Although severe psychopathy affects just about 1% of people, some research suggests that close to 30% of us have some level of psychopathic traits. And we may even know people who fall under this broad umbrella. So what do researchers know about the causes of psychopathy?
About 1.2% of U.S. adult men and 0.3% to 0.7% of U.S. adult women are considered to have clinically significant levels of psychopathic traits. Those numbers rise exponentially in prison, where 15% to 25% of inmates show these characteristics (Burton, B., & Saleh, F. M., Psychiatric Times, Vol. 37, No. 10, 2020).
Incidence. Hare reports that about 1 percent of the general population meets the clinical criteria for psychopathy.
2 percent and 2 percent of the population fit the criteria for a psychopath, and it is well-documented that men are much more likely to have psychopathic characteristics than women. This means that out of 100 people you know, one is fairly likely to be a psychopath.
It has been estimated that approximately 1 percent of males and 0.3-0.7 percent of females could be classified as psychopaths. An individual may show elevated levels of multiple traits associated with psychopathy without qualifying as a psychopath according to a measure such as the Hare checklist.
Based on a study carried out by Stone, 86.5% of the serial killers met the Hare criteria for psychopathy, and another 9% presented only a few psychopathic traits (not enough to be classified as psychopaths).
Research suggests that 1 percent of the population meets the criteria for psychopathy. That may not sound like a lot, but it means that 1 in every 100 people you know is a psychopath.
But the idea that they are also fiendishly clever – as often portrayed in films and TV – isn't quite true. In fact, in general, psychopaths seem to have below-average intelligence.
Children that show a lack of empathy, lack of guilt and have shallow emotions, defined as callous-unemotional traits, are at increased risk of developing psychopathy in adulthood. These children are more likely to display anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and aggression.
High-functioning psychopaths may be fully aware of their condition and perceive exactly how they differ from the general populace. Some psychopaths may realize that their emotions are “blunted” or “turned down” and they cannot feel joys or sorrows as much as others.
Key traits
“But there are some things to watch out for - like pathological lying, and people who lie without knowing why. “They have no empathy, they manipulate, they actually don't feel the same way that we do. “They have a lack of fear - they don't feel stressed out when they are in risky situations.
Yes, research shows there are “good” psychopaths. Many people in positively heroic professions have strong psychopathic traits.
Clinical observations at ASH have suggested 4 possible subtypes of psychopathy: narcissistic, borderline, sadistic, and antisocial. Issues related to the conceptualization of psychopathy are addressed, recognizing that additional data are needed to understand the observed variations in cases of psychopathy.
Many people think a psychopath is someone who's inherently violent, but this isn't always the case. Psychopathy is also often confused with being a “sociopath,” or having sociopathy.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder that has been variously described as characterized by shallow emotions (in particular reduced fear), stress tolerance, lacking empathy, coldheartedness, lacking guilt, egocentricity, superficial character, manipulativeness, irresponsibility, impulsivity and antisocial behaviors ...
Psychopathy is diagnosed using an assessment tool that scores individuals against a series of criteria. Those above a certain threshold are officially classified as psychopaths – although psychopathy is a spectrum and most psychopaths are not violent criminals (in fact, some are very successful in the business world).
Although sociopathy and psychopathy cannot be diagnosed until someone is 18, one of the hallmarks of both conditions is that they usually begin in childhood or early adolescence. Usually, the symptoms appear before the age of 15, and sometimes they are present early in childhood.
The lower on the scale a psychopath is, the more likely they are to develop some sort of love for people such as family members. Psychopaths are much less likely to develop deep bonds with others, however. Interestingly, psychopaths may still want to be loved even if they are almost incapable of truly loving another.
Psychopaths often end up falling in love with other people who have similar characteristics as them. They can also make an effort to be charming enough that someone will fall in love with them too!
Famous psychopaths have included: Theodore (Ted) Bundy, Clyde Barrow, Bernie Madoff, Chuck Yeager, James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. The authors presented their work in a Personality Disorders: Theory, Research and Treatment paper.
Psychopaths comprise about 1% of the general population and can be productive members of society. Their lack of emotions, such as anxiety and fear, helps them to stay calm in frightening situations.
They speak slowly and quietly.
Researchers suspect they craft a calm demeanor intentionally because it helps them gain more control in their personal interactions.
Estimates are fairly consistent across studies: within 10 years after release over 70% of psychopaths (with a history of violence) commit another violent offense, and 20 year follow-ups indicate that as many as 90% of psychopaths (with a history of violence) will be re-arrested for violent crimes.
We found that the higher the levels of psychopathy the participants reported, the lower the levels of well-being and the higher the levels of ill-being these students had. So we know that psychopaths are generally not happy people.