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Key signs to spot a psychopath anywhere
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Psychopathy is a term used in pop psychology to describe someone who is charming, manipulative, emotionally ruthless, and reckless. Based on how frequently the term is used in the media, you’d think these so-called psychopaths are everywhere; however, it’s estimated that they make up just 1% of the population. But how do you know if someone in your life is part of the 1%? In this article, we describe all the signs to identify a psychopath. Plus, we’ll explain what causes psychopathic or antisocial tendencies and how they can be treated.
Characteristics of Psychopathy
- Impulsivity and irresponsibility
- Disregard to people’s emotions
- Compulsive lying
- Aggressiveness
- Lack of a moral compass
- Overtly charming
Steps
Section 1 of 6:
13 Traits of a Psychopath
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Insincere charm Just as an actor takes on many roles, a psychopath can put on what professionals refer to as a “mask” of normality that’s likable, pleasant, and charming. A psychopath may be known as the “life of the party” and generally appeal to everyone. Usually, a psychopath attempts to influence people to like them so they’re easier to manipulate later. [1] X Research source
- Psychopaths may exude an air of confidence that naturally draws others to them. They probably have a stable job with relative success. They might even have a relationship or family. They are quite good at playing the role of “model citizen.”
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Grandiose self-perception Psychopaths often believe they are smarter or more powerful than they are. They typically like to cozy up to successful and powerful people because it raises their own status. They may even believe they’re owed special treatment over others. [2] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
- Their inflated sense of self-importance often leads to one crack in their mask of normalcy. They may step on your toes if you don’t have any value or status to offer them.
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Impulsivity and irresponsibility Psychopaths are typically known for their refusal to acknowledge responsibility for the decisions they make or the outcomes of their decisions. Something like, “I don’t want to go to work” or “I think I’ll blow off this meeting and get a drink instead” are common impulsive ideas that a psychopath might act on. In other words, a psychopath is generally the opposite of reliable. [3] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
- Psychopaths are often self-centered, acting on a whim based on their own emotional state. They do whatever they want, whenever they want. This may result in them cheating, lying, committing crimes, and stealing just because.
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Rule-breaking tendencies Psychopaths may loathe authority and typically view themselves as above rules. It’s estimated that 93% of adult male psychopaths in the United States are in prison, jail, parole, or probation, which is linked to the rule-breaking tendencies of psychopaths. [4] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
- Similarly, psychopaths can often exhibit delinquent behaviors in their youth, including aggressive behaviors toward others. [5] X Research source
- Keep in mind that many psychopaths can avoid prison while still stepping over laws and not having any hang-ups about doing so.
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Lack of personal ethics In general, psychopaths can lack a moral compass. It’s possible that their differentiation of “right” and “wrong” is skewed, which can lead them to making poor decisions or emotionally hurting others. They might be aware of the concept of “right” and “wrong,” but they’re likely indifferent about where their choices fall on a moral scale. [6] X Research source
- For example, a psychopath is unlikely to live by a “moral code.” They may see no problem going after a friend's date or competing with a close pal for a job promotion and boasting about it.
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Abnormal emotional responses As licensed psychologist Liana Georgoulis explains, psychopaths often have shallow emotional responses. They don’t react normally to deaths, injuries, or other events that would cause a deep negative response in others. [7] X Expert Source Liana Georgoulis, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist Expert Interview. 6 September 2018.- The difference between psychopathic and another antisocial or autistic response is that while autistic people may seem initially numb, they can melt down in distress later or throw themselves into research and ways to help. With psychopaths, there are usually no deep emotions hiding underneath.
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Absence of guilt Individuals with psychopathy can have a general absence of guilt or remorse. Callousness is one of the primary characteristics used to describe them. A psychopath may feign guilt over bad behavior to manipulate a person into not becoming angry. [8] X Research source
- For example, they pretend to go into a guilt spiral over hurting their victim, so the victim ends up consoling them instead.
- While psychopathy precludes genuine empathy, psychopaths can fake empathy very well. They cannot spontaneously empathize but can do so at will (to charm others, for example).
- Reader Poll: We asked 1741 wikiHow readers and 51% of them agreed that the most telling behavior of a psychopath is a lack of empathy . [Take Poll] So, remorselessness may be the key trait to look for when determining whether someone’s a psychopath.
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Failure to accept responsibility A psychopath may never genuinely admit to being wrong or own up to mistakes. When pressed, they might admit to making a mistake but manipulate others to avoid consequences. It’s possible they don’t understand the severity of their wrongdoings. Because of this, they’ll often put blame on others or disregard responsibility altogether. [9] X Research source
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Provoking tendencies Psychopaths typically love to create chaos and drama. Because they tend to get bored easily, it’s important to them that things stay interesting. They may provoke arguments and then come off as the victim. They could wreak havoc on others’ lives and sit back and watch innocently. [10] X Research source
- If someone in your life is a psychopath, you probably leave interactions with them questioning your own sanity. Let’s say you’re at work, and the psychopath alerts you that one coworker has been insulting you behind your back. They may coax you to confront the person. In the aftermath of an ugly confrontation, you eventually realize the other person was goaded just like you.
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Manipulation Psychopaths can be identified as extremely cunning. They can get you to do things you might not normally do. They may use guises, guilt-tripping, coercion, and other methods to get victims to do their bidding. [11] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U.S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
- For example, say you’re a high-ranking executive in your company. The psychopath “befriends” you and teases out your weaknesses. One day, you arrive at work and hear that news of a scandal is affecting the workplace. It seems the sensitive information you told the psychopath was leaked to the media. You are fired. Guess who’s in line to take your position?
