When we talk about a psychopath, we don't mean a crazy bloodthirsty killer. Many movies and books have led us to believe that this is a type of person willing to kill. However, this violent desire to murder or to commit other criminal acts does not fall within this profile. So what is a psychopath? How to recognize it?
While it is true that they have a very prominent coldness and lack of empathy that can cause a lot of damage to other people, they do not have to be serial killers. To clarify this concept, we will explain in this article what is a psychopath, how to recognize him and how he is different from a sociopath (both terms that are often confused).
What is a psychopath and how to recognize it?
Although fiction makes us associate psychopathy with serial killers, it doesn't have to be that way. There are many traits and characteristics that can appear in this personality disorder. These include impulsivity, narcissism, manipulation, and controlling behaviors in general. To give us a clearer idea of what a psychopath is, let's discuss the most important characteristics of this type of person below:
- Absence of empathy: This first point is a bit controversial. Some experts point out that psychopaths are not empathic, while others believe that they are, and a lot, they just use it as it suits them best. There is also a theory that people with this personality disorder do not have emotional empathy, but cognitive empathy.
- Narcissism and egocentrism: In general, psychopaths always believe that they are superior to others, and more important. According to them, what happens to them is more important than anything else. For this reason, it is not surprising that they are not capable of putting themselves in the place of another person (absence of empathy, as we have commented in the first point).
- Control behaviors: Generally they tend to feel the need for control and power. They want to master every detail and also the people around them.
- Handling: As a result of the previous point, they are extremely manipulative people. This is a very common trait among them, which also leads to a lack of sincerity.
- Impulsiveness: Psychopathic individuals are often characterized by high testosterone levels and a less-activated frontal cortex. Consequently, they tend to be highly impulsive. They generally lack long-term planning. Furthermore, they have a much harder time controlling themselves. This is why they frequently abuse addictive substances, such as tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
- Emotional poverty: In general, psychopaths are very cold and do not have many emotions, both positive and negative. Fear, for example, does not usually affect them much or they are not capable of feeling it and living it like other people.
- sexual promiscuity: It is quite common for the person with this personality disorder to have many different relationships that last very little. Their main motivation to establish interpersonal relationships is sex.
- Zero regrets: Despite the fact that psychopaths show a very harmful profile for other people (lies, manipulation, lack of empathy, etc.), they do not tend to show any remorse.
- Parasitic lifestyle: It's also very common for psychopathic people to take advantage of others. Through manipulation, they get others to support them and help them meet their most basic needs.
- Criminal and antisocial behavior: Finally, it remains to highlight the behavior that someone with this profile can have, which is usually rather antisocial and criminal. However, it should be noted that criminal behavior is not always present. That is to say: Not all people who commit crimes are psychopaths, nor do all psychopaths commit crimes.
How do you know if a person is a psychopath?
Now that we know a little more about what a psychopath is, it is important to point out that we are neither experts nor can we judge people for the sake of it. There are many people who can present some of the characteristics that we have mentioned above without suffering from this personality disorder. Besides, Carrying out a psychological diagnosis is much more complete than it seems. To this day, different traits and methods are still being investigated to carry out both diagnosis and effective treatment (which currently does not exist).
It should also be mentioned that a psychological diagnosis can only be carried out by an expert in the field. It is of little use for us to start studying the people around us. Most likely, one or more of our ex-partners will seem psychopathic to us, but it will still be our completely subjective opinion. A professional will try to carry out a study objectively.
For that, a widely used method is the Robert Hare psychopathy test. It was invented to help psychologists identify psychopaths and can be linked to other psychological studies. Over the years, different concepts and adaptations have been added to this test. It assesses factors such as impulse control, promiscuous sexuality, lack of remorse, and the level of narcissism of the person in question.
Difference Between Psychopath and Sociopath
Now we come to a question that usually causes a lot of confusion: How is a psychopath different from a sociopath? Many experts believe that the only difference between the two profiles is its origin. While the psychopath is born with this personality disorder, the sociopath develops it as he gains experience. Therefore, the latter is capable of being empathetic, at least with some people close to him.
Yes, it is true that both types do not respect the rules or the rights of other people. For this reason, they resort to deceit and manipulation to get what they want, hurting others without being violent. However, The psychopath does try to integrate into society, but without attracting attention. On the other hand, the sociopath usually attracts more attention because of the strange image that he gives to other people.
I hope all this information has made it clear what a psychopath is and why we shouldn't always associate them with murder, blood and madness.