others using their charm, deceit, violence or any other methods that allow them to get what they want. A strong feature of most of the behavior

Psychopathy, in both the mental health and criminal justice systems, has emerged as one of the most important clinical constructs of the 21st century (Hare, Clark, Grann, & Thornton, 2000, p. 623). Where clinically, psychopathy is traditionally described as a combination of inferred socially deviant behaviors and personality traits. Some traits and behaviors a psychopath is seen to possess are commonly known, for example, to being impulsive, selfish, aggressive, lacking remorse, shame, feeling for others, pathologically lying, and having asocial or antisocial behaviors (Hare, & Neumann, 2006, p. 59-60). One of the reasons as to why psychopathy has come to see an increase in the development of its theoretical and applied interest is the

Psychopath is a disorder that can be seemed as a normal social behaviour. A primary psychopath is charming, intelligent, and socially well behavior. However, underneath a psychopath’s personality show a difference compared to others. Psychopaths tend to have a lack of emotion, and responsibility. They do not feel fear or regret of a murder.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry, by Jon Ronson explores the minds of psychopaths. This nonfiction book, published in 2011, analyses the question of, what is a psychopath? When most people try to answer this question they think of characters in well-known movies and books such as American Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs. They may also think of serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. In 1959, the Mental Health Act for England and Wales described psychopaths as a “disability of the mind which results in abnormally aggressive [...] conduct”. (PG 65). Just like many mental disorders such as autism and bipolar disorder are often misdiagnosed, so is psychopathy. As shown through this book, the normal human and even trained psychologist often find it difficult to spot and understand psychopaths. Psychopaths are a broader range of individuals than most people assume; they are serial killers, CEOs, politicians, and of course, the average person. Today, it is believed, that only one percent of humans are psychopaths.

There are many symptoms of psychopathy but only a few pertain to emotions. Some of the emotional symptoms of psychopathy are traits that include egocentrism, manipulative, and lack of empathy and guilt. Psychopaths are egocentric. In their mind they are the center of the universe and the whole world should revolve around them. Because they are egocentric psychopaths believe they know best and make their own rules to follow. (Hare, 38). Psychopaths have a natural talent to manipulate individuals into doing just about anything. As the leading expert on psychopathy, Dr. Robert Hare states that “Lying, deceiving, and manipulation are natural talents for psychopaths.” (Hare, 46). Therefore, psychopaths use their talents in order to get their way because they are self-centered. It is commonly known that psychopaths lack guilt. This lack of guilt inhibits them from showing

Psychopaths are unable to put themselves in the shoes of another person. They are unable to understand the feelings of another person. The author of the article” Psychopathy, Sociopathy and Crime” David Lykken, stated that, “the psychopath is characterized by a lack of the restraining effect of conscience and of empathetic concern for people”(Lykken 3). In another interview Hare had with a female psychopath, she had allowed her boyfriend to molest her five year old daughter. She simply did not want to have sex that night and believed it was fine to let him have her daughter.

Psychopathy; a term used to describe an individual with the ability to differentiate between right and wrong and acknowledge the rules of society, but are impervious to the moral foundation of these rules. Unlike other mental disorders such as sociopathy and schizophrenia, psychopathic individuals are able to understand actions that violate the law or go against social norms (Glenn 1). Although, they may be able to accurately judge moral and/or legal violations, one major factor that they lack is – emotional capacity. It is estimated that about 1% of the general population is made up of psychopaths, which is a considerable risk when it comes to crimes (Parry n.p). Therefore, the way in which the law responses to psychopathic individuals is an important moral and empirical issue. With that being said, should psychopaths be held criminally responsible for their behavior? Due to psychopathic individuals failure to meet criteria necessary for moral responsibility, such as the lack of understanding of the human race, predetermined biological structures of the brain and the fact that psychopathy is

Moving forward into the 20th century, Hervey Cleckley made a contribution to the knowledge and research of the psychopathic brain. He wrote a book called, “The Mask of Sanity” (1976) where he described psychopathy as a configuration of interpersonal and behavioral features. He found that not only do psychopaths contain an antisocial behavior, they also have many negative characterizations and traits such as being manipulative, fearless, impulsive and lacking empathy as well as remorse or guilt. He also found that psychopathy is not only in those who show criminal behavior, however psychopathy may be present in those who appear to be successful and socially fit individuals.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder in which a person is persistent with anti-social behavior. The person has a lack of empathy and remorse. They have bold, egotistical, traits. Psychopaths have a glib and superficial charm. They can be smooth, charming, sweet, slick and verbally persuasive.

Psychopaths are prevalent in almost every aspect of life. They are at school, in the office, and at the grocery store. People view psychopaths as socially removed and isolated, but many with psychopathic traits lead normal lives with their own quirks. Functional psychopathy has become more and more normalized, as it has been featured in different aspects of pop culture. Many people hope to break the stereotype associated with psychopathy in order for society to become more inclusive of mental disorders, and also to educate more people about psychopathic behavior through popular shows and movies.

A psychopath is traditionally defined as someone with a personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, egotistical traits. In society, psychopaths display specific characteristics such as lack of empathy, which may identify and explain how they respond in certain situations.

The concept of the psychopathic personality originated in the early nineteenth century with the research of J. C. Prichard, who formulated the notion of “moral insanity” to refer to a number of mental deficiencies that led to violent or undesired behaviors.

Individuals with psychopathic personality are characterized by a constellation of traits, including interpersonal-affective features such as superficial charm, manipulation, lack of affect and emotion, and antisocial features such as impulsivity and aggression. (Gao, 2011). These traits in turn have been linked to a disregard for laws and social mores, a disregard for the right of others, a failure to feel remorse or guilt and a tendency to display violent behavior (Kennedy, 1954). Furthermore, their interpersonal behavior has been described as selfish, dominant, manipulative, and superficial; showing a lack of responsibility within relationships; and inability to form long-lasting bonds. Psychopaths are described

They’re distinctive traits include living a parasitic lifestyle, lack of responsibility for their actions, glibness, and a lack of realistic long term goals (“Psychopathic”). They do not learn from their experiences and cannot form meaningful relationships. They continuously engage in antisocial behavior, punishment does not have an affect on their behavior, and they are emotionally immature (Hare, Psychopathy 9). They find it hard to control their impulses and commonly hold many short-term relationships, often engaging in promiscuous sexual behavior. (“Psychopathic”). Frequently, they fail to plan ahead, have a low frustration acceptance, and have no problem lying blatantly to someone’s face. Psychopaths don’t feel remorseful if they mistreat or hurt someone, in fact, the person’s safety, as well as their own, is disregarded in order for the psychopath to get what they want (Hare, “Psychopath vs. Antisocial”). An easy way to describe a psychopath is a human who lives a predatory lifestyle (“Psychopathic”).

Psychopathy is a disease of the mind, in which the psychological state of someone has emotional or behavioral problems serious enough to require psychiatric evaluation. Psychopaths have no concern for the feelings of others and a complete disregard of any sense of social obligation. Psychopaths are characterized by lack of empathy, poor impulse control and manipulative behaviors. They use charm, manipulation, intimidation, and the use of severe to mild violence to satisfy their own needs.