The term ‘psychopath’ was first coined in the late 1800s, and comes from the Greek psykhe and pathos, which mean ‘sick mind’ or ‘suffering soul.’
In those days, psychopathy was considered to be a sort of moral insanity, but of course, nowadays, we know better.
However, are we right to think of psychopaths as lone killers, devoid of humanity, preying on the vulnerable, who find it hard to mix with society? The truth is that you could have one as a friend, boss or even a partner. Psychopaths live among us and manage to blend into society, but you can spot them if you look hard enough.
First, you have to change the way you think about people and how we operate as human beings. It is normal to believe that everyone else on the planet is like us, in that, they think like us, feel the same emotions like us, and understand pain and loss as we do. It is important to understand that for a few percentages of the population, this is not true. These are people that do not have empathy or remorse, cannot feel emotion, whose only goal is to take advantage of others.
These are the psychopaths, and as with any mental disorder, there are characteristics that define it. The most common way of detecting whether a person is a psychopath is by using The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), which is a diagnostic tool, set to determine if someone is on the psychopathy spectrum.
To score the test, participants read a series of statements that describe certain traits and rate them accordingly.
0 = does not apply, 1 = applies somewhat, 2 = definitely applies.
The highest score anyone can achieve is 40. In the US, if someone rates over 30 in the test, they are considered to be psychopathic, but in the UK, it is only over 25.
The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) categorizes these traits into four factors: interpersonal, emotional, lifestyle and antisocial.
The most common trait of a psychopath is their pathological lying. This is so that they can cover up their behaviour and get their own way.
Psychopaths use glibness and superficial charm to get you hooked in the first place. Once they have you under their spell, you are more likely to be willing to help them.
You’ll find many psychopaths in positions of great power and authority, this is due to their enormous sense of self-worth.
It is their manipulative behaviour that probably got them into these positions in the first place.
The most emotional characteristic is a complete lack of remorse or guilt. This could explain why psychopathic killers get away with their crimes as they simply do not care.
Some psychopaths may feel shallow emotions, in that they might feel sorry that their victim is dead because it no longer holds any pleasure for them.
More often a psychopath will be callous and show a distinct lack of empathy towards their victims. Failure to accept responsibility for their own acts is another common trait for a psychopath.
You can also see psychopathic traits in the lifestyles of psychopaths. A common trait is a parasitic way they will feed off other people to sustain their lifestyle.
Psychopaths also have a need for stimulation which might lead them to behave with impulsivity and acting in an irresponsible way. Typically, a psychopath will have no realistic, long-term goals, instead preferring to live in the moment.
Despite many psychopaths holding down impressive jobs, they do not have good social skills. They find it hard to control their behaviour in public which could lead to a revoking of their parole.
Psychopaths are known to be particularly versatile in many areas of different crimes. This makes it difficult to catch them.
Even if you have the Hare Psychopathy Checklist in your arsenal, diagnosing someone in your life who you think is a psychopath is a very serious step. It has implications either way, whether you are right or wrong. It is better to leave any diagnosing to the professionals who are trained to spot the subtle signs of psychopathy, something that non-professionals might easily miss.
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I'm not going to get political here. What I've read and understood is that there's allot of folks that could have the minor traits of a psychopath. Maybe we all have them. I've known one. If you take them out of their comfort zone or disturb their lifestyle, it could mean they will hurt you, or target you. These people do manipulate others to get their way and once they've got their way all is right in the world. And they can live like they're responsible and gentle and caring if someone needed them. As long as its going their way. And they'll help someone maybe one or two times but after a short amount of time, the same people needing help can become an annoyance and will be ignored and if they can't be ignored then there's violent behavior to make sure they're ignored. These people don't like to be sued or take any responsibility for accidents or mistakes. They feel no remorse. They just want to leave and find their tranquility somewhere else away from it all. They cannot get along with people at work, they end up getting fired because they can't get along with the boss. They lose their temper very quickly. They love their independence and freedom more than being tied down to a job or anything that controls them to be a slave. They do well in being a boss themselves or own their own business.
They love their animals very much and are very responsible for them and they feel empathy and sympathy for the innocent. And their hobbies and businesses are cared for very lovingly. But they'll lie to outsiders to get their way when they have to. And they will be as cunning as they have to be. They'd rather be alone in their world and their work. If you cross them it could mean very violent behavior as in they don't care about the law. That's what I know. But they can seem to be like you or me. But when their mood changes, and you're around them long enough their true colors will come out and you learn quickly. They can't take being forced into a situation they do not like, if things aren't going their way, it could spell disaster. They can live alone for years and not ever be any trouble or have any trouble. Ever. They can be happy go lucky, romantic, have a sense of humor and charming to get you to like them. Reasons could be unknown. But as time goes on, relationships dissolve and become boring and irritating. Or just pretending to become too busy to socialize. But like I said they're just as normal as you or I.
Fits my x very well. Always getting fired and a greater and greater collection of animals, neglected if it suits her, Very persuasive, charismatic but only crass
Best comment on the entire page!
I'm just amazed at how many psychopathy experts this article made of people on both sides of a political aisle. LOL
But some of these traits do apply to psychopaths, but mabye it could be put into like some of them do this or most of them do that, etc...
Thank you Janey. Important information to leave it to the professionals.