11 Traits of a Psychopath
By
OptimistMinds
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
Hey Optimist Minds!
Have you ever wondered what makes someone a psychopath?
The term refers to a a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour. Generally, we call someone a psychopath if we mean to imply that they are dangerous.
That’s because people displaying psychopathy are more likely to hurt you than the average person. Their brain structure and function is different from individuals who value humanity and compassion. Consequently, psychopaths tend to seem selfish, unkind, and capable of great harm.
In this video, we will discuss eleven traits of a psychopath so you may understand what to expect from such an individual. We warn our users to only use this information for educational purposes and not to diagnose psychopathy. Only a licensed therapist is qualified to do that.
So, let’s begin.
One
Superficial charm.
Most psychopaths are known to be attractive and charismatic. It helps them get away with shady behaviour as they disguise their intentions with their charm. Psychopaths use their shallow appeal to lure targets into their traps to achieve their selfish goals.
Two
Disregard for rights of others.
A psychopath feels like it’s no big deal if they violate other people’s rights. These could be boundaries that the victim has clearly established, rights protected by the constitution, or the basic decency warranted by humanity. Psychopaths do not give people the respect they deserve.
Three
Pathalogical lying.
It’s highly typical for psychopaths to lie without any hesitation whatsoever. Even big liars tend to get anxious about getting caught but a psychopath will stay as cool as a cucumber. Lying is very natural for them and they don’t get nervous even if they’re caught red handed.
Four
Manipulative behaviour.
A psychopath will treat you like a pawn no matter who you are. They are only concerned with their own selfish desires and they’re willing to do anything for them. This can also include controlling and abusive behaviour that forces people to comply.
Five
No moral compass.
Healthy and fully-functional adults understand whether their actions are right or wrong. However, a psychopath has can’t tell one from the other. Whatever results in their personal gain is seen as right and everything else as wrong. They’re not in touch with their inner conscience.
Six
Recurring problems with the law.
Due to the traits mentioned so far, it’s pretty usual for psychopaths to repeatedly get into trouble with the police. These problems could involve petty misbehaviour like stealing and fraud or more serious violations of the law like violence and extortion.
Seven
Inability to form real emotional attachments.
Psychopaths, in general, have a hard time forming real emotional attachments with others. Instead, they form artificial, shallow relationships designed to be manipulated in a way that most benefits the psychopath. If you’re romantically involved with a psychopath, you might feel like they’re using you for sex or other pleasures.
Eight
A lack of remorse for antisocial behaviour.
Psychopaths rarely feel guilt regarding any of their behaviors, no matter how much they hurt others. Even if the person becomes a serial killer, having done horrible things to several people, he or she won’t feel any regret about their actions. Their only regret involves getting caught.
Nine
High intelligence.
A large majority of psycholpaths tend to be well-educated. It’s not uncommon for them to gain much knowledge about a variety of topics through self-learning. Usually, their cultured and well-read personality contributes to the superficial charm they use to trick people.
Ten
Poor impulse control.
Research has shown psychopaths have underdeveloped components of the brain commonly thought to be responsible for emotion regulation and impulse control. As a result, they cannot help but give in to the dark thoughts in their mind.
Eleven
Arrogant and entitled behaviour.
One thing psychopaths and narcissists have in common is their deep sense of superiority and entitlement. They believe they deserve special treatment, concessions, and easy ways out of difficult situations. Consequently, they seem haughty and obnoxious.
Now that you’ve learnt about the traits of a psychopath, do you think you’ve ever come across one? If you think you have met anyone like this, share your stories with us in the comments. The Optimist Minds community would love to hear from you.
A link for further reading and the studies & references used in the making of this video are mentioned in the description below.
Thanks for visiting optimist minds, take care. Until next time.
References
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886908001189
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886912005363
- http://faculty.fortlewis.edu/burke_b/forensic/Class%20Readings/Psychopathy.pdf
- https://wbphillipskhs.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/108004088/Differences%20Between%20a%20Psychopath%20vs%20Sociopath.docx
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