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Lack of long-term relationships Maintaining long-term and stable relationships can be difficult for a psychopath. They often use manipulation and emotional tactics to get what they want; then, they let go of the relationships. They never truly bond with people; therefore, walking away from a marriage, friendship, or other relationship is quite effortless. [12] X Research source
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Pathological lying A psychopath can tell all sorts of lies—little lies to trip you up or whopping made-up stories intended to mislead. Even when telling the truth would be painless, they may still default to lying, which doesn’t cause them shame. They take pride in their lies. And if you think you’ve caught them up, they may switch around the facts to appear truthful. [13] X Research source
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Dishonest apologies If a psychopath is backed into a corner and expected to show remorse, they may put on a show to meet the demand. However, because their emotional affect is blunted, they’re unable to deliver a convincing apology. [14] X Research source
- You might witness inconsistencies like them saying, “Seriously, I never meant to hurt you,” with a slight smirk on their face and their tone lacking authenticity.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionWhat defines someone as a psychopath?Klare Heston is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker based in Cleveland, Ohio. With experience in academic counseling and clinical supervision, Klare received her Master of Social Work from the Virginia Commonwealth University in 1983. She also holds a 2-Year Post-Graduate Certificate from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, as well as certification in Family Therapy, Supervision, Mediation, and Trauma Recovery and Treatment (EMDR).Probably the greatest alert that you are dealing with a psychopath is a lack of empathy--the person's inability to put themselves into your shoes no matter what the situation or feelings involved.
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QuestionWhat are the characteristics of a psychopath?Klare Heston is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker based in Cleveland, Ohio. With experience in academic counseling and clinical supervision, Klare received her Master of Social Work from the Virginia Commonwealth University in 1983. She also holds a 2-Year Post-Graduate Certificate from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, as well as certification in Family Therapy, Supervision, Mediation, and Trauma Recovery and Treatment (EMDR).Psychopaths have shallow emotions and come across as callous. They have a sense of grandiosity about their own importance. They tend to not accept responsibility for their own actions or failures. They also can be charming and manipulative.
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QuestionWhat are the 20 traits of a psychopath?Klare Heston is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker based in Cleveland, Ohio. With experience in academic counseling and clinical supervision, Klare received her Master of Social Work from the Virginia Commonwealth University in 1983. She also holds a 2-Year Post-Graduate Certificate from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, as well as certification in Family Therapy, Supervision, Mediation, and Trauma Recovery and Treatment (EMDR).There are 20 checklist items on the PCL-R which is a tool that assesses for psychopathic profiles. Interpreting that is complex. If you are interested to learn more, please search online for "PCL-R."
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Tips
- Watch out for pity parties. Psychopaths are experts at manipulating your emotions and insecurities into causing you to view them as the victim.Thanks
- Keep in mind that these types of psychopathy behaviors can also stem from a variety of mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bipolar disorder.Thanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- If you care about a person who happens to be a psychopath, just know that there's no convincing them to get help without them taking the first step. You cannot convince them to seek therapy. They have to choose it themselves.
- If you are young, I highly suggest watching out for psychopaths. They will treat you great at first just to get what they want, but they will eventually isolate you from the people you care about.
- Psychopaths will often use their lack of guilt to convince other people that their guilt is misplaced. Don't let anyone put you down for feeling bad about mistakes you've made.
- Never rely on a psychopath to keep any promises they make. Whether or not they keep it is entirely dependent on whether or not it benefits them.
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References
- ↑ https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/hidden-suffering-psychopath
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3560578/
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2765815/
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059069/
- ↑ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0011128720926120
- ↑ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/judgment-and-decision-making/article/moral-identity-in-psychopathy/E51E502DF6E25F6BD1AE16F4D6D26865
- ↑ Liana Georgoulis, PsyD. Licensed Psychologist. Expert Interview. 6 September 2018.
- ↑ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/judgment-and-decision-making/article/moral-identity-in-psychopathy/E51E502DF6E25F6BD1AE16F4D6D26865
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindmelding/201706/9-clues-you-may-be-dealing-psychopath
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/psychopathy
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4321752/
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/psychopathy
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/psychopathy
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/neurosagacity/201506/6-obstacles-relationship-psychopath
- ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/psychopath
- ↑ https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/03/ce-corner-psychopathy
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353928
- ↑ https://www.mnpsych.org/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&category=industry%20news&id=4:psychopathy-what-mental-health-professionals-need-to-know
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546673/
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546673/
- ↑ https://modlab.yale.edu/news/there-are-no-child-psychopaths-because-we-cant-diagnose-them-yet-vice
- ↑ https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/03/ce-corner-psychopathy
- ↑ https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychopathy-vs-sociopathy.html
About This Article
Article Summary
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To check if someone is a psychopath, look for key characteristics that define psychopaths, like insincere charm, grandiose self-perception, rulebreaking, and impulsivity. For example, while a psychopath may have a history of juvenile delinquency, they can easily put on a “mask” of normality and seem like a model citizen. A psychopath also lacks a conscience, so they won’t feel bad about hurting people to get what they want. Likewise, check to see if the person expresses genuine guilt when they’ve wronged someone, since a psychopath will usually pretend to feel guilty until the victim consoles them instead. For more help from our Mental Health co-author, like how to identify a psychopath based on their relationships, scroll down.
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"Now I realize how dangerous my older brother is. He threatened to kill me when I confronted him about disrespecting and yelling at our mother. He emptied out our mother's saving account, and we did not know where her social security money was going. He never worked, and he was always cheating people of their money, including relatives. I decided to keep far away from him."
